Reimagining the traditional See You At the Pole pre-school day gathering, Spiritual Life Leaders created an inclusive, immersive prayer experience.
Jennifer Cooke, Content Strategy & Communications Manager
On Wednesday, September 23, students, faculty, and staff across CHCA’s campuses gathered for See You At the Pole (SYATP), a global student prayer movement.
While CHCA participates in this annual prayer initiative every year, students at the Martha S. Lindner Campus (MSL) encountered a wholly different experience this week.
“We’ve been participating in SYATP for decades,” shares Jordan Kramer, Chaplain at MSL. “What was unique this year was holding SYATP during the day rather than before school. Not everyone can make it to school before the day, so we tried to create an experience this year where everyone can participate.”
The day was months in the making. Over the summer, Spiritual Life Leaders for each of the high school’s four houses met to brainstorm ways SYATP could become more than a casual time of prayer.
Their planning came to life on Wednesday morning.
At 10:45 a.m., students met in their house huddles, small groups of students within the larger house, to download a curated prayer guide containing scripture and prompts to pray over friends and family, CHCA, the nation, and their personal relationship with Christ. Then, the huddles moved to the football field to pray.
“The presence of God was palpable,” says senior Pedro Guimarães, Spiritual Life Leader for the House of Aquila. “People that don’t really know each other were praying with each other and they were connecting, and the presence of God was there.”
They broke out into small gatherings of three or four. They stayed in a whole-huddle circle. They bowed their heads and lifted their requests before the Lord.
“As a missional school, we have students and families at different stages in their relationship with God, and we believe it is important for us to model our dependence and trust in God through prayer. We must be in right relationship with God in order to love each other and our communities well,” says Mr. Kramer. “Our student leaders did a great job inviting their peers to engage with God and each other in prayer.”
“I think SYATP really did build the essence of prayer here at CHCA,” shares senior Yuliyan Dawit, Spiritual Life Leader for the House of Shor. “It continued the idea that prayer, at times, isn’t simplistic or ritualistic. Like the rain today, sometimes it feels cold, but there is meaning to it and your prayers are heard.”
Other Spiritual Life Leaders feel a similar way about the day’s gathering.
“I thought it was pretty amazing to see the school moving in a direction where we feel comfortable to pray with people that we still don’t know much about and grow with each other in the Lord,” says junior Sam Justice, Spiritual Life Leader for the House of Shor.
“The biggest thing I saw coming out of SYATP is that it normalizes prayer. I think that prayer is something that people often get too busy or brush off. SYATP teaches us as leaders how to facilitate prayer, and it also shows teenagers what it is to truly pray,” says senior Jillian Turvey, Spiritual Life Leader for the House of Leo. “It shows how you can come to God with anything and everything.”
“One thing I thought was really cool that I witnessed today was people starting to realize that prayer was less like a ritual and more like a relationship,” adds sophomore Jaxson Renfroe, Spiritual Life Leader for the House of Leo. “I could see that develop as we talked about personal things that we were praying for and how we can incorporate our lives in prayer with God and share our thoughts and feelings with him.”
“Something meaningful to me was our preparation before today,” says junior Lydia Helwig, Spiritual Life Leader for the House of Aquila. “Just seeing everyone’s heart for this and how much we are wanting to impact the school and our community. Today, I saw some people in our school community who are maybe more quiet wanting to pray and be impactful in the moment. It was super cool to see.”
Next year, students at CHCA will come together for SYATP again, and based on the impact of this year’s gathering, it’s likely students will have a similar experience.
“Dr. Thomas, and everyone involved with the new House System, has done a great job communicating the purpose of the House System to help students belong deeply, disciple faithfully, and lead boldly,” says Mr. Kramer. “SYATP this year is a clear example of this vision being lived out.”
