{"id":80012,"date":"2015-10-28T04:39:08","date_gmt":"2015-10-28T09:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aleteia.org\/?post_type=post&p=80012"},"modified":"2015-10-28T04:39:08","modified_gmt":"2015-10-28T09:39:08","slug":"high-school-students-volunteer-to-serve-as-pallbearers-for-those-who-die-alone-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2015\/10\/high-school-students-volunteer-to-serve-as-pallbearers-for-those-who-die-alone-2\/","title":{"rendered":"High school students volunteer to serve as pallbearers for those who die alone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"12107937_10153718223636514_5243130731076580630_n\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Some may remember the story I posted last year about Jim\u00a0Skerl<\/a><\/strong>, the teacher at Cleveland\u2019s St. Ignatius High School. In\u00a02002, he established a group called the St. Joseph of Arimathea Pallbearer Society, made up of young men who volunteer to serve as pallbearers at the funerals of people who had no one to bury them.<\/p>\n

I preached about his inspiring life\u2014and brave death\u2014last year on All Souls Day.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0I mentioned that, over 14 years, the pallbearer society had accompanied more than 1,200 souls on their final journey. At Jim Skerl\u2019s funeral, some 300 students\u2014past and present members of the St. Joseph of Arimathea Pallbearer Society\u2014lined the walls of the church.<\/p>\n

Well, his legacy lives on:<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

As part of a unique volunteer program, teens at a Detroit area high school are paying their respects to local veterans by serving as pallbearers for those who might not otherwise receive a proper funeral.<\/p>\n

If the family of a military veteran cannot be located for 90 days after their death, the Dignity Memorial Network\u2019s Homeless Veterans Program provides them with a casket, according to funeral home director John Desmond. However, there are usually no pallbearers to carry them \u2014 until now.<\/p>\n

The all-boys\u00a0University of Detroit Jesuit School<\/a>\u00a0pairs with local funeral homes like Desmond\u2019s to coordinate efforts for these fallen military members. The first funerals involving the teens were held earlier this month after more than 50 students participated in a training program, led by faculty member Todd Wilson.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The students] believe that, through being a pallbearer at the funerals of veterans, the homeless, the socially poor and others, they are \u2026 offering a final tribute to a person\u2019s life journey,\u201d\u00a0Wilson tells TODAY<\/a>.\u200b<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The AP report notes:\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The ministry was conceived by students in the school\u2019s Ignatian Service Corps, or service team, as a way to better serve the community. It is similar to a program at another Jesuit high school, St. Ignatius, in Cleveland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for the young men here at U of D, it teaches them the value and dignity of life at all levels,\u201d said Todd Wilson.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What a great gift to leave the world.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some may remember the story I posted last year about Jim\u00a0Skerl, the teacher at Cleveland\u2019s St. Ignatius High School. In\u00a02002, he established a group called the St. Joseph of Arimathea Pallbearer Society, made up of young men who volunteer to serve as pallbearers at the funerals of people who had no one to bury them. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11498,23,45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education-4","category-inspiration","category-ripped-from-the-headlines"],"yoast_head":"\nHigh school students volunteer to serve as pallbearers for those who die alone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some may remember the story I posted last year about Jim\u00a0Skerl, the teacher at Cleveland\u2019s St. Ignatius High School. 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