Keeping the Faith During the Pandemic

 By Ruby Keeney, ’21


The sophomore retreat was led virtually by 
NET Ministries.
Among the difficult times this year, the students here at Delone have come to find the light that could have been lost. We have all strived to work together to unite our community with COVID-19 added into the mix. 

As a member of Peer Ministry, we have remained connected with our spiritual grounds that were instilled in us from the moment we began our education here at Delone Catholic.


We came together to create an atmosphere that would continue the moral integrity of our faith even through the struggles presented to the world. We remain proactive in each of our daily activities of encouraging other students to perform good acts and become “Doers of the Word”. 


“I love to serve our students in relational ministry, so the restrictions of the pandemic have created an added challenge in our ability to gather together,” explained Mrs. Kate Phenicie, Spiritual Life Director. “ I, as well as the students and teachers, really miss getting together as a school community to worship at Mass.”


Although we were restricted on the activities we could produce, Peer Ministry has united to organize the Angel Tree project. 


A fellow peer minister found that this project was “an opportunity that allowed us to think beyond ourselves and help the community.” 


We worked together to encourage the students at Delone to participate in this donation event so children were granted happiness during the holidays. We wanted them to know that they were being thought of in a time when there was no hope for some individuals. 


Peer Ministry focuses on helping others and bringing our faith to life. 


“This separation has made times when we can gather for prayer, worship, or fellowship all the sweeter, even though on a smaller scale,” added Mrs. Phenicie.



Popular posts from this blog

Speech & Debate Team Reigns Supreme After Hiatus

Image
by Maggie Murray '24 Photo Credit: Victoria Staub When people think of Delone Catholic’s championship teams, many people think of the baseball team's district win and the basketball team's various victories, but very few people think of the Speech and Debate team.  Due to Covid, Speech and Debate has been dormant for the past few years, but because of the efforts of coaches Mrs. Jennifer Knechtmann, Social Studies teacher and head coach, and Kaitlin Repp ‘18, as well as the hard work and dedication of the team, the group has returned for a very successful season.  Repp, assistant coach of the team, stated, "In my first year as an assistant coach, I never imagined that the team would be so successful, especially right after Covid. From placing in the top three at tournaments throughout the year to having state semi-finalists and finalists, this year marked a huge milestone for our team."  Each member of the team was tasked with finding a ten-minute piece and perfor...
Read more

Making Headlines: Speech & Debate

Image
by Alessandra Colantoni '27 “In my summary, Speech and Debate is a creative community that closely compares to the theater,” Kali Hilfiger ‘26 says when asked about the sport that she has participated in since eighth grade. Coached by Mr. Derf Maitland, one of the English teachers here at Delone, as well as Mrs. Janet, the members of the speech and debate team work hard each week to perfect and perform what are hoped to be award-winning pieces at one of the many competitions attended throughout the season. Photo courtesy of Derf Maitland  According to Riley Slee ‘24, “We practice in either the library or Mr. Maitland’s room twice a week for about two hours each meeting”. During the duration of these practices, students in the speech category practice their self-chosen pieces from a category of their choice. Category topics include the following: humorous interpretation, dramatic interpretation, poetry, duos, etc.  They then head off to a competition, where their pieces are pre...
Read more

A Clue As to Why Theatre is More Than Just An Extracurricular

Image
 by Aubrey Dittmar '23 Why is theatre important? Senior Joey Chirillo is one of the best students to answer this question. Chirillo is the Delone Catholic Theatre Department’s Sound Director; he controls all of the sound effects you hear during the show along with all of the microphones. Joey had  no prior experience in theatre, but had prior experience working with sound. Since the end of his sophomore year, Joey had spent time with Walter Kotlinsky '22 learning about sound technology during the school Masses and pep rallies.  The cast of Clue photo credit Brienna Richelle Last year he was asked to help out with the fall play Bethel Park Falls and it’s easy to say that he was the perfect fit. Joey not only did exactly what he was supposed to do, but went above and beyond and even added some extra sounds like birds chirping, or crickets, to truly immerse the audience into the scene. Joey liked the job so much that he even continued onto the Spring musical, Seussical , co...
Read more