Utilizing their talents

Everything we have is given to us by God. Do we see ourselves as stewards or owners? The answer makes all the difference.
 
The Gospel writer Matthew documented Jesus’ lesson of the parable of the talents to illustrate how stewards used their master’s money. To put this into action, the seventh-grade students and faculty at St. Mary’s Academy in Bismarck used this parable to create a learning experience.
 
The parable of the talents is a story of a man going on a journey, who entrusted his wealth to his servants. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then, he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But, the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
 
In line with the parable, each seventh grader was given a talent (a sum of $10) and a period of time in which they were asked to use their creativity to increase the talent/money with which they’d been entrusted. The project was made possible with the cooperation of an anonymous donor.
 
At the appointed time, each student gave an account of what they did with their talent/money and returned it as required in the parable of the talents. The hope was that students would be good stewards and return more than they were given. At the very least, each student, like the third servant, was expected to return what he or she was given.
 
The parable of the talents project spanned 18 days giving each student time to invest and increase the size of their talents. The project was initiated by religion teacher, Duane Eichele, who had done projects like this in the past, but hadn’t for years.
 
Focus on African Mission
 
Eichele said that many of the students had seen the diocesan-produced video about the African Mission in Kenya that was shown at parishes this spring. The students came to him with the idea to raise money for the mission’s water purification project—a highlight of the video. The video featured a simple, inexpensive way to filter dirty water into much-needed clean drinking water using a filtration kit that can be purchased and donated to the African Mission and the surrounding community members. Eichele knew the time was right to “dust off” an old idea and take advantage of the students’ enthusiasm for this specific humanitarian project.
 
Astonishingly, the 107 seventh graders turned their $10 into $10,860 to be donated to the African Mission for water filtration kits. The students presented the check to Bishop Kagan following the school Mass on May 9.
 
Creative money making
 
Student projects varied, showcasing the creativity that only a young mind on fire for a cause can muster. They held bake sales and car washes. They walked dogs, picked up trash, mowed lawns, volunteered and babysat. They made and sold rosaries, prayer bracelets, paintings, origami, custom greeting cards, pillows, baked goods, salsa, lemonade, ice cream sundaes and root beer floats. You name it…they did it all in the name of charity.
 
Eichele was amazed at the creativity and enthusiasm. A couple girls made custom bracelets after taking orders and ended up making $510. Another team of girls making and delivering bakery orders garnered $710 for their efforts. These are just two examples of the many endeavors.
 
“One student had tried three different things and ran into obstacles each time,” Eichele explained. “But, he didn’t give up. He came to me and told me that he ended up picking up trash and made money doing it…He had stooped so low as to pick up trash. That’s a genuine lesson in humility.”
 
The teachers even got in on the action. Although none of them started with $10 like the students, many used their own “start up” money to contribute in different ways. The students also received donations from family members and neighbors who found out about their efforts.
 
“Never, in my wildest dreams, did I think they’d raise that much money. They just wouldn’t let it go and insisted we needed to do this for the Mission,” Eichele said as he reflected on the little lessons and graces that come out of a project like this. “It was amazing to see how their lives were changed by changing the lives of others.”
 
About more than money
 
From the beginning, the lesson was about much more than money. While there were hopes on increasing the money, the focus remained on what this parable could teach in terms of life lessons. What could the parable of the talents teach the students about creativity, success, humility, charity, wealth and equality?
 
While the students went to work thinking of ideas on how to increase their talents, the teachers at the Academy collaborated on how to incorporate the project across the seventh-grade curriculum. For example, in religion class, the students discovered how to connect the social teachings of the Catholic Church with the parables of Jesus Christ. In science class, the students conducted water filtration experiments. In social studies, the students learned more about life in Kenya. In math, the students engaged in creating a financial plan to track their money. English language arts helped the students create a journal in which they recorded all the steps, decisions and results of their project. Band, physical education, and even the school counselor was on board and engaged the students with this endeavor.
 
The parable lesson became a true team effort among the students and faculty. And, at about $60 per filter kit, amounted to more than 180 water filters for the diocesan African Mission and the people of Kenya.