Where the Bible and Facebook Merge

St. Vincent de Paul High School theology teacher Stephen Morris knows that it can be hard to get through to his teen students.

So the 36-year-old is always looking for new ways to teach his curriculum, posting assignments, notes and extra credit on his Facebook page, knowing full well that many of his students spend a lot of time on the site.

Now Morris is trying an experiment: asking his students and others to perform 36 random acts of kindness on Saturday in honor of his birthday and post what they did to his Facebook page.

“It’s the whole ‘pay it forward idea,’” says Morris who is in his second year of teaching at St. Vincent High School. “Doing things for others creates a ripple effect where the kindness is passed on.”

Morris says his idea has caught on with his students and others at the school, with more than 90 people so far pledging to perform an act of kindness. The point is to connect the doing good with the Bible’s main tenet: love your neighbor. 

“Church is the community that’s built on relationships with one another. So how we treat people is really important,” he says. 

Do you know someone in our community who deserves our attention? Send a news tip to karina@patch.com