NEAR AND FAR Solidarity

NEAR AND FAR Solidarity EDGE NIGHT OUTLINE SCRIPTURE & CCC: Act 17:26 Acts 3:16 1 Timothy 4:12 Romans 13:9-10 Romans 8:28-29 1 John 4:20 John 17:21-22 1 Timothy 2:1-5 CCC 336 Chairs SUPPLIES NEEDED: Newsprint Markers Litany of Our Lady of Czestochowa (Handout A on page 40) GOAL The goal of this Edge Night is to help the youth understand the Catholic Church s teaching on solidarity and call them to action in living it out. The night focuses on love of neighbor and how Jesus Christ shows us not only the dignity of humanity, but also how to respond the needs of those around us. EDGE NIGHT AT A GLANCE This night is closely connected to the Dignity of the Human Person Edge Night, but focuses more on love of neighbor as the middle school youth explore solidarity. To help the youth better understand solidarity, the night focuses a lot on the teachings on Blessed Pope John Paul II and the example of Christ in loving our neighbor. In becoming man, Jesus shows us the importance of humanity and also how to live our shared humanity. Jesus was present as a human person in the world and clearly taught us to treat one another as brothers and sisters. Because of this oneness of man, we are called to help those around us. Solidarity is a firm commitment to the common good, not simply when there is a tragedy or when feeling sorry for someone we encounter. Solidarity, which flows from our faith, is an understanding that we are the body of Christ and we are united by our humanity and dependence on God. The night will begin with a fun game that introduces love of neighbor. Following the icebreaker game, the Proclaim will start with love of neighbor, explain Christ s example of that love, and challenge the youth to live out solidarity locally and globally. The talk also includes the story of the Notre Dame boxing team s annual charity intramural tournament that donates proceeds to impoverished Bangladesh. As the youth will see in the YouTube video, the story was filmed as a documentary to show the connection between the college boxers and the people they are helping halfway around the world. After the Proclaim, the middle school youth will break into small groups for discussion and brainstorming on solidarity. After the small group activities, the night will move into a time of prayer to show the youth that prayer is always a true sign of solidarity and one action we can take every day. ENVIRONMENT Tonight s environment should resemble a neighborhood. Use large pieces of paper to draw a town and put it on the walls around the main gathering space. Be sure to detail street signs or even make some out of cardboard with themes that tie into the night, such as Unity Street, Neighbor Road, Helping Hand Drive, etc. Include other signs, such as One Way (emphasizing oneness of man). 34

GATHER OPENING MUSIC See song suggestions in Media Suggestions sidebar. W E LCO M E & INTRODUCTION 1. Welcome and introduce new youth. 2. Recognize and celebrate any youth or Core celebrating a birthday by singing Happy Birthday. 3. Present a brief overview of the session. OPENING PRAYER Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and understanding about the theme/topic for the night. ICEBREAKER ACTIVITY Gather all the youth into one large circle using chairs facing inward. Have one youth or a Core Member stand in the center of the circle, so that the youth face him/her. Explain that the person in the middle will be forced to answer a question throughout this game: Do you love your neighbor? The person in the middle must answer the question by responding: Yes, I love my neighbor, especially those who... At that point the person names a particular characteristic. It can be something on the surface, such as those who are wearing jeans, blue, sandals, etc. Other examples: Have been to a certain state, like a certain sports team, have three siblings, etc. Be sure to give some examples to the youth and tell them that their responses have to be appropriate. Once the person names the particular type of neighbor, those fitting that category have to get out of their chair and move at least three chairs away. The next person standing in the middle is it and has to respond to the group and come up with the next neighborly quality. Be sure to have any adults or high school teens participate with the middle school youth and make sure everyone is participating properly. PROCLAIM SCRIPTURE PROCLAMATION Romans 12:4-8 PROCLAIM TALK Do You Love Your Neighbor? Perhaps some of you have played our opening game before. Usually games are a lot of fun and don t necessarily connect to the rest of our Edge Night, but tonight s game does. Tonight, we re talking about a Catholic social teaching called Solidarity, which has everything to do with loving our neighbors. Jesus Christ is clear that loving our neighbor is very important. In fact, right after Jesus gives us the Greatest Commandment (to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength), He says the second greatest commandment is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31). Blessed Pope John Paul II said that because love for God and neighbor is the first and greatest commandment, we know that love of God and love of neighbor cannot be separated (Evangelium Vitae 24). He also added: God, Who has fatherly concern for everyone, has willed that MEDIA SUGGESTIONS: Song: Hold us Together by Matt Maher (Alive Again, Provident) Video: Fighting So The Weak May Be Nourished by NddotEDU (www.youtube. com) 35

