Christian Service

Bishop O'Connell aims to cultivate in our students a lifelong habit of serving and giving to others.

To serve as Christians, we follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ in the Gospels. Jesus served & encountered others throughout his public ministry, in particular the poor, vulnerable and marginalized.

Bishop O'Connell students are asked to perform a minimum of 10 hours of service like Christ each year. To imitate Jesus through our work, the guidelines for qualifying Christian Service hours at Bishop O'Connell focus on the Corporal Works of Mercy, which are given to us by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew.

Christian Service at Bishop O'Connell is an annual requirement, not a cumulative requirement. This means that every student at Bishop O'Connell serves others for at least 10 hours each year over their four years. The goal of the annual requirement is to make serving a regular habit — one that can continue after graduation.
Students who do not complete the annual requirement during the school year must resolve any outstanding requirements as soon as possible.

More Information

Annual Requirement

All students should perform 10 hours of qualifying Christian Service each school year.
- Upperclassmen: At least half of juniors' and seniors' 10 hours must be in direct service of someone in need. This face-to-face requirement is more than working in person, but rather working with/for the person benefitting from the service.
  - Example: stocking shelves of a food pantry is indirect service. Serving or delivering food to the recipient is direct service.
Service over the summer can count toward the next school year.
- If last year's Christian Service requirement was incomplete, students must complete previous requirements before working on the next one. Click here for more information.
Students log their service using MobileServe.
- Accounts are linked to students' school email address. To log in, use the Google option (no email/password).
Students should log their service promptly. This gives the supervisor timely notice to verify the hours. This also allows Campus Ministry enough time to work with students if there is an issue.

Christian Service Guidelines

To serve like Jesus, our guidelines for qualifying Christian Service are the Corporal Works of Mercy, which we find in the Gospel of Matthew (25:35-36).

Bishop O'Connell students are welcome to volunteer in other ways and are encouraged to become active members in our community. The guidelines should not prevent students from participating in other activities. However, volunteer activities which are not corporal works of mercy will not be accepted as Christian Service.

What qualifies as Christian Service?

Activities that qualify as Christian Service
Activities that do not qualify

Activities that qualify as Christian Service

Activities that do not qualify

Christian Service must be a corporal work of mercy for the benefit of a person in need who is unrelated to the student. Therefore, the following activities do not qualify as Christian Service.

Work at or for fundraisers does not qualify as Christian Service, even for a charitable cause.
- Working at a charity race or with fundraising organizations (e.g. LLS) does not qualify as Christian Service unless the people benefitting from the services are encountered.
Environmental work and animal care does not qualify.
Helping family members does not qualify, as this is a normal part of being a family. Service with family that performs a corporal work of mercy can qualify.
Christian Service hours cannot be performed/earned at Bishop O'Connell. The goal of Christian Service is to serve others, rather than ourselves.
- This means extracurriculars, bake sales or other club activities will not qualify.
- Exceptions: Peer Mentoring 1016 always qualifies as Christian Service. Service projects planned with Campus Ministry can qualify.
Doing a job without pay does not qualify as Christian Service.
Volunteering free time or participating in an extracurricular activity which does not perform a corporal work of mercy does not qualify as Christian Service.

For Service Supervisors

Our students use MobileServe to track their service hours. MobileServe also collects verification from supervisors to confirm that the hours claimed are accurate. To obtain verification, our students will ask for your email address.

If you receive a message from Team MobileServe with the subject "MobileServe Volunteer Verification," this is a valid email! Please do not delete or mark it as junk.

If you are listed as a supervisor, you will receive one email containing a single link from which you can review all pending logs. You will only receive one email for pending logs, even if you are listed as the supervisor for several logs. This should help avoid the spam folder. However, you might receive occasional reminder emails until the logs pending are verified/rejected.

The link you receive is unique to your email address, not to the student's log. If you have received emails in the past, the same link will show you any pending logs.

If you are expecting an email from Team MobileServe, but have not received it, please check your spam folder. If you have any issues, please contact service@bishopoconnell.org.

For Parents

For Incoming Students

Do you have an opportunity for our students?

We are always in need of opportunities for our students. Please email service@bishopoconnell.org to provide information about your event & your need. Thank you for considering Bishop O'Connell!

Classes of 2025, 2026, 2027:

If students did not complete the annual Christian Service requirement for the 2023-24 school year, they earned an Incomplete (I) grade on their report card. This Incomplete must be resolved as soon as possible. Find more information on how to close a past requirement here.

Complete 2023-24 Christian Service

Christian Service Coordinator

Miss Katie Hofer

service@bishopoconnell.org
703-538-3307