St. Aloysius Parish

DUE TO IMPENDING WEATHER, THE PRAYER SERVICE AND VIGIL HAVE BEEN MOVED TO THURSDAY, SEPT 2, RAIN OR SHINE!

St. A's will be supporting this event, as we join with the other faith communities of New Canaan, local organizations. St. Aloysius 7th-12th graders are invited to stand together as a Catholic community to pray for and remember those who died too soon, those they left behind and to understand more about this very serious epidemic from the powerful witness of parents of those who suffered with addiction and from young people who are in recovery.

As we have noted, 7th and 8th graders are to be accompanied by a parent. High school students may attend on their own, but we also encourage our high school parents to attend!

There will be witness talks with liberal sharing of real life experiences - references to the free use of drugs and alcohol . . . references to feelings of anxiety, depression, loneliness, the feeling of not being loved as well as frank admittance of fitting in with the crowd because of their substance use. Co-occurring disorders will be discussed, which links mental health disorders to substance abuse.

As faith-filled Catholic Christians, our faith teaches us we are made in the image and likeness of Christ . . . the phrase WWJD ("What would Jesus do?") is well known amongst us and we as parents and mentors of our young people strive to help and guide them to use their free will wisely and in accordance with our faith. Although this is a town event, we at St. Aloysius want to ensure that these ideas and prayer are the highlight of the night.

St. A's will begin the evening gathered in the church for a short prayer service, after which we invite parents and confirmation students and our high school teens and their parents who may be in attendance, to walk over with us to the official event in the Pop up Park or in our GYM if the weather is inclimate. Please arrive between 6:30 and 6:35 so that we can be seated and begin on time and get to the Vigil. There will be music, the Hope & Remembrance Wall where attendees are encouraged to share a message of hope and at 7:00 p.m., the official program will begin with witness talks. The evening will conclude with a candlelight vigil conducted by local faith community leaders.

As a parent, if you feel that the information that we anticipate to be shared is too advanced for your child, we welcome you to join us at St. A's for our prayer service, where clergy will stress to all, the concept that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. We will pray together and then, we urge you to make a decision as a family whether to continue on to the actual event at the Pop Up Park. All Confirmation students who attend the gathering at St. Aloysius will earn still one half hour of a Spiritual Work of Mercy. The witness talks will be powerful and for some teens and pre-teens, may be just what they might need to hear.

We remain committed to walking with you on your family's faith journey as we pray, worship and serve one another as the face of Christ in our world today.

A thought from scripture as we say thank you for all you do as Catholic parents . . . "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body."1 Corinthians 6:19-20

The event will end between 8:00 and 8:15 p.m. so that you can get back home for homework and family time.

For our confirmation students, since this is a spiritual work of mercy, you will earn one and a half hours of your service requirement for the year IF you attend the events at St. A's and the entire vigil.

Teens are asked to wear your red St. A's t-shirt so that ST. A's can be seen as supporting this very important battle so many face! If you need a red t-shirt, please reach out to Chris Otis. We have them in stock in all sizes for $15.

Rain Date is September 2.