Catholic students, couples live faith in program

COLUMBUS -- A Catholic-based program is helping students grow in their faith.

More than 190 high school students are taking part in the Godparents program, through which adult couples host youth gatherings in their homes. There the group discuss faith issues and how those issues relate to them in today’s world, said Belinda Keiter, youth ministry coordinator for St. Bonaventure Church.

The program was started in 1995 and is based off a similar program in Omaha. Keiter and her husband, Dan, and another couple were the first to get it started here.

It has grown from its early days to now include 16 couples and 193 students in grades 9-12. Students and couples are committed to the program for four years.

It is meant to have them paired for the students’ four years of high school. Each couple has between 10-15 students they are Godparents to.

The groups gather at their Godparents house once a week throughout the school year. One Godparent couple is Mark and Sandy Swope. The pair are Godparents to a group of juniors.

Sandy Swope said being involved in Godparents gives her a lot of satisfaction knowing that she and her husband are helping kids. It also has helped her have a better understanding of what youth are thinking about and facing today.

Sarah Paprocki, a junior from Columbus High School, who has been in the program for two years, said she wanted to take part because she was looking for something more than just being involved in her church’s youth group.

“(The youth group) wasn’t what I was looking for. My sister was in Godparents and she loved it. She encouraged me to get involved,” Paprocki said.

What she enjoys about the program is being able to meet with her own peers to discuss issues that matter to them.

Brooke Orender, another CHS junior, said the program has helped her grow in her faith and get a different perspective to issues. Some of the topics that have been touched on include rights versus responsibilities, morality issues and sexuality issues.

Aside from talking about their faith, the students also do community service projects. One of those was a Wednesday evening food drive for the Simon House. Students went around neighborhoods asking for non-perishable goods. Those donations were then taken to the Simon House.

All students from each of the local high schools and local Catholic parishes are involved in the program. Keiter said students who are interested can attend four gatherings first to see if they like the program before they are asked to make a commitment.

Godparents is elective for both students and couples.

“They are here because they want to be here. All of the kids and couples don’t have to be here. No one makes them be here,” Keiter said.

Anyone interested in getting involved in the Godparents program can call Keiter at the St. Bonaventure’s at 564-7151.