Service Trips

"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  Matthew 22:36


The core of being a Christian is to love God and to love our neighbor. Mission Trips are a wonderful way for young people to serve others unconditionally, which also serves God. In addition to helping those in need, service trips allow youth the opportunity to live in a mission lifestyle, learn more about the Bible while spreading the gospel, and embrace the great commission of doing the work of Jesus. The experience allows teens to witness God's love and grace in new and impactful ways and to grow deeper in relationship with Him.

A variety of service trip opportunities have been offered through the High School Youth Ministry program in our parishes.  Our summer service mission trips create an environment where the youth of our parish can enrich their relationship with God while developing a community of faith with their peers. They provide for:

Spiritual growth and development
Increased awareness of those in need
Leadership training
Spreading the love of Christ

These weeks are well-organized retreat-like experiences, which blend daily service work with prayer, reflection, recreation and sharing.  The kinds of activities that may be part of these experiences vary from year to year and by location, but may include home improvement, repair, and landscaping, visiting with the sick or elderly, working with children in vacation bible schools, etc. These opportunities are a great chance for young people to “make a difference” and have fun at the same time!  

Our CIA (Catholics in Action) group designs a work shirt with a quote each year.  Here are some of the ones from past trips:

"You never know who needs you ~ Good energy is contagious"
"Not all of us can do great things.  But we can do small things with great love." (Mother Teresa)
"Be Kind, Do Good"

Past mission trips have included Mississippi (2013, 2014, 2017, 2019), Puerto Rico(2015), Vermont(2016, 2017, 2018), and Texas (2018). Feel free to check out our photos by clicking on the photo albums below.
 

2019 Summer Mission Trips

If you want to be sure you are on our email list, please contact. 

If you have questions about our upcoming High School Youth Ministry mission trips, please feel free to attend our CIA meetings every Tuesday night at St. Mary, or contact Trish Moore at [email protected].

Click on these links to watch videos from some of our past service mission trips:

Vermont 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Aa1QyatWBY
Puerto Rico 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hQO12iJwVA&t=4s
Vermont 2018:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GW3e4XkYFE&t=109s