After a long week, Friday night is traditionally the time for students to unwind. Across campus and the city, they flock to shows, parties, restaurants or their own couches to destress and regroup from their week of hard work.
This Friday was no different at Marquette, save for 30 students who unwound a different way — by quietly praying in Schroeder Chapel.
Campus Crusade for Christ sponsored an effort to observe 24 hours of continuous prayer, joining an international movement that has kept at least one person around the world praying each hour of every day since September 1999.
24-7 Prayer was started by students in Chichester, England, and has since spread to more than 100 countries. The event was at Marquette for the first time from 5 p.m. Friday until 5 p.m. Saturday this weekend.
Andy Marshall, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, helped lead the prayer effort at Marquette.
Marshall said the group was inspired other colleges that brought the movement to their campuses, and they wanted to offer the opportunity to Marquette students.
On the same days Marquette students were observing the continuous prayer, several other campuses were taking part in similar sessions, including the University of Arizona and Millikin University in Decatur, Ill.
“It was great to get involved in the bigger commitment,” Marshall said.
Marshall knelt in the windowless chapel and prayed from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday. Those who partook in the movement were encouraged to focus their energy on the Marquette community and campus, he said, may mean they prayed for anything from Milwaukee’s poor and homeless to fellow students facing the mounting pressure from looming final exams.
The 30 participants at Marquette were each assigned one hour of prayer and meditation.
Emily Foley, a junior in the College of Engineering, prayed from 9 to 10 p.m. Friday. Most participants were members of Campus Crusade for Christ, but Foley said others also stopped and joined the cause.
Alyssa Steudel, a sophomore in the College of Nursing, worked with Campus Ministry to get the event approved.
“The idea or mission of 24-7 Prayer is that every student living on a college campus will have the opportunity to encounter God,” Steudel said.
She said the 24 hours were “really awesome,” and advance online sign-up helped encourage participation. She prayed from 6 to 7 p.m. Friday night.
According to Steudel, the idea was proposed last year but wasn’t approved because of university safety regulations regarding overnight building usage.
This year, the group was able to work out an arrangement to use Schroeder Chapel for the prayer session.
“It was cool how we were able to talk with Campus Ministry and get the idea approved,” Marshall said. “We were looking to raise a greater awareness of prayer, through all hours.”
