Saint Paul’s offers a new initiative on campus in which Saint Paul’s students form an intentional faith community of 8-10 students centered on faith-sharing and living virtuously. 

The community meets periodically during lunch and also attends masses together during the week.

Saint Paul’s seniors Jacob Strecker and Kaiden Klebba set into motion this organization that meets weekly during lunch.

In their junior years, Strecker and Klebba received the Sacrament of Confirmation at Our Lady of the Lake Roman Catholic Church (OLL). Being invigorated in their faiths by the sacrament, they signed up to lead small groups and help form the next group of Confirmanti (Confirmation students) in their faiths.

A year later on the leaders retreat, a retreat the small group leaders went on to prepare to shoulder the task of guiding the new confirmation students, Strecker noticed the need for young men in high school to develop a relationship with God.

“Knowing who God is and forming a relationship with him is key to a good life. I believe that there is a need for young men to grow closer to Him all throughout high school and to not only form a relationship with God but also institute a community of brothers.”

Strecker came to Klebba to discuss this need and what they could do to help.

The two had noticed an opportunity to expand upon support systems in place to aid in developing student faith. Strecker and Klebba wished there were more outlets to discuss their faith journeys in a way that promoted spiritual growth outside of the religion classes, but there simply weren’t enough. 

Klebba maintains that this initiative is the solution to two seniors’ problem:

“The quest for identity, especially throughout one’s high-school years, is constantly in focus. What I have found in my faith recently, and what I know to be true, is that real identity is found through God. That opportunity to find yourself through Christ is unparalleled. This group opens people’s eyes to a chance they may not have understood or even realized they had in the first place. We are always in search for an answer. It is always God.”

A typical lunch meeting will start with a prayer led by a student and then transition to a group discussion, the topic of which is determined by the students. This allows the students to drive the dialogue. 

These communities will extend outside lunch and into other facets of the students’ lives.

For example, the group attends 6:30 a.m. mass at St. Peter Catholic Church on Wednesdays and Fridays, giving them an opportunity to grow together as friends and as sons of God.

This will create a group of people that each student can come to for help, whether that be with his faith or otherwise, therefore providing the support group that Strecker and Klebba saw was lacking.

Any student who wishes to know more or sign up can email Strecker at Benjamin.Strecker.2024@stpauls.com or Klebba at Kaiden.Klebba.2024@stpauls.com.