I'm Francesca, almost 18, and for the past four years I've been part of the big Faith and Light family.
I'm writing to tell you about the wonderful experience we had in my group, St. Francis, hoping it might be a moment for reflection for others too.
Three years ago, we thought of doing something different with the young people. We imagined meeting together on an afternoon; we could draw, sing, have snacks, and do lots of other things.
That's how the "Workshop" project began. Our parish, SS. Protomartiri, gave us a room all to ourselves once a week. At first it wasn't easy. We quickly realized how hard it was to work, stay focused, and have fun all at the same time.
The young people were thrilled, but to us it felt chaotic. On Mondays when the workshop met, lots of people would stop by to say hello. It was lovely, but it got the kids wound up. They lost interest in working—too busy laughing and listening to everyone else talk.
After a few weeks, we realized something had to change.
We needed real organization. When we arrived, we needed to know exactly what we'd be doing, without wasting time making it up as we went.
It was also crucial to value each young person's work—to match it to what they could actually do—and to help everyone learn to focus, respect what others were doing, and honor the quiet some of them needed to work. We also had to learn not to waste the materials we were given.
So we sat down, looked at what wasn't working, brainstormed solutions, and started fresh.
We divided into work groups to cut down on confusion and so each young person could get individual attention.
We all did the same project, but adjusted the difficulty level for each person, and we organized ourselves like an assembly line.
Everyone did the work they loved best.
Andrea's real gift was making napkin rings from yarn. Every so often he'd lose track of the ball of wool and laugh while asking for help to wind it back up.
Luca finished the masks, always wanting to paint them in colors that matched different soccer teams. But first, Silvia would help him soften the clay perfectly—which let her practice moving her hands well.
Antonio taught all of us how to work with wicker: he churned out baskets without stopping, barely noticing what else was happening in the room. He'd only look for someone when he'd run out of material.
We learned to value each person's work, adapt it to their abilities, concentrate, and respect what others were doing
We learned to value each person's work, adapt it to their abilities, concentrate, and respect what others were doingNow we're working on mosaics, where everyone can play with different designs and colors however they like. They're all so happy to show off their finished artwork to each other.
By this point, we're all fired up—especially because we see how much it matters to each of us to spend Mondays together.
There's no chance anyone forgets about workshop. Every time the young people see us, they remind us it's coming up.
This experience really means something to me, and I'm so glad to be part of it.
The best thing is seeing the light in their eyes, and realizing that work is fun when you do it with people you CARE ABOUT.
- Francesca Polcaro, 1988