Office of Spiritual Life dedicates community-produced prayer book

January 16, 2025

After a year of reflection and journaling, planning and prayer, a book funded by The Calvin Institute's Vital Worship Grant and produced by Campbell University's Office of Spiritual Life is ready for the public.

Hear Our Prayer: Prayers, Liturgies and Reflections for Campbell University was dedicated in Butler Chapel Friday night in a ceremony attended by the many students, faculty and staff who played a role in putting it together. The book - a gathering of voices that both "voice the lived realities, needs, rhythms, confessions and celebrations of the Campbell community" and "affirm and echo [Campbell's] identity as a place of Christian higher education" - is more than 100 pages of works divided into four sections: "Be Loved," "Belong," "Be Known" and "Become."

"I could not be more proud of what you hold in your hands," Campus Minister Rev. Louisa Ward told the gathering to start Friday's ceremony. "This book, we hoped, would be a living document. When we submitted our grant [application], we said, 'This has got to be alive.' It has to be relevant. It has to stay with purpose for our students, but also speak the words of our students, faculty and staff. That is what you find here, and that is what will move us through our worship time together."

[Link]

The "Be Loved" section includes works focused on the "call to worship" and the "nature of God." In the poem "Serenity," the author writes:

But there will come a time
That I will meet my nature face to face.
And the serenity of the wild things,
Will lend me my own portion of grace.

The "Belong" section includes a "prayers for the people" section, which includes works for first-generation college students, minority students, non-traditional students and athletes, among others. In the work, "For the One Who Has a Learning Disability," the author writes:

I have had advocates in the past, and they are still working on my behalf now. But I must be able to speak for myself. I know you are the ultimate advocate, which is why I leave these worries with you."

The work, "A Professor's Reflection: A Confession to My Students" was read aloud during the ceremony to the Butler Chapel audience. The confession begins:

" I am only human, as you are only human. I may never see who you truly are, just as you may never see who I am beyond the roles of professor and student. I do not know your struggles, just as you do not know mine. But know that when you enter my classroom, you are entering sacred space."

"In my opinion, this is both a journal and a book," said Rev. Zachary Parks, associate campus minister. "We find in its pages a story. We find reflections on life. Struggles and rejoicing. It tells the story of our faithfulness to God within our own life experiences."

[Link]Hear Our Prayer was inspired by a public prayer book that for six years sat at the bottom of the Dinah E. Gore Bell Tower that allowed the public to write their thoughts and prayers. Ward noticed in 2023 that the book was on its last few pages, and a replacement was needed. But rather than toss the old pages aside to make way for the new, she saw value, historical importance and even inspiration in the old log. The pages provided a snapshot of those six years - natural disasters, world events, presidential elections and a global pandemic were all represented in the written prayers. Others sought guidance in their academic pursuits, personal relationships and mental health.

"I think what the prayers in this book say about the last six years is that there's nothing happening in this world that does not affect the members of our community and our campus. If it's happening in this world, it's happening here," Ward says. "There is great love and joy, celebration and happiness. There's profound grief, pain and hurt. It takes great courage to pray. And it certainly takes great courage to write your prayers down, knowing that anybody can read them."

The Office of Spiritual Life was awarded a $25,000 grant from The Calvin Institute and given a year to complete Hear Our Prayer, which according to Ward will live permanently in Butler Chapel.

"We hope that if you find yourself in this building and you need words of prayer, you will find your way to this book," she said. "Read it. Find the words you need. And talk to God."

Contributors

Campus & CommunityFaith & InquirySpiritual LifeDivinity