Martin receives Diocese of Biloxi St. Timothy Award

St. Patrick senior, Shelby Martin, recently received the St. Timothy award at the Diocese of Biloxi Youth Convention for giving active witness to her Catholic faith. The St. Timothy Award is the highest recognition from the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry and is presented to young men or women for outstanding leadership and service to their church and community.

Martin modeled moral behavior and integrity, Gospel values through service to others, and exercising Christian leadership. Four diocesan seniors are nominated each year to be recognized for their outstanding leadership, character and personal commitment to their Catholic faith and to the parish youth ministry program. Martin and the other seniors who received the St. Timothy Award have each served a minimum of three service years with a parish youth group, lives as a disciple of Christ and setting a positive example for other youth, witnesses to their faith by exhibiting Catholic morals and integrity, demonstrates Gospel values through service to others, and exhibits Christian leadership in parish, school, and or community settings.

Shelby said, “It was an honor to receive the St. Timothy Award for the diocese. My daily prayer is that the Lord uses me as an instrument to show others the freedom, love, and joy He alone can offer. I am so grateful for several groups that have formed me into the disciple of Christ I am. For the Diocese of Biloxi, especially the office of youth ministry with Mr. Bragg Moore and Ms. Brenda Sargeant, for allowing me to serve on SEARCH Team; for the St. Patrick community that has instilled and fostered a servant’s heart within me; for my parish family of St. Mary Catholic in Woolmarket that has always supported, encouraged and loved me through it all. Finally, I am overcome with gratefulness for my friends and family that show me how to love with reckless abandon, just as the Lord does.”

Story by Cecilia Collins