Spiritual Life
“They both thrive/thrived from being encouraged to be the best person they can be… religiously, socially, academically and athletically.”
Welcome to UHS
Campus Ministry
Nicky Uerling
Campus Minister
I am so excited to be serving alongside all of you in the dynamic, faith-filled community of Ursuline High School! Together, we will have opportunities to grow in our faith both inside and outside of the classroom.
The mission statement of Ursuline High School invites us to be “living witnesses to the wisdom and virtue of Christ and his Church.” Campus Ministry participates in this mission by drawing students into full and active participation in their faith life.
We do this through:
- Morning Prayer
- Mass and Prayer Services
- Reconciliation Services
- Retreats
- Service Opportunities
Students have the opportunity to engage in planning liturgical experiences through the Student Liturgy Committee, provide music at our Mass and Prayer services with El Fuego, take time away from the business of life during retreat days, and serve others through many service opportunities.
I look forward to being a part of this family of faith. Soli Deo Gloria.
Prayer & Worship Schedule
All liturgies or prayer services begin at 10:00am in the Ursuline gym unless otherwise noted. All students, parents, alumni, and friends of Ursuline are invited to attend Morning Liturgy on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:20 AM in the Father Daniel M. Venglarik Chapel.
- Friday, August 26, 2022
Opening of School Prayer Service, UHS Gym - Thursday, September 22, 2022
Senior Retreat - Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Sophomore Retreat - Thursday, September 29, 2022
Freshmen and Junior Retreats - Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Feast of St. Ursula Mass, UHS Gym at 10:30 a.m. - Tuesday, November 1, 2022
Feast of All Saints Day, UHS Gym - Tuesday, November 22, 2022
Thanksgiving Mass with Bishop Bonnar, UHS Gym - Thursday, December 8, 2022
Feast of The Immaculate Conception, UHS Gym - Tuesday – Friday, December 13- 16, 2022
Sacrament of Reconciliation, Learning Center - Wednesday, December 21, 2022
Advent Prayer Service, UHS Gym - Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Feast of St. Angela Merici, UHS Gym - Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Ash Wednesday Mass, UHS Gym - Wednesday, March 1, 2023
Lenten Mass (Grades 9 and 12), UHS Auditorium - Tuesday – Friday, March 7-10, 2023
Sacrament of Reconciliation, Learning Center - Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Lenten Mass (Grades 10 and 11), UHS Auditorium - Wednesday, April 5, 2023
Stations of the Cross, UHS Gym - Wednesday, April 19, 2023
NHS Induction Mass, UHS Gym at 10:30 a.m. - Friday, May 26, 2023
Senior Baccalaureate Mass, St. Columba Cathedral at 6:20 p.m.
Liturgical Ministries
At the start of each academic year, all students, Catholic and non-Catholic, receive a Liturgical Ministries survey through their religion classes. Students are asked to prayerfully consider ways in which they may serve God and the Ursuline faith community through the following Liturgical Ministries:
Altar Servers
Altar Servers sign up in August through their Religion class to assist at Masses. Although past experience is appreciated, interested students need not be altar servers in their Catholic parish. Training is provided to anyone new to this ministry. Both young women and men may be trained as altar servers.
Eucharistic Ministries
Seniors are invited to participate in the special role of Eucharistic Minister. Eucharistic Ministers provide extensive training after school and are commissioned to serve during our Feast of St. Ursula Liturgy. Once commissioned as Eucharistic Ministers, students may also serve in their home parish.
Readers
Readers take on the important ministry of proclaiming the Word of God and Petitions at all-school Masses and Prayer Services. Students interested in becoming a lector should sign up on the Liturgical Ministry Survey distributed through all religion classes in the fall of the academic year. Readers meet on the day of Mass to rehearse the selected readings.
Liturgical Choir
The Liturgical Choir, El Fuego, is open to all interested students. El Fuego, Spanish for “The Fire,” brings music and song to all Ursuline worship experiences. El Fuego is open to vocalists and musicians. The choir meets to practice after school on Mondays in the Band Room. Practice is also held on the day of the liturgy during period three. Occasionally, El Fuego is asked to sing for Diocesan Masses and community events.
Liturgy Committee
The Liturgy Committee, made up of all student volunteers meets after school to plan school Masses and Prayer Services. Members of the Liturgy Committee support our worship experience with their creativity and leadership. Students interested in joining the Liturgy Committee may sign up on the Liturgical Survey in August through their religion class.
Morning Mass with Father Murphy and Father Peters
Students are invited to assist as sacristans or readers at morning mass in the Rev. Daniel Venglarik Chapel where Fr. Murphy presides.
