It’s nearing late evening, and students are taking a break from schoolwork and heading toward classrooms.
The students participated in the Prayer Labyrinth hosted by the Junior Council Nov. 12 in the Penick Academic Complex.
Eight stations in various classrooms on the C and D hallways included physical demonstrations and written prompts for participants to pray about as they walked through the labyrinth.
Hunter Martin, junior accounting major and co-organizer of the event, said the idea for a prayer labyrinth came after last year’s Sophomore Council purposed to better integrate the “Christ-centered” core value of Union into events hosted by the Student Government Association.
The labyrinth was inspired by a council member’s experience with a church youth group. The group’s youth minister gave the printed participant’s guide to the council, altering it to fit an undergraduate audience, Martin said.
“We’re seeking to glorify God through prayer and meditation,” Martin said. “We hope students will walk away with encouragement and a renewed sense of spirituality.”
To add something different to this year’s event, the council added a station requesting prayer for the members of Union’s presidential search committee.
For Jonathan Vailes, junior engineering major, the walk through the labyrinth took about an hour.
“It reminded me to put energy and thought into each thing you pray about and eliminate any distractions from that,” Vailes said.
For Rebekah Hoggard, junior education major, the walk took half an hour. Praying while using physical symbols as reminders was different from what she had ever done before, she said.
For Katy Parks, junior psychology major, the process helps people to remember to pray for specific people and specific countries and “reminds you to think of things you don’t necessarily want to think about.”
