Sister Patricia Carter visited the Grade 6 class at St. David School recently, challenging the students to become people of prayer and service. For the past five years, Sister Pat Carter has been visiting Grade 6 classes in the three dioceses of Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie and Timmins. Throughout the presentations Sister Pat speaks to the students about the vocations of single life, married life, religious life and priesthood. In November, she visited over 600 students in 20 schools in the Sudbury region – Pius XII, St. Theresa, St. Anthony, St. Francis, St. Christopher, St. Anne in Hanmer, Our Lady of Fatima in Naughton, St. Michael, St. John in Garson, St. Mary in Capreol, Corpus Christi, St. David, St. James in Lively, St. Charles in Chelmsford, Immaculate Conception in Val Caron, St. Paul in Coniston, St. Mark in Markstay, St. Raphael, and St. Joseph in Killarney.

According to research, there are three significant times in the lives of young people when they are preoccupied with vocational choices; at age 11, grade 11 and during the second-year of their post-secondary education young people ask: What would I like to be when I grow up? What contribution would I like to make to the world around me? How can my life have meaning? Sister Pat Carter and Sister Mary Jo Radey, vocation directors for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie, meet with young people close to these times visiting elementary schools and secondary schools, universities and colleges to encourage students to become people of prayer and service and to deepen their relationship with God.

As a follow up to the Grade 6 classroom visits, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie will be holding an essay and poster contest in February 2003. The students will be invited to reflect on who has been a good witness of the Gospel message to them. They will be asked to write their reflections in an essay or create a poster to give specific examples of how this person was an effective witness of Jesus’ love. The essay and poster theme fits in well with the Grade 6 religious education program entitled “You Shall Be My Witnesses”. For more information on the essay and poster contest, contact Sister Pat Carter at csjcvocn@onlink.net.