NOTES: NEAR AND FAR Solidarity EDGE NIGHT OUTLINE all men should constitute one family and treat one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Another way of saying this is to remind ourselves that every person is made in the image of God; so all humans share a bond that unites us to God and each other. Acts 17:26 says, God has made of one, all mankind, to dwell upon the whole face of the earth. The Example of Christ Blessed John Paul II also reminded us how Jesus Christ, in becoming a human person, shows us 1) Just how special humanity is. And 2) Christ s work shows us how to live our shared humanity. Jesus did not live by Himself out in the desert rather He was present to those who were hurting (the woman at the well, Lazarus, the woman caught in adultery). Also, Jesus clearly taught in His preaching that the sons and daughters of God should treat one another as brothers and sisters. St. Paul reminds of this we heard it in our Scripture Proclamation so we, though many, are one body in Christ (Romans 12:5). Because we are one body of Christ, we are called to help those around us. Our brothers and sisters face all kinds of issues problems within their family, natural disaster, famine, drought, etc. and we are called to move with compassion and help them. But we are also called to walk with them, to listen to them, to care for them, and to help them to care for themselves (John 15:13). A Modern Example of Solidarity The Notre Dame boxing team has a motto: Strong bodies fight, that weak bodies may be nourished. The team chants this motto every practice and it is based on an annual charity tournament the team has each year. The tournament earnings go to poverty-stricken Bangladesh. The tournament, called The Bengal Bouts, is intramural, meaning all the boxers belong to the Notre Dame team fight each other. For 80 years now, the Bengal Bouts have raised money to feed the hungry, educate children in the Catholic faith, and provide a better life for people half way across the globe. The efforts of these college boxers have allowed for several schools to be built and whole villages to survive. Recently, the story about The Bengal Bouts was made into a documentary by one member of the Notre Dame boxing team. He had gone to Bangladesh to see firsthand how the team s motto was being lived out. We re going to watch a preview of the movie to get an idea of how this journey shows solidarity and offers a world of hope (Show the movie preview clip about the Film Strong Bodies Fight found on www. strongbodiesfight.org). This college student s quest to document how the Bengal Bouts were affecting his brothers and sisters in Christ offers a true understanding of solidarity. Solidarity is about relationship. What is our relationship with those in need with our neighbors? Solidarity is not so much about rushing in, fixing all the problems, and then calling it a day. 36

Solidarity is about recognizing those in need as our brothers and sisters in Christ. This movie shows how solidarity is lived. The filmmaker and his friends are not so concerned about the things the people have received as much as they are thrilled to meet those they are helping their neighbors and spend time with them. As one of the priests in the movie, Fr. Leonard Shankar, says, We are living in this world as a WE. It is not I, but WE in this world. Living It Out Pope Paul VI said: Although the world of today has a very vivid awareness of its unity and of how one man depends on another in needful solidarity, it is most grievously torn into opposing camps by conflicting forces (Gadium et Spes 4). He wrote that almost 50 years ago, and it s still true today. That means we have our work cut out for us as Catholics in action. Sure, you might be sitting here thinking that this is something your parents can help out in or that it does not affect you as a middle school youth because you are too young. But, let us remember what scripture says: Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity (1Timothy 4:12). We are never too young to begin working and serving God and our neighbors. Several charities that are still around today were started by young people your age who saw someone in need and stepped in to help. How will you start living solidarity today? BREAK SMALL GROUP PRAYER As your small group begins, say a prayer for the group and the activities for that session. Read the following Scripture passage: And Jesus answered him: The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord your God is one God. And you shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind and with your whole strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like to it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these (Mark 12:29-31). SOLIDARITY Solidarity can be a tough thing to define. On one side of your poster board (used for the next activity as well) have the youth write out a definition of what they believe solidarity to mean. (To help you the dictionary definition is: unity or agreement of feeling or action, esp. among individuals with a common interest; mutual support within a group. Catholic definition: we understand what it means to love our neighbor this begins with compassion and extends to taking action and to join with those who are suffering we may not be able to take away all suffering, but we can join with those who are suffering and offer our prayers and aide.) LIVING SOLIDARITY While we might have heard what a college sports team from Notre Dame did (see Proclaim talk) halfway across the globe, we need to discuss what we can do right now to live in solidarity with our neighbors. Lead NOTES: 37

