Yesterday I went to campus a smidge early. Our first round of meetings started at 9, but I wanted to be there for the 8:30 campus prayer walk. On Thursday, the campus chaplain had invited all the faculty to join him as he walked around campus and prayed. The idea intrigued me.
I expected a small crowd, but I was surprised by how small it was: me, the chaplain, and two others. We headed out into the muggy morning, but we stayed in the shade, so it wasn't too unpleasant.
We made four stops. At the buildings where most classes take place, we prayed for the learning opportunities that were about to happen. At the student services buildings, we prayed for the care that would take place there. At the administration building, we prayed for all the people who would be making decisions about the school. And then we stopped under a big tree and prayed for the land and all of us journeying on it.
At each stop, we also prayed for faculty and students, along with all the others for whom we prayed. The chaplain, an ordained Methodist, was respectful, offering us each a chance to pray. We joined hands at each stop, after we made sure that we were each O.K. with that practice. The God language was gentle and gender neutral.
Spartanburg Methodist College was founded by Methodists in the hopes that better undergraduate education would lead to better preachers, and its scope has expanded. But an essential part of that mission remains, the hope that we can provide quality undergraduate education that will be transformative. It's great to be at a campus where we are allowed to pray for that openly and out loud.
It was a great way to start the school year.
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