St. Ben's Religious Ed Student Creates Award-winning Poster

Debra Maynor speaks with a lovely Australian accent, and her voice is filled with pride at the thought of the accomplishments of her four sons.

She has lived in the United States for about 12 years now, and she currently lives in Newburgh. Her sons attend religious education classes at St. Benedict Cathedral in Evansville.

Coleman is her second son, and last fall he told her about an invitation he received from his teacher to write an essay or a poem or to create a poster about vocations for the Evansville Serra Club.

When Debra asked her son where he wanted to focus his attention, he told her that he thought most students would choose to do a project about priests or deacons. He wanted to do something on religious sisters because they don't get "mentioned" enough. And, he explained, he wanted to focus on the Daughters of Charity.

He asked his mom, "Isn't that who taught you when you were a little girl in Australia?" She answered, "Yes, they taught us our bible."

He said, "I bet they do a lot we don't know about."

Debra says her son is a child to "loves to take on things he doesn't know a lot about," and when he started his research, he told his mom, "I don't know a lot about the Daughters of Charity -- but I will." He spent time on the Internet and at the library, and as he studied he discovered how "international" they are, working in India, Japan and Australia. "They are everywhere," he told his mom.

Coleman's dad used to be a police officer, and now he serves in the U.S. military. The eighth grader told his mom that he found the Daughters of Charity "are just like police officers. They are on call all the time. They are dedicated to helping people. They are like mothers -- they look after people, but for the community.

“They are a 24-hour, seven-day a week, 365-day a year organization. They are there all the time for whatever anybody needs.”

He told his mom he wanted his poster to show other students what a “commendable” organization they are.

Debra said her husband has told their four sons that he is part of a "bigger cause," particularly when he has to be away from them on deployments. In his research, Coleman came to the conclusion that the Daughters are also "there for the bigger cause."

It took him about a week to complete the poster. He placed a crucifix at its center "because that's what they are."

Marty Horning is the DRE at St. Ben's. "When I saw the poster for the first time I was astounded. The poster was so well done,  and so much time and energy was put into it -- right down to the colors which are the Daughters' colors.

"It was so thorough and easily understood. It included pictures of every avenue of the history and work of the Daughters down to the history here in Evansville.

"I was so intrigued with Coleman's work that I took the poster to show it to our pastor, Father Gregory Chamberlin. He, too, was 'wowed' with this Serra entry. I have seen lots of wonderful entries over my years as a DRE but have never witnessed anything like this entry.

"I knew this poster could not sit on a shelf and be placed out of sight. I called Seton Residence and asked to speak to Sister Theresa Sullivan, their vocations person. I told her about this poster and she right away said she would love to have it. A  Daughters of Charity sister who attends daily Mass here at St. Ben's picked up the poster and within a few days I received a call from Sister Theresa who told me how wonderful the poster was and that they had already taken the poster with them on vocation talks in the diocese. She really was enthralled with it and said when the poster was not used for talks, it would be on display at Seton."

Horning believes the poster "is what the Serra Club is all about -- carrying the message of vocations to everyone. What a wonderful gift Coleman is sharing with so many folks, so many youth.

"To think this all began with a simple request to an eighth grade student concerning vocations from the Serra Club of Evansville! Hopefully, the effects of Coleman's labor will open eyes and touch hearts for years to come."