Robbins fulfills his baptismal call to stewardship

“I look at stewardship as fulfilling our baptismal call of serving the Church and her people,” said Will Robbins, St. Anne, Beaumont, parishioner and Faithful Steward Award recipient for 2016.
“I do it because I love it,” Robbins said.
Though Robbins has a full-time job, he finds time to give to several ministries in Southeast Texas.
“I usually spend 10 to 20 hours a week working with ACTS,” Robbins said. He is finishing his third year as the director of the Southeast Texas Mission ACTS Chapter.
“I’m hiring a secretary, but I pay nothing,” joked Robbins when talking about his busy schedule.
In addition to serving as that director, he also participates on ACTS teams, which includes weekly meetings, and volunteers at retreats.
Robbins’ other stewardship involves working with the youth at St. Anne and helping with diocesan liturgies.
All this began with Robbins’ freshman year at Msgr. Kelly Catholic High School.
He was asked to be an aid for Dominican Sister Emily Bordages.
“You can’t say no to Sister Emily,” Robbins said. He was Sister Bordages’ aid for all of his high school years.
Sister Bordages was in charge of campus ministries, and soon Robbins found himself helping her with the liturgy – though he was Lutheran at the time.
Working with the liturgy was not Robbins’ only church activity in high school. He also attended the 2007 Teen ACTS retreat. It was the beginning of his involvement with ACTS and another step in his journey to joining the Catholic faith.
Robbins converted to Catholicism and joined St. Anne during his first year at Lamar University. His stewardship at church and at school increased.
Msgr. William F. Manger, pastor at St. Anne, asked Robbins to start a Bible study for the youth. Working with the parish youth minister, Robbins started the Wednesday night Bible study called “Summit.” He also helps Sunday evenings at Life Teen.
At Lamar University, Robbins met Father Shane Baxter, then the director of Campus Ministry, and helped Father Baxter with the liturgies. Robbins also helped form a student Mass choir and form the first ever college ACTS retreat.
It seemed almost an extension of what he was doing at Lamar and when Robbins joined the Diocesan Liturgical Commission in 2011 he just kept up his ministry. He has continued his liturgical involvement ever since and has served as emcee for Bishop Curtis Guillory, SVD, on many occasions including confirmations and other diocesan liturgies.
That first college ACTS retreat is still Robbins’ favorite ACTS retreat.
“We had the return Mass at the cathedral,” Robbins said. “It was very moving. It was on the (feast of the) Assumption. The music was awesome. The Holy Spirit worked through the team and the retreatants. You knew while watching that something was going to be different at the student center in the fall.”
His work with St. Anne youth has also touched Robbins.
One occasion was the end of a summer youth convention in Houston when Bishop Guillory was celebrating Mass.
At the end of the Mass, Bishop Guillory did a special prayer and called up all those discerning a vocation, and those who felt like God may be calling them.
“Five of our youth got up and walked up to the front,” Robbins said. It was unexpected and a very moving moment for Robbins.
Robbins said that if he could start a ministry it would be one to “capture young adults that are graduating from college.” Robbins said that there are lots of programs for high school and college students, but after graduation “you are told ‘register at a parish and look through your bulletin and find things.’”
“All of a sudden you have a degree, you’re 22 or 23 and you are no longer going to the Student Center,” Robbins said. “I would like to see programs to help integrate these young adults into parish life.”