 Father Murphy |
Father Murphy |
Service
Senior Christian Service
The Religious Education Curriculum includes a service-learning component for seniors. Those who choose to apply for this course and are accepted will spend one semester visiting four sites each week. These locations include elder facilities, preschools, elementary schools, and a variety of community locations. Listed below are many of the sites Ursuline students have enjoyed during the past several semesters.
Elder Care/Assisted Living:
Heritage Manor, Inn at Christine Valley, Liberty Arms, Meridian Arms, Omni West, Ursuline Motherhouse Health Care, Park Vista
Pre-School/Day Care:
Candy Cane Workshop, Sunny Days Preschool at St. Rose, Ursuline Preschool and Kindergarten (UPSK), Early Childhood Learning Center at St. Luke’s, St. Patrick’s Preschool Hubbard, Early Childhood Learning Center at St. Joseph’s, Oblate Sisters Preschool and Kindergarten
Elementary School:
Saint Christine, Saint Joseph the Provider, Saint Rose
Community:
Purple Cat, Leonard Kirtz School, Potter’s Wheel, Rescue Ministries, St. Vincent de Paul Dining Hall and Food Pantry, Our Community Kitchen, Rich Center for Autism
Included in their work for this course is an on-site evaluation from their supervisors, excellent attendance, and academic assignments in order to receive their religion credit. Each student keeps a daily journal of his or her reflections for their service work. A research project on a topic, which relates to one of their locations, a storytelling project for the children at their preschool, in-class discussions and in-service training, elementary sign language, and reflection papers on videos comprise the curriculum for this course.
Students of Stewardship
Students of Stewardship is an extracurricular service organization dedicated to serving various local charities including the Rescue Mission, Habitat for Humanity, and Casa Madre, among others. They also raise money throughout the year to defray the cost of their culminating activity, a mission trip to an area in need, such as Nicaragua, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, and others. Students in grades 9 through 12 are welcome to join S.O.S., although the Mission Trip is open to only upper classmen.
Interact
Another extracurricular service organization is the Interact Club, which is affiliated with Rotary International. It is open to all students who wish to enhance leadership skills, serve their community and expand international understanding. Projects address today’s most critical issues such as hunger, the environment and illiteracy.
School Wide Service Efforts
In addition to the above activities, various Ursuline organizations sponsor the following school wide service projects:
- Ursuline Day of Service
- City Wide Beautification and Clean-Up Projects
- Thanksgiving & Christmas Food Drives
- Clothing Drives
- Collections for the Ursuline Sisters’
- HIV/AIDS Ministry & Beatitude House
- Ursuline Family Emergency Fund
Retreat Program
As a Catholic High School, the spiritual development of young people is of paramount importance. Retreat days allow students to deepen their personal relationship with God and to reflect on how they can apply the Gospel message of Jesus to their daily lives.
For each class, one day is set-aside for students to leave campus and participate in a day-long retreat experience. The theme of the retreat day relates to the subject matter of that grade. Time is given for input, personal prayer and community building activities.
Grade 9:
The freshman retreat day, schedule in the beginning weeks of school, help the class embark on their Ursuline experience as a class. The day begins with a walking journey to the nearby campus of Youngstown State University, Kilcawley Center, for a day of presentations, activities, prayer, reflections, discussions. lunch, and activities to promote class unity. The retreat presenter, Fr. Damien Ference from St. Mary Seminary Cleveland, will facilitate the retreat day. Students walk back to school in the afternoon in time for wrap of the retreat day and dismissal.
Grade 10:
The junior retreat focuses on various social justice issues that students will encounter as part of their Junior religious education course of study, as well as issues that they will encounter in their lives. Some of the topics of the day are: taking care of God’s creation, fair trade, the distribution of power within society and its effects on people from all walks of life and parts of the world, and finally human trafficking which has become an ever increasing problem in the world but more specifically in the United States. Input, discussion and reflection are the major components of the day.
Grade 11:
The sophomore retreat day, “The Face of Christ”, raises students’ awareness of how we encounter Jesus Christ in the “other”; the poor, marginalized, our family members, classmates and in the face of all those in need of our compassion and love. This Gospel Message theme supports the sophomore religion class of New Testament which all students take during second semester. The retreat day, held at nearby Youngstown State University, incorporates music, prayer, activities, lunch, fun and laughter, allowing for the class to build upon the unity they have begun to form in their freshman year. The retreat director, Mr. Ben Walther, Director of Campus Ministry at Walsh University, will help students begin to discern how God is calling them to be the Face of Christ for others in our world.
Grade 12:
The focus of the senior retreat allows the students to reflect on their lives, to look forward to the many decisions they will make in the upcoming months, to repair relationships and to ask forgiveness. It is also a time to deepen their prayer life and experience new forms of praying, to walk the labyrinth with their peers, who are their companions on this journey to adulthood and to express gratitude for all the gifts they have been given. It is also a time to look inward and decide the type of adult they wish to become.