Southern Nebraska Register
Students from across the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln came together Nov. 9 for a “Barn Dance” at Pius X High School in Lincoln.
The dance was first held in the fall of 2018 and has become a tradition for a number of Catholic schools. Andrew Neiwald, a theology teacher at St. John’s High School in Beloit, Kan., travels to Nebraska with many of his students, several parents and teachers. The students come every other year to the Lincoln Diocese to participate in a high school dance, and they become the instructors for swing and line dancing.
While the Kansas students are in Lincoln, they also take the opportunity to pray outside Planned Parenthood and to attend Sunday Mass at the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center near the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus.
Approximately 150 students from around the diocese came to the event Nov. 9, including students from Bishop Neumann High School in Wahoo, Aquinas in David City, St. Cecilia in Hastings, and Pius X. Diocesan participants were joined by about 50 students from Beloit.
“The Beloit students are ‘pros,’” said Gery Kenney, campus minister at Bishop Neumann. “The St. John’s students learn swing and line dancing as part of their theology classes. They then come to Nebraska and share their knowledge with us. Our students always enjoy when this event takes place and the Beloit students are really good.”
The dance has grown each year it has been held. It has been hosted at Bishop Neumann and Aquinas, and this year at Pius.
“This dance gives our students a chance to learn new skills, but also gives students a chance to make new friends from the other schools in the diocese,” Kenney said. “It has been a great avenue to intermingle our Catholic high school students. We have found that swing dancing fosters friendships and builds community.”
Kenney pointed out that members of St. John’s have also accompanied Neumann students on the annual mission trip to Gallup.
“It is always valuable to build connections, to see what other Catholic schools are doing, and to bring our students together,” Kenney said. “Students learn that there is more than just what is happening in their own individual schools.”
Courtesy photos
