Serra Club Vocations Essay

A ‘disciple of God’ through service in community, parish and school

By Grace Daming (Special to The Criterion)

God has used me to further his kingdom by guiding me to volunteer and help others.
He has a plan for me and has helped me discover myself and find my talents in him. God loves me and wants me to do the right thing, so he gives me opportunities to grow stronger in my faith and strengthen my connection to him.
By these opportunities, I also help my community, parish and school. I always strive to act in a Christ-like manner and be a leader for my friends and classmates.
I have been a disciple of God by volunteering in my community and using my time to support others. I joined a service club with many of my friends.
In this service club, we performed the corporal works of mercy. We made sandwiches and cake pops for the hungry; sent letters to the imprisoned; made blankets for the homeless; and made rosary bracelets for the elderly.
We also traveled out into the community to paint Nativity scenes at a nursing home and went to the
St. Elizabeth Coleman Pregnancy Center in Indianapolis, where we sorted clothes for children of all ages. My favorite act of service was when we went to the
St. Paul Hermitage in Beech Grove to sing Christmas songs, talk and play games with the residents.
I also further God’s kingdom at school and at Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ Parish. I am an altar server at weekend Masses, and am in the cantor choir for school Masses on Thursdays. By doing this, I feel connected to God by praising him in music.
I am on the Student Lighthouse Team, where I lead school tours and help students’ voices be heard.
At school, I also help teachers with grading and organizing papers and cleaning their classrooms. I enjoy helping teachers, since they help me learn new things every day.
By volunteering in the parish and school, I feel closer to God.

(Grace and her parents, Ryan and Jamie Daming, are members of Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ Parish in Indianapolis. She completed the seventh grade at Nativity School this spring, and is the seventh-grade division winner in the Indianapolis Serra Club’s 2020 John D. Kelley Vocations Essay Contest.) †