By Kelley Kepler
Catholic Herald
Merrill student leads peers on Urban Plunge
MERRILL --As part of the Youth in Theology and Ministry class he's taking at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn., 17-year-old Corey Mehlos is organizing a group of his peers to serve the poor and homeless in downtown Milwaukee.
Every year a group of high school students from St. Francis Xavier Parish goes to St. Benedict the Moor Parish in Milwaukee to experience poverty and serve the needy.
Mehlos, a junior at Merrill High School, went on last year's service project and knows what to expect as he plans for the upcoming "Urban Plunge" that will take place the last weekend of March.
Going to St. Ben's last year was an eye opening experience for the 10 students involved, Mehlos said. "Most were not aware of life in the inner city, and that made a big impact because it's so different than our rural environment."
He said his goal in planning the project is "to help raise awareness of youth to the world outside their own lives and to bring about social justice issues and what they mean to the Catholic ministry."
The 12 to 16 students who will participate in Urban Plunge are currently attending orientation meetings to discuss the overall project with Mehlos and brainstorm ways to raise money for the toiletries, clothing and other items they will donate to the Milwaukee needy.
Sr. Kathleen Walli, OP, the director of religious education and youth ministry at St. Francis Xavier Parish, praised Mehlos as a "self-motivated young man with a broad range of interests. Corey successfully balances academics with involvement in high school debate, is manager of the girl's basketball team, reader at Sunday liturgy at St. Francis Xavier, in various social action activities, with a side job at Country Market."
She explained that his leadership role in Urban Plunge is part of a class called Youth in Theology and Ministry (YTM), offered through St. John's University and made possible by a $1.2 million dollar grant from the Lilly Endowment.
According to the universituy's Web site, YTM is for Catholic high schoolers who have had a positive experience of church and wish to gather with like-minded youth to explore faith and leadership.
It also explains that YTM is a response to the challenge Pope John Paul II issued to the young people gathered in Denver at World Youth Day 1993: "At this stage in history, the liberating message of the Gospel of life has been put into your hands. And the mission of proclaiming it to the ends of the earth is now passing to your generation, the young church. We pray that we can meet the challenge of providing coming generations with reasons for living and hoping."
The class, which is actually a 13 -month process, began with a two-week summer institute, where Mehlos took a course taught by a theology professor on the Catholic perspective of interpreting scripture. He also served at a homeless shelter and soup kitchen called Place of Hope in St. Cloud, Minn., and learned how to develop and plan the Urban Plunge service project. In addition, he attended a weekend retreat in January and will also attend a second two-week institute this June.
Mehlos said he was interested in taking the class because, "It sounded like a break from normal life and a new opportunity. It just felt right at the time."
YTM turned out to be "by far the best community experience I've been a part of," Mehlos said. "Everyone I met has been very unselfish and aware of the needs of others."
Through his experience with YTM, Mehlos learned about spirituality in terms of both the individual and the church, and it strengthened his desire to pursue a college degree in theology.
Lastly, the class has convinced Mehlos that, "The greatest reason to serve is because we have the resources. Too many times in our society we see ourselves distanced from people. I think we are a group rather than individuals or separate groups, and I don't see any reason why we should neglect others who are in need."
For more information about Youth in Theology and Ministry, call 877-556-9518 or go to St. John's theology department Web site at www.csbsju.edu/theology.
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2003