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 1. NEAR AND FAR Solidarity EDGE NIGHT OUTLINE 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. your group in a time of brainstorming, which will lead into a discussion on solidarity. On newsprint, write three headers: people, organizations, resources. For each header, let the middle school youth brainstorm. Under people, have them write down people in need. Under organizations, have them write down some places that they can help (for instance: Goodwill, Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, Red Cross, etc). Under resources, have them brainstorm ways to contribute to existing resources (how can they as middle school youth get involved). PLAN OF ACTION Tell the middle school youth that based on the discussion and brainstorming, they need to present one plan to the whole group detailing how they are going to actively live out solidarity in the coming week. It does not have to be anything huge. The most important part is that it is something they can actually do. SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION In your small group discuss the following questions. These questions are based on doing the activity first and then taking time to process. 1. How is helping these people living out Christ s love? 2. How are the people you have listed neighbors? Is it difficult to think of them as neighbors? 3. We have listed a number of organizations which of these could we get in contact with tomorrow to make a plan of action? How can we work with that organization to more actively live out solidarity? 4. Based on tonight s talk, can you explain how solidarity is connected to Jesus? (Examples: Christ became man, which makes man special or set apart, Jesus engaged with every type of person, Jesus encouraged love of neighbor as inherent to love of God). 5. If someone asked you how to explain that humanity is one, how would you explain it? SEND LARGE GROUP SHARING Have as many small groups as possible share their plans of action. This will lead into a time of prayer, which concludes with the Litany of Our Lady of Czestochowa (Handout B on page 40). CLOSING PRAYER The youth minister should explain that prayer is a constant response we can make to our neighbors. Lead the teens in a short prayer for solidary, followed by recitation of the Litany of Our Lady of Czestochowa. SUMMARY CHALLENGE Before the middle school youth are sent home they will be challenged to remember: 1. It is crucial to understand that solidarity is part of our relationship with others we are neighbor to all as one human family. 38

2. Jesus Christ shows us the special importance of all human persons by becoming human Himself. He showed us how to live out solidarity through His interaction with others in the gospels. 3. Solidarity is not about fixing problems; it is about Love, and our response to God who is Love. 4. We need to live out solidarity in our lives we can do this always through prayer. TO THE PARENTS OF Love of neighbor is something we hear a lot about. However, it is not just something we should talk about it is something we should live. During tonight s Edge session, we looked at the Catholic social teaching of solidarity, which calls to acknowledge the oneness of the human family. Solidarity draws on the understanding of the dignity of all human persons. Through that dignity, we are called to stand in solidarity with those in need. Solidarity is not simply during a tragedy or when we see someone hurting in our society it is a willingness to work and pray for those in need. The middle school youth were challenged to live out solidarity through various means: praying for those in need, finding ways to help those in need, being involved in your church, and together as a family, to donate time and money to charities. During the ride home, ask your child what plan of action was decided on in small group. Other discussion questions: 1. What did Jesus teach us about solidarity through the way He lived? Through the way He preached? 2. Is there something we could do as a family to be more active in helping our neighbor? ADAPTATION IDEAS: If it s early in the year or you have a lot of new youth, you can use the icebreaker as a name game by having the person say his or her name first. Then the group says, Hi (name), do you love your neighbor? If you do not have audio/ video equipment for the video clip, you can still talk about the documentary or retell the story about the Bengal Bouts. Invite a high school youth to share a testimony about a recent mission trip or work camp experience. 39