To continue the theme of “new beginnings” from last week’s bulletin, I am excited to share about
another new beginning for the parish. For the first time ever (at least as far as anyone I have spoken to can recall) we are going to be getting a Yale Divinity School student who will be doing a ministry internship at the parish during the entire upcoming academic year. I asked her to share a bit about herself with me for the purpose of this article, which I am happy to, in turn, share with all of you.
Our intern, Jasmine Click, who prefers to go by Jazz, is a second year Master’s student at Yale
Divinity School studying Theological Ethics. She is from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Although she
was raised by an atheist family, God called her home to the Catholic Church in 2018 when she
was baptized and confirmed at the Easter Vigil. The Eucharist and the communion of saints
played a special role in her conversion. In particular, The Acts of the Apostles from the Bible and
the stories of St. Rose of Lima, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Therese of Lisieux helped her along
the way. Jazz loves to talk about her conversion story so please ask! Today Jazz lives in East
Rock with her husband Sam, their cat Zola, and their two bunnies Peony and Toulouse. She also
loves knitting, reading, and hiking. Her favorite way to pray is with a good book by a saint or
with the Liturgy of the Hours.
If you’re wondering, “What does it mean to have a Div student intern? What is she going to do?”
then you’re not alone. Honestly, we’re still figuring that out from our end as well. She’ll likely be
assisting with RCIA and be involved in some of the activities of the social justice committee, our
Frassati young adult group, our Adult Faith Formation series, and perhaps other groups/
ministries in the parish. She will also especially early on do a fair amount of “being around”
and simply observing how the various ministries in the parish go about their tasks.
In the big picture, the goals of the internship are twofold. On one hand, there is the expectation
that she will be able to provide concrete assistance to the ministerial work of the parish. On the
other hand, there is also an educational goal for her, so that by the time we reach next May, she
will have a much better understanding of all of the complexities involved in the workings of a
parish and the execution of its many ministries and programs. Jazz has shared with me that she
has a desire to work for the Church in some capacity after she completes her degree, so part of
my goal, as the pastor and as her supervisor, is to help her to learn as much as she can this year
not only about our own parish, but also about the wider Catholic Church and the huge varieties
of ways Catholic lay people are serving the Church both through volunteer and paid positions at
both the parish and diocesan levels, as well as through Catholic nonprofit organizations that fall
outside the direct structures of a diocese or parish. So, in short, we are excited to welcome Jazz and look forward to her
presence in our parish over the months ahead. When you see her,
whether in person or via some Zoom event, please say hello and
help her to feel welcome.
God Bless,
Fr. John Paul Walker, O.P.
Commentaires