Students offer prayer for school, each other
By Dan Itel
Special to the Statesman Journal
November 17, 2007
Sprague students pray.
SAGEN EATWELL
January 16, 2008
In spring 2005, two Sprague students began to meet in the morning before school for prayer and fellowship. One year later, the group had expanded to five to seven people meeting to encourage each other, and pray for each other and the school.
Around this same time the next year, in spring 2006, a second Morning Prayer group formed at Sprague, with numbers closer to 10 or 14 people. For the remainder of the 2005-2006 school year these two groups met separately, for nearly the same purpose.
It wasn't until shortly before school began in September 2006 that the two groups came together to form one large informal before-school prayer group.
The current group comprises 10 to 20 people with as many as 30 on some occasions, with at least four to five churches represented. The Sprague prayer group is informal, open to everybody, without divisions, and exists for all involved to encourage and pray for each other and for Sprague High.
One newer purpose that has been pursued during the past year or so is outreach to people who are in need of Christ's love, said Sprague senior Caleb Davis. "The reason that I do it (is) I really feel the school needs prayer," said Davis, who is the last of the original two members who still attends Sprague.
The current Sprague Morning Prayer group meets informally at the end of a hall between the drama room and the Pantheon at Sprague before school at about 7:20 a.m. and goes until 7:45 when the class bell rings.
One new feature that has recently been added by Davis is an anonymous prayer request box, where anybody can write down a prayer request and put it in the box where it will be prayed for later.
According to students involved with this group, it is beneficial to their days. Students have said that it helps them encourage each other, make friends with people they usually wouldn't meet and unify the local churches. Richard Riffle, a junior at Sprague, said that it's a great way to start out the day with God also.
A group like this operating in a public high school naturally creates some amount of mocking by people not involved, but according to Riffle, those involved in the prayer don't care what others think about it. The group still persists daily, despite the occasional mocking, and is planned to continue so long as there are students willing to lead the group and come to pray.
Sagen Eatwell is a student at Sprague High. You may contact him at bassplayerzoot@yahoo.com