Praying for the year
Students gather for 5:30 a.m. sunrise service in front of the Snowflex Lodge
WORSHIP — Some students dedicated two hours of their Saturday morning to praying for their campus and for the upcoming school year. Photo credit: Michela Diddle
ARISE, this year’s sunrise prayer and worship service, began at 5:30 a.m. and continued till 7:30 a.m. Thousands of students sacrificed sleep, comfort and warmth Saturday, Aug. 29 to gather beneath Snowflex Lodge and be led by other students.
Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre hosted the event, offering their entire facilities to make the event possible. The Office of Student Leadership and the Student Government Association came together to sponsor the event, providing breakfast and coffee in the lodge before the event began.
Jessie Osborn, a Spiritual Life Coach (SLC) on the third floor of Residential Commons I, prayed for the student body to pursue holiness, encourage one another, and have unity among each other. She urged them to move out of their comfort zones and into a deeper relationship with God.
“May we lock arms as brothers and sisters,” Osborn prayed over her peers, “and run toward you seeking your face, and your face alone.”
Her prayer was just one of many lifted up during the chilly morning event. Students were scattered from the lodge to the stage, some of them sitting, some standing, some kneeling, but all listening.
“Lord, when we gather at dining tables, in prayer groups or at student events and games, may the words that leave our mouths be glorifying to you and you alone,” Osborn prayed.
Osborn was just one of a few students who had the opportunity to lead the student body during the event. Other SLCs participating in the event were joined by members of Worship Collective as they led the student body in prayer and worship through the early hours of the morning.
Kelsey Baker, an associate director of the Office of Student Leadership, organized the event and oversaw the progression of the morning. She opened and closed the morning as well as casted the vision for the event.
“It’s about focusing our heart’s attention and affection on the Lord at the beginning of the year,” Baker said.
In previous years, students with their respective residence halls would participate for an hour in an organized prayer event known as All Night of Prayer. This year, ARISE gave the opportunity for the entire student body to come together as one and give up sleeping in on a Saturday to worship together. ARISE also kicked off the beginning of Spiritual Emphasis Week, which will welcome back Clayton King to speak in Convocation Sept. 2.
PIERCE is a feature reporter.