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On Feb. 23, these children placed colorful, handwritten "kindness notes" throughout the St. Perpetua church pews, with messages such as "Be kind," "You are awesome," and "You are bright as sunshine."
"The children wanted to sprinkle the pews with kindness, like confetti," explained Kristine Kvochak, director of St. Perpetua's Faith Formation Program. And they certainly did.
The children's notes so delighted and impressed a small group of St. Perpetua's parishioners (composed of Helen McKinnon, Betty Delisio, Mary K. Drennan and Domini Tarman) that they began a localized version of "the kindness rock project," which began in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. This endeavor involves painting rocks with kind, positive messages, and leaving the rocks randomly throughout the community. The parishioners painted rocks with bright, vivid colors and added uplifting sayings of kindness on them, such as "Spread sunshine," "Hope" and "Trust in God."
These same parishioners wanted to ensure the St. Perpetua's third-graders, who had so generously given kindness to others, could now receive kindness back. So the four women presented a personal, kindness rock to each of the children, and encouraged them "to pass on the kindness" by sharing their rock with a friend or family member, or leaving it randomly in the Lamorinda community to be discovered by another.
"The children certainly taught us all that kindness is catching," shared Domini Tarman, one of the four St. Perpetua's rock-painters. "We are so grateful to them for planting the seeds of kindness in our community - see how they grew!"
Reach the reporter at:
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA