Twelve youth from nine different parishes came together to serve and learn from a community in need on an April New York City mission trip organized by the diocesan Office of Youth Ministry. The youth helped to brighten a community still recovering from natural disaster.
Superstorm Sandy caused significant damage to Coney Island, including the destruction of the Cary
Gardens Community Center. The community center's staff and programs have been moved to a new facility, which was functional but uninviting. Throughout the week, Diocese of Massachusetts youth and NYC Habitat enlivened the building by painting halls and rooms with bright colors and fun wall murals, helping to make the center as vibrant as the community that gathers there.
During the mission trip, the youth experienced some of what many people in difficult financial circumstances do every day and learned how difficult that even simple tasks can be when living on limited resources. The group had to plan and purchase meals on a tight budget, navigate around the city and master the subway, while having to be ready for a full day of work early each morning. The group reflected and talked together about how service helps to create the peaceable kingdom, and how coming together from diverse backgrounds and sharing perspectives can help one another better understand God's vision for the worl
d.
The mission trip was made possible through a diocesan Mission Tithe Matching Grant.