On a cool October morning, 50 Mount St. Mary Catholic High School first-year theology students stepped off their school bus into an open field. In the distance, the smell of a warm burning campfire welcomed them.
Except for the buzz of the students’ voices, an occasional “moo” from a cow, and the crow of a rooster nearby, it was quiet. The students had left their brick-and-mortar classrooms for the day and entered a new kind of “school.”
Deacon Robert Dunlap, the freshman theology instructor at Mount St. Mary Catholic High School, is taking theology outdoors. Deacon Dunlap and a team of supporters developed “Soil to Soul,” a nonprofit initiative that works from a biblical worldview to help teenagers and post-high school students transition into adulthood.
In this, its pilot year, Deacon Dunlap hopes the hands-on experience awakens students’ senses to help provide meaning and purpose in their lives. On this day, before “class” began, students formed a circle and bowed their heads to pray.
“Father, thank you for the dirt today we get to work in,” Deacon Dunlap prayed over the students. “We are truly going to be grounded in the gifts that you have given us. We are going to get our hands into the humus, the soil, and we know that you, in your beautiful, poetic language in Genesis, created us from the soil, and today we are going to live in that and be mindful of that.”
Students travel to TRJ Ranch in Lincoln County eight times throughout the school year, immersing themselves in God’s creation. Part of the purpose behind Soil to Soul is to inspire students to recognize and actively participate in the world around them.
The program brings theology to life by focusing on three main areas: agriculture, vocational/technical and introduction to emergency medicine/first responder training.
On the ranch, students participate in small-scale farming, gardening, soil and land management, general carpentry, woodworking and metalworking. By the end of the year, each student aims to earn a certification in CPR for infants and adults.
Working from the soil up, Deacon Dunlap and his team weave theological concepts into every element of ranch life. Ideally, students use a combination of theological training and work experience to build a heart of humility and gratitude that will serve them as they enter adulthood more prepared for life’s challenges.
“Last month, I showed them how to build a fire,” said Cindy Alexander, a retired paramedic and former FBI agent. Alexander and her husband, Deacon Frank Alexander, a retired U.S. Army Ranger, former FBI special agent and retired EMT, are part of the core support team.
“I would say two-thirds of them had never done anything like that,” she said.
According to the World Health Organization, depression, anxiety and behavioral disorders are among the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents, with suicide the third leading cause of death among ages 15-29. The purpose of the Soil to Soul initiative combines theology with hands-on experience to foster physical and mental health that otherwise might limit young people to lead fulfilling lives as adults.
Principal Laura Cain, Ph.D., joined the theology class for the day. Cain said the experiential nature of S2S enriches theology students at The Mount.
“I really love it. I’m fully on board,” she said. “This gives students an opportunity to make meaning out of what they’re learning in the classroom and apply some of those principles from scripture and their theological curriculum in concrete ways through tasks.
“I am excited about this initiative and about this being the first class to go through it.”
Deacon Dunlap said the support of Cain, fellow theology teacher Brian Boeckman and all the faculty and staff at Mount St. Mary helped turn this vision into a reality. Deacon Dunlap’s wife, Sherri, and his sister-in-law, Diane Dunlap, both registered nurses, are core team members and oversee CPR training.
Joined by daughter Taylor Lothes, Deacons Larry Germann and Pat Gaffney have been instrumental in the day-to-day operations, strategic planning and instruction. His son, Joshua, oversees the woodworking components.
By lunch, the students were hungry. But there is still work to be done: preparing and cooking their food, using a combination of supplies from home and resources from the land. For many students, this is their first time cooking over a fire, and it is not easy or fast. But it is rewarding and fun, as students attest to by the focus on their work and the pride when they take their food from the fire.
A group of boys gathered next to a small makeshift oven, created with a small hole dug in the ground lined with bricks and filled with burning coals. They checked the pizza they assembled for lunch to see if the dough was finished baking.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” said one of the boys. “I get to be in the wild. It’s nice to be out in the middle of nowhere. It’s nice not to hear a car drive by constantly.”