On Sunday, Oct 1 we are all going to the Good Shepherd 10:30 AM Mass.  Then we’ll get on a bus (or vans if we don’t have enough kids) and drive to Ferdinand.  If we have at least 4 adult chaperones we can give the kids the choice to get their own lunch from McDonald’s or across the street at Arby’s.  Then we’ll go to the Monte Cassino Shrine outside St. Meinrad.  It is a small chapel on top of a wooded hill about a mile away from the Archabbey.  There we will join about 100 to 200 other pilgrims for a rosary pilgrimage.  This includes a monk giving a 10-15 minute talk and then all of us walking around a grass field while praying the rosary.  This is all happening outdoors, the chapel is to tiny to fit us all.  I’ll probably tell the kids about the history of the shrine as well.  Then we’ll drive over to the Archabbey, which has a Benedictine monastery, large church, and several buildings that contain a seminary.  At the Archabbey we’ll eat some snacks and then split into groups and I’ll give the kids pictures of things around the grounds of the Archabbey and challenge them to find those things before the other groups.  This will also be done all outdoors.  Around 4 pm we’ll load up to head back to Good Shepherd and hopefully be there by 5 pm (there aren’t really any good eating options on the way back so we won’t have supper).  The point of the trip is to build community and experience some of the many ways that we can live out our relationship with Jesus.

Let me know if you have any questions.  If your child is interested and/or you are interested in chaperoning, please fill out the Google form by Monday, Sept 25.  And make sure to turn in your money to Mrs. Fulton by that day as well.