St. Helen’s Elementary hosts second annual conference designed to form leaders of tomorrow
The B.C. Catholic
Mercy is a corporeal concept, rather than just a concept, Father Bryan Duggan told a conference of leadership groups from elementary schools.
“Mercy is loving the person in front of you, and mercy is not an idea but an action. We are called to imitate simple gestures of mercy and love towards the people in our lives.”
Mercy is not just an idea in the brain; it has to have bodily, physical, material aspects, explained Father Duggan. He was a keynote speaker at St. Helen’s Elementary School’s second annual Student Council and Leadership Conference Feb. 3.
“There were 13 (elementary) schools in attendance, and in addition, we had former St. Helen’s students from Notre Dame’s student council, choir, and altar servers assisting with the events,” said Nadia Piperni, a Grade 6 St. Helen’s teacher and one of the organizers.
“The conference was essentially created for student councils or leadership groups from the elementary schools.”
Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, celebrated Mass at the beginning of the event. Afterwards there were reflections and activities to teach the importance of mercy and leadership.
The reflections included images of Pope Francis washing feet, visiting prisons, and embracing people, showing the students various acts of mercy. “We wanted them to learn that mercy changes lives, and how leaders act with mercy,” Piperni said. Mercy “is not simply a concept in a religion textbook.”
“We were looking for ways for the students to experience (mercy), reflect on it, and act on it,” said Piperni. “We developed a game called Mercium, which was based on Cranium, and we had the students create reflections and put them on the back of paper hearts.”
Last year, Piperni and a fellow St. Helen’s worker, teaching assistant Erin Callaway, started the event. This year Sarah Ruggier, a French teacher and school counsellor at St. Helen’s, joined the organizing team.
