Future in better hands than you know

As parents and former teachers, there is sense of frustration that accompanies the sadness we feel when seeing a news story about crimes committed by young people: Sadness for the victims and the kids who weren’t provided with proper guidance and parenting, and frustration for a younger generation that too often gets a bad rap. In truth, there are a lot of really great kids in our communities, and their accomplishments escape our notice too often.

Perhaps it’s human nature that turns our attention to stories that are tragic or sensational. But it’s a tendency that leaves us with a pessimistic view of our own society and, sadly, it conjures negative images of young people. In the minds of many, teens are trouble. How different might our hopes for the future be, if we could see more clearly the selfless acts of kindness, elements of good character and a genuine devotion to community and service among our youth?

St. Paul Lutheran Church in Wheaton is one place that is providing opportunities for young people to come forward in the spirit of service. This summer, St. Paul’s YouthWorks Program sent teens on a mission trip to Raleigh County, W. Va. to provide home repairs and set up a Kids Club for families in a chronically impoverished region.

YouthWorks trips from past years have allowed Wheaton-area young people an opportunity to provide badly needed relief services in New Orleans and to link up with similar Lutheran youth programs across the country.

Since joining St. Paul, we have taken note of the many poised, kind and confident kids from the community. What a contrast they provide to the prevailing images we see so often on TV. From where we sit, the future appears to be in better hands than some people imagine.

John and Diane Campbell

Naperville