Called to Serve: How We Build the St. Ann Community Together

It can be found in the familiar faces welcoming families at an event, the parents preparing food or setting up tables, the volunteers sharing their professional skills, and the countless people quietly completing tasks that others may never see.

So much of who we are—and so much of what we accomplish—is possible because parents, families, teachers, parishioners and community members generously give their time and talents.

But service does more than help us accomplish more. It helps make us who we are.

Each of Us Has Something to Offer

Jog-A-Thon
Photo Credit: Elizabeth Priniski 

In Ephesians 4, St. Paul reminds us that each person has been given unique gifts and that those gifts are meant to prepare God’s people for works of service and to build up the Body of Christ.

We were never meant to contribute in exactly the same way.

Our experiences, abilities, interests and circumstances are different. One person may be able to organize an event. Another may have a talent for welcoming new families, repairing something, creating a sign, sharing a professional skill or simply noticing when someone needs encouragement.

As pastor and author Timothy Keller expressed so beautifully:

“There are some needs only you can see. There are some hands only you can hold. There are some people only you can reach.”

That is the beauty of a community made up of many individuals. Each person sees something a little differently. Each person brings something no one else can offer in quite the same way.

When even one person holds back because life feels too busy, the need feels intimidating or the contribution seems too small, our community misses something meaningful.

When that person steps forward, however, all of us are strengthened.

Serving Together Draws Us Together

First Day of School "Coffee and Donuts"
Photo Credit: Elizabeth Priniski 

Service is not only about completing a task. It is also about connection.

Research examining volunteering and social cohesion has found a positive relationship between the two: volunteering can strengthen the bonds that connect people, while strong, connected communities are more likely to inspire continued service.

That is something we see firsthand at St. Ann.

When parents work beside one another at a school event, they begin to know each other differently. When families unite around a need, they discover a shared purpose. Names become familiar. Friendships grow. New families find a place to belong.

This is one of the reasons St. Ann has such a close-knit, family feel. We do not merely attend the same school. We invest in it together.

We serve beside one another, and through that service, we become more deeply united in our purpose and mission.

Community Pancake Breakfast

A Purpose Greater Than Ourselves

Catholic School's Week Souper Supper
Photo Credit: Elizabeth Priniski

Our service is ultimately about something greater than any one event, fundraiser, committee or volunteer shift.

We serve so that our students can learn and grow in a school shaped by faith, excellence, integrity and service.

We serve to support our teachers and staff. We serve to welcome families, strengthen our parish and contribute to the greater Stoughton community.

Most importantly, we serve because Christ calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

As Pope Benedict XVI wrote:

“Anyone who needs me, and whom I can help, is my neighbour.”

That love often takes a practical form.

It looks like giving an hour, sharing an idea, offering encouragement, preparing a meal, taking responsibility or using a talent for the good of someone else.

Not every act of service will be highly visible. Not every contribution will feel significant in the moment. But when each person offers what he or she can, those individual acts become part of something much larger.

As Ephesians 4 teaches, the whole body grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work.

Let Us Be a Community on Mission

Let us be on mission together—to serve our school, our students, our families and our neighbors.

Let us resist the belief that our contribution is too small to matter or that someone else will always step forward.

Instead, let us ask:

What gifts have I been given?
What need might I be uniquely equipped to see?
Whose hand might I be able to hold?

There is a place for each of us in this mission.

When we generously offer our time, experiences and talents, we do more than help St. Ann succeed.

We create the community we hope our children will remember: a community rooted in faith, strengthened by service and united in love.

Casino Night Gala
Photo Credit: Elizabeth Priniski 

Sources & Inspiration

• The Holy Bible, Ephesians 4:1–16
• Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est (2005), no. 15
• Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium (2013), no. 88
• United Nations Volunteers, Social Cohesion and Volunteering: Correlates, Causes and Challenges
• Timothy Keller, sermon excerpt on Christian service