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Crespi Society members find peace in weekly prayer service |
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Written by LAURIE STEVENS, Chronicle Writer
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Friday, 01 February 2008 |
DELPHOS—Early each Friday morning, about 80 students gather before classes begin at Delphos St. John the Evangelist High School to pray for religious vocations and for guidance in their daily lives.
They belong to the Crespi Society, a high school group affiliated with the Lima Serra Club and named for Juan Crespi, a Franciscan priest and companion of Blessed Junipero Serra. The Delphos group is one of several Crespi Societies affiliated with Serra Clubs in the diocese.
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Students from Delphos St. John High School pray for religious vocations and other intentions at a recent Crespi Society gathering before school. (Photo courtesy of Sue Gerker) |
Students formed the group at St. John- in fall 2001 primarily to pray for and encourage vocations, but many have also found the prayer service to be a welcome refuge from homework, extracurricular activities, jobs and other responsibilities they juggle all week.
“There is so much stress in my life and I am doing so much at once, sometimes I just need a break,” says Lauren Klausing, a junior who serves as vice president for the group. “I can’t handle all of my problems on my own.”
She says she is comforted to know God is there to help with anything she needs.
Senior Lauren Burgei, president of the Crespi Society, says she feels refreshed after the service each Friday morning. “After I pray for others I realize the trivial things in my life are unimportant and shouldn’t be stressed over,” she explains.
Junior Jessica Alt, a member of the core team that plans the services, believes the group has helped her to worry less. “I’ve learned and continue to learn that I need to trust my problems with God,” she says.
This year is the fourth in a row the Crespi Society has had more than 100 members. They occasionally participate in retreats and service activities, but Mary Lou Pohlman, adult advisor for the group, says prayer is their primary activity.
She describes the weekly gathering as a simple service that lasts about 20 minutes. “They actually meet in the wrestling room because we outgrew our chapel here.”
Students open with a prayer for religious vocations and usually follow with a song and time for quiet reflection.
“Each week we have a different focal point of our meeting,” says junior Jordan Rode, a member of the core team. “Sometimes it is reflecting on our past, praying for our future calling, and every week we are encouraged to pray for those who have heard their calling and are following it.”
Everyone then gathers in a circle, arms around one another, to pray for specific petitions. They conclude the service with their own “Crespi Prayer:”
“Gracious God, You have blessed me with many talents. Grant me the wisdom to know how best to use them for the glory of Your name. Help me to see in myself what You see, and give me courage to follow wherever You may lead.”
Lauren Burgei relates she joined Crespi as a freshman because she was entering a new stage of her life, and “I knew I needed God’s help and guidance to make it through the transition.”
Along with praying for religious vocations, Crespi members ask God to guide them in making important life decisions.
Ms. Pohlman believes that extra dimension contributes to the wide appeal of the Crespi Society. She says the founding students realized they were at a point in their lives when they would be making decisions that would send them in new directions after graduation, so they included relevant prayers.
“While beginning and ending each prayer meeting with a prayer for religious vocations, in the middle of that they are focused on their own lives and God in their lives,” says Ms. Pohlman.
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