A central purpose of St. Francis Central Coast Catholic High School is to provide religious ideals and principles for its students. St. Francis is open to students of all faiths and creeds and is a religious school founded on the belief that happiness in this life depends on love of and service to God and neighbor.
St. Francis teaches the Catholic Christian way of life, which recognizes that people are created by God and, through the merits and teachings of Jesus Christ, are destined to return to God.
What is important in our approach to faith?
- An understanding of the proper use of time and talents.
- A recognition that people are endowed with intelligence, free will and conscience to guide them in fulfillment of the moral law.
- An awareness that each person is responsible for his or her conduct.
- The idea that as a religious and social being each person has obligations to Church and society.
- The belief that education, to be complete, must prepare the student for his eternal happiness and for a useful career in society.
It is to this end that the following religious programs and practices are offered to the student. The Coordinator of Youth Ministry (CYM) directs the religious formation program of the school. In matters of faith and morals, the Bishop of the Diocese of Monterey is preeminent.
Academic Study: All students take a Religious Studies course each semester at St. Francis. These courses seek to go beyond the acquisition of religious facts to an understanding of the Christian faith as it is expressed in action.
Worship: Students participate in periodic worship experiences as part of their regular Religious Studies program. There are also several student body liturgies throughout the school year, and daily prayer is encouraged. Catholic students also have the opportunity to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. The beginning of the school year is marked by a triduum, a time of meditation, prayer, self-examination, and goal setting.
Retreats: During the school year every student will be required to participate in a retreat as another important part of the school's religious education program.
Prayer: Each day the school community is joined together for morning prayer acknowledging God's presence, and seeking God's help for individual and family needs. All classes begin with a short prayer.
Christian Service Program: The Christian Service Program is an ongoing opportunity for students to participate in the practical charity of Christ toward others. Services include blood donation drives, mission collections, food/toys/clothing collections, catechist formation programs, visits to shut-in groups and individuals, and liturgical planning groups.
Christian Service Project: Each student is required to maintain a personal project that has been approved by the CYM. The project may change from time to time, but an on-going commitment to service must be demonstrated. The activity may take many forms, depending on the student, and can be carried out individually or as part of a group. A minimum of 20 hours per year should be devoted to the project. A quarterly report is required and becomes part of the student's religious education file. The report contains details of the student's service (hours, location, activity, and comments from the person supervising them). The student should also write an essay each quarter that discusses how the project serves others, how the project helped with maturity, and what the outcomes from the service have been; photographs may be included. Fund-raising activities may not be included as service projects. Students who do not maintain an active service project, or who fail to devote time to it on a regular basis, will be placed on probation.
Projects should be an on-going, regular, unpaid activity, and should benefit individuals or groups outside the school. Examples of typical service projects follow:
- Working in a food center preparing, collecting, distributing or serving food.
- Go to convalescent hospital(s) and visit with the people living there.
- Tutoring students from other schools.
- Reading to the sight-impaired or blind.
- Helping at a hospital as a volunteer.
- Teaching religious education in a parish program.
- Coaching, or helping to coach, an elementary school athletic team.
- Mentoring a student from another school.
- Recycling.
- Cleaning parks, roadsides, cemeteries, or beaches.
- Helping civic groups (Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis, Y.L.I.) on a regular basis.
- Coordinating the work of parish altar servers.
- Helping at spay/neuter clinics.
- Writing, telephoning, or E-mailing a homebound person.
- Helping at a community garden
Campus Ministry The Campus Ministry program at St. Francis Central Coast Catholic High School ministers to the entire school community: students, teachers, staff members, alumni, and families. Together with the entire church, it works to teach Jesus' message, build Jesus' community, and serve others as Jesus did. This is accomplished through the unique Salesian spirituality given by St. John Bosco.
The Youth Ministry program operates as follows. The Coordinator of Youth Ministry (CYM) together with the Youth Ministry Team, oversees, coordinates, and supports all areas of student involvement and ministry: Christian Service, Peer Ministry, Athletics, liturgies, retreats and religion. The CYM is specifically responsible for all ministries to young people on and off campus and is assisted by others in this work.