St. Robert School has introduced a new option for students to choose from during Thursday recess. The new Play or Pray opportunity has gotten many students attention and has become a popular recess activity in just a couple weeks. During Thursday recess, the church will be open for students to go in and solemnly pray. The amount of time spent praying in the church is optional: they can spend anywhere from five minutes to thirty minutes or may choose to not go at all. The option to pray at recess is completely up to the individual student, and the Play or Pray program is open to kids in every grade.
Students at St. Robert are already finding this opportunity very helpful: “[I]t helps me feel closer to God,” states Evelyn, an eighth grader at St. Robert. Another 8th grader, Kellen, says that when she enters the church she feels calmer and more at peace with God, making her more successful during the remaining school day. The Play or Pray program is helping students grow in their relationship to God and positively impacting their school life as well.
The average number of students in the church during the Play or Pray is often six or seven students from each grade. The amount of time spent in the church by each individual student varies. “I often spend five to seven minutes,” explains one student, whereas others spend fifteen or twenty minutes. Students simply take a seat in the pews and pray for as long as they need to (or until recess is over). This means that the most amount of time students can spend in the church is thirty minutes. The younger students have been known to sit around the altar steps or near the candles, taking moments to simply enjoy God’s presence in the church.
Play or Pray is only offered on Thursdays, which is unfortunate in some students’ eyes. Evelyn explains that “I understand adults need to supervise [the church while students are in it], though I think it would be beneficial if it happened more than once a week.” The Play or Pray is only on Thursdays at the moment, but multiple students hope to see an increase in the number of days the church is open for them. There needs to be a supervisor while children are in the church, which causes a problem reducing the number of days the church is available for students. Currently, the priests at St. Robert are offering their time to help school teachers and administration supervise kids who wish to pray.
The new Play or Pray opportunity has had a very positive impact on St. Robert students so far. Though the program was only introduced a few weeks ago, it has already become a very popular recess activity. The program helps calm students and help them build a better, closer relationship with God, which is a great preparation for a better school year.
