Parish Youth Embrace Puppet Ministry
Adapted from an article in People of God
By Fr. Stephen Schultz, pastor Our Lady of Belen, Belen, NM
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| Pictured above are Puppeteers from the Youth
Confirmation Program at Our Lady of Belen, Belen, NM and their puppet
friends. (L to R) Terri, Cresap, Paul Archibeque, Megan Saucedo, Amity Garcia and Mariah Saucedo |
A hush fell over the room full of
young children as they waited expectantly for the show to begin. The air
of anticipation was broken by a nervous giggle and a poke in the ribs
of a best friend. Suddenly the curtain rises on the stage, and a cast
of puppets come to life in the skillful hands of Confirmation students
at Our Lady of Belen (OLB) parish in Belen, NM.
The “Catholic Kid’s Korner” as these puppet productions
have come to be known, is the brainchild of Annette Cernius, Confirmation
Director at OLB. Encouraged by, Jude Quintana, Director of Religious Education
at the parish. Annette utilized her own love of puppetry to reach out
to the 9th and 10th grade Confirmation students. At OLB, as each of the
youth prepares to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, they are expected
to perform a certain number of service hours each year of preparation.
15 hours for 9th graders and 30 for 10th. Half of these hours are used
in a way to benefit the parish, and the other half may be used in a way
to benefit the community. Earlier this year, Annette proposed puppet ministry
as a way for some of the Confirmation students to fulfill their service
hour requirement. The youth eagerly embraced the idea and had an opportunity
to attend a workshop on the use of puppets in ministry that was held in
Albuquerque. With Annette’s help, the stage being provided by her,
as well as many of the puppets in her own collection, and many hours of
practice (and fun) the youth became more skillful at bringing the puppets
to life. Each puppet character with its own personality, movement and
voice provide by the youth.
The use of puppet ministry within Catholic parishes does not seem to be
as common as among other Christian denominations. Consequently, Annette
found herself writing many of the scripts in order to have a specifically
Catholic focus, especially Sacraments and Catholic theology. Through the
puppet productions, the Confirmation youth have been able to share their
Catholic faith with the younger children enrolled in the Faith Formation
Program at Our Lady of Belen. The puppets shows are entertaining for the
younger children and provide effective catechesis, as well.
The young people involved in the dynamic group see this as a fun way to
serve God, share and bring the Word of God to life for the younger children
in the religious education programs at OLB.
The recently confirmed 10th graders will be returning to the program next
year to serve as mentors to next year’s Confirmation class. The
success of the program this year has enabled the “Catholic Kid’s
Corner” to purchase a new stage and some new puppets. When classes
resume in September, the curtain will rise on a new group of Confirmation
students ready to share their Catholic faith with the younger children
of the parish through puppet ministry. In the hands and through the voices
of these youthful puppeteers, the Gospel continues to be spread.
