CHATHAM — As part of their faith formation, 15 soon-to-be ninth-graders from St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Chatham attended a freshman retreat on Aug. 5, says Amy McKenzie, the new parish faith formation coordinator for grades 7-12.

"We call it an 'it' retreat," McKenzie explains. "We have a motto that is 'Love it. Pray it. Live it.' And 'it' is your faith."

As a part of the retreat, the young people worked in extreme heat, performing community service projects around the Chatham area. They cleaned garages and landscaped yards for some senior parishioners.

"They worked at seven homes of parishioners who were age 65 and older; in fact some of them were quite a bit older than 65," McKenzie says. "Also, the gazebo area in Chatham's main square really needed some work, so they performed some major landscaping there."

After they completed the service projects, the freshmen spent the remainder of the evening worshipping with upperclassmen and adult parishioners.

McKenzie says that she is still fairly new to the parish but she has gained a new respect for the St. Joseph youth. "These freshmen are some of the hardest-working teens that I've had the pleasure to work with," she says. "They willingly gave up their Friday evening to help several older folks who no longer can do this type of heavy landscaping and cleaning. These kids are really making a difference in their community."

McKenzie recognizes that life changes for teens once they enter ninth grade, and she wants to help. "These kids are entering high school. We want them to stay grounded in their faith and to keep their faith and know it will be there for them in good times and bad times," she says. "And we know there will probably be some bad times in high school. We want them to know that just because they are growing up doesn't mean they grow away from the church."