In annual tradition, more than 200 stuffed bears dressed up as Santa Claus come ‘bearing’ gifts for kids in religious education
DEARBORN — The scene at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Dearborn on Dec. 15 was too much to bear.
More than 200 stuffed bears dressed as Santa Claus in an assortment of poses and activities held gifts for the children in the parish’s religious education program, as the parish builds up to the Christmas celebration with its annual “Santa Bears” gift giving.
Fr. Terry Kerner started the tradition back in the 1980s when he was at St. John Parish in Monroe and has continued it at St. Kateri, decorating the parish gathering space and presenting a small gift for the children in the religious education program as a way to get them excited for Christmas.
The stuffed bears are in various scenarios, from sitting at a table and playing cards or dressed up as firefighters and rescuing a fellow bear in a tree.
“It’s all a collection from many, many years of people giving me these Santa bears and me not knowing what to do with them,” Fr. Kerner told Detroit Catholic. “This dates back to 1986, and people at the parish were looking to downsize, and they had all these stuffed bears dressed as Santa.”
“Then it became a thing where people kept giving me a Santa bear. I didn’t go after a bear; the bears were all given to us, and you can’t turn down a bear,” Fr. Kerner added. “So, we set up the bears in the room as an invitation for the children to enjoy Christmas, to come to Mass, come to church, but to have joy in getting ready for Christmas.”
The bears each bore a gift bag with a child’s name on it, a gift from the parish. This year’s gift was a t-shirt and some candy. Fr. Kerner said it’s an appropriate way to send the children and parents off for the holiday season before religious education classes resume in February.
“This is our family faith program, so along with the children’s classes, we offer classes for the parents who might be in need of sacramental remediation that needs to be done, be it having their marriage blessed or they need to be confirmed,” Fr. Kerner said. “For some families, the parents and children are both going through the same sacraments.”
The evening began with classroom instruction for the children before they headed to the church, where teachers in the religious education program sang traditional Christmas hymns.
Stallone Kubica, a youngster in the religious education program, played “Taste and See” on his guitar, and a graduate of the religious education program read “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
Fr. Kerner encouraged the children to treasure the gifts God has already given them as they look forward to the gifts they will receive at Christmas.
“Tonight is about appreciating God’s gift to us, including all of you,” Fr. Kerner told the children. “You are all gifts from God, blessed with gifts to share with others. Tonight, you have received gifts from the Santa bears, but always remember, you are a gift meant to be shared with the world.”
More photos
