WHO’S NUDGING YOU?
If you attended Wednesday’s Prayer Service planned by our incredible Middle School students, you heard Mr. Jenkins’ reflections on the well-known story of Jesus and the wedding at Cana. During his talk he openly pondered whether Jesus needed his mother Mary’s prodding to perform his first public miracle.
Mr. Jenkins acknowledged that Jesus was 100% divine but also 100% human. Hence his wondering whether Mary sensed in him a greatness that Jesus was not yet fully aware of before he turned water into wine.
Similarly, Mr. Jenkins asked our students if maybe God uses those around us to gently nudge us to share our gifts with the world. In his talk, he spoke of mothers’ intuition and got many nods from prayer service attendees. But what he didn’t say is that he, himself is a sort of official “nudger” in our parish.
As one of two Youth Ministers at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Mr. Jenkins along with Mrs. Stapleton, is charged with coordinating activities and faith formation for students in grades 6-12. He joked that he wears many hats — but it’s true– as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who is also trained in Art & Design, the scope of his work can be wide. One day he’s coordinating nature hikes and movie nights. The next day he might be planning Confirmation formation before corralling paint brushes and art students to complete a parking lot mural that needs completion (proof below!).
In addition, he’s also the parent of two young girls; one of whom is a Kindergartener at St. Mary’s Catholic School. Through his lens as both parent and minister to youth, he sees the multitude of gifts our students have to share with the parish and the wider community. Those gifts were certainly on display Wednesday during our student led prayer service.
For those of you reading who weren’t in attendance on Wednesday, fear not: We have the privilege to witness more glorious gifts unfold throughout the year thanks to a school and parish community full of expert nudgers!
RELATED: Be sure to check out this weekend’s Church Bulletin for information on an upcoming four-part virtual Parent Discussion session developed by Mr. Jenkins for parish and school families. The first topic will focus on the Fuller Institute’s podcast, “Faith in an Anxious World.” If interested, please email Chris at cjenkins@stmarysrichmond.org before October 31.
