Campus community comes together for prayer—‘the most powerful thing we can do’
Members of Erskine’s faculty, staff, and student body met Thursday to pray for the nation, its leadership, and victims of violence.
Director of Campus Ministries Jamie Williams called on the gathering to pray for “our nation’s ability and willingness to communicate and solve our differences without hate,” for “our political leadership’s commitment to setting an example of civility and respect with each other,” and for “God’s work of salvation in our nation.”
Williams read from Romans 12:9-15, which concludes, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”
America is “a nation that is longing for peace,” Erskine President Dr. Steve Adamson said in his invocation at the event.
“Let Your justice prevail, let Your mercy flow in every town,” the president prayed. “May Your church and Your people rise as a light in the darkness.”
Participants gathered in small groups and prayed for those who continue to be affected by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and for victims of violence across the country.
Lisa Madden, a staff member who attended the prayer gathering, said that recent acts of violence have “touched a nerve.”
“There’s so much division,” she said, “and we always need to be praying for that to end.”
“We should have freedom of speech, and to act out in violence is not what America stands for,” said Erskine sophomore Adaline Rudder. “Prayer is the most powerful thing we can do.”
