Caption: Renato Sousa’s Connection Group meets during lunch on Wednesdays to talk about life and their walk with God. [by Renato Sousa]
by Miguel Ribeiro
One of the many topics being discussed within student life at PACA is the beginning of the Connection groups that provide spiritual support for students on a weekly basis.
Many students were feeling anxious and had various opinions about how the new groups were to be formed. This year has started differently due to the addition of new teachers to lead these groups.
There are groups formed within high school grades and middle school grades. As the numbers of students increase in both high and middle school, it is a goal to keep the groups small in number.
The leader of Connections Groups is Mr. Lucas Ham Swisher [known as Mr. Ham] who is also the school chaplain at PACA.
“This is my second year and honestly it is a very different experience than last year,” siad Mr. Ham. “I changed the size of the groups because I felt they needed to be smaller. We got a lot of new students so it made things a little more complicated.”
Although this made things more difficult to organize, Mr. Ham feels that it is a blessing to start the new year with many of the groups getting along.
“I am very excited to see how the teachers and students are going to grow,” said Ham. Especially in “their knowledge of understanding of Christ and their relationship with one another.”
There was a great impact in last year’s group and this year. Many students have adapted to the idea and are up to the challenge, making their group special and unique.
One of the freshmen students at PACA, Vitor Silva, had a great experience so far in his Connections group and he is full of high expectations for the school year.
“I think it has been a great time to talk about our lives,” said Silva. “And we can share our experiences.”
Themes for the Connection meetings were also very talked about among students this year. Will the meetings be strictly run? Are we going to roam through the Bible? Are we going to talk about each other’s week?
Both High and Middle school groups had these questions in mind.
According to Mr. Ham, there should be a balance of structure and freedom in a Connections group meeting.
“There should be some freedom for groups to decide, especially high school,” said Ham. “Middle school is a little more guided…but I always give the option for teachers to give their own devotion or own focus.”
For high school students, Ham sees the need for more involvement from the students in regards to the topic, while providing structure so that the conversation doesn’t become one dimensional.
“It makes us focus on a variety and be well rounded followers of Christ,” said Ham.
Students are very hopeful for this new year as Connections groups have been meeting for a few weeks already. Many are looking forward to a year of variety, with the hope of offering different opinions, experiences and ways of talking. Most of all, they are hoping for a great time of learning and diving into the word of God.
