2008 Woodie Awards
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Campus ministries prepare for prayer
Brianna Murphey
Issue date: 4/21/08 Section: News
While followers of many different faiths submit prayers to some higher power, the main observers of the National Day of Prayer at ETSU will be Christian.
While the focus of the event, scheduled for noon to 1 p.m. Thursday at the ETSU Carillon, is on Christian prayer, it is open to people of all faiths, said Susan Rogers, a technical clerk in the admissions office who organized the campus observance.
The first national observance occurred in 1952, after the resolution was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Harry Truman.
"Most religions require prayer," senior public relations major Caty Kidd said. "This exposes students who may have never been around it before to religion."
Some students would like the exposure to include other religions to reflect the diversity of ETSU's campus population.
"On a college campus where there's a diverse population, if we're going to devote a day of prayer, something should be available for more religions," said senior theatre major Logan Emerson.
However, since the event is sponsored by a campus ministry - Campus Crusade for Christ - rather than the university itself, other students do not have a problem with the focus on one deity.
"It's not something everybody has to do, but those who want to can," said junior English literature student Whitney Nelson.
That element of choice is key, said Dr. Joseph Sobol, program coordinator for ETSU's Storytelling Program. "Prayer is important to me as a matter of practice, not as an ideology to force on anybody," Sobol said. "But there's not somebody coercing anyone, since nobody has to go."
Although most of the nation will gather to observe the National Day of Prayer on May 1, ETSU students will meet one week early to accommodate the school schedule. The date was purposefully chosen to involve as many people as possible. "We are hoping that by having it early," Rogers said, "more students would have the opportunity to attend. Most students will be taking finals or have already left by the first of May."
While the focus of the event, scheduled for noon to 1 p.m. Thursday at the ETSU Carillon, is on Christian prayer, it is open to people of all faiths, said Susan Rogers, a technical clerk in the admissions office who organized the campus observance.
The first national observance occurred in 1952, after the resolution was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Harry Truman.
"Most religions require prayer," senior public relations major Caty Kidd said. "This exposes students who may have never been around it before to religion."
Some students would like the exposure to include other religions to reflect the diversity of ETSU's campus population.
"On a college campus where there's a diverse population, if we're going to devote a day of prayer, something should be available for more religions," said senior theatre major Logan Emerson.
However, since the event is sponsored by a campus ministry - Campus Crusade for Christ - rather than the university itself, other students do not have a problem with the focus on one deity.
"It's not something everybody has to do, but those who want to can," said junior English literature student Whitney Nelson.
That element of choice is key, said Dr. Joseph Sobol, program coordinator for ETSU's Storytelling Program. "Prayer is important to me as a matter of practice, not as an ideology to force on anybody," Sobol said. "But there's not somebody coercing anyone, since nobody has to go."
Although most of the nation will gather to observe the National Day of Prayer on May 1, ETSU students will meet one week early to accommodate the school schedule. The date was purposefully chosen to involve as many people as possible. "We are hoping that by having it early," Rogers said, "more students would have the opportunity to attend. Most students will be taking finals or have already left by the first of May."