This past Saturday we spent the day building a prayer labyrinth on the property here at the PSC. With the help of a whole bunch of students, boy scouts from local Troop 149, and a few surprise helpers, the labyrinth was put together in just under 6 hours of work. We had lunch catered by Zaxby’s, and we shared a lot of laughs and sweaty hugs by the end of the day.

Our labyrinth was created (re)using glass bottles donated by more people than I care to try and name right now, and with river rock pebbles purchased thanks to a generous donation from The Labyrinth Society. We will be holding a short dedication service this coming Monday, April 18, at four o’clock in the afternoon, and we are inviting anyone and everyone around Athens who has an interest in labyrinths. If you are reading this, you’re invited. Even if you can’t make it to this service, we invite you to come and walk the labyrinth whenever you need to take a moment of sabbath from your hectic schedule. It is open to the public, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. It’s even illuminated at night by the lights in our parking lot, so feel free to walk it at any time of day or night.

Below, you can check out some more pictures.

Some of our students got into the Christmas spirit a little early this past Tuesday after worship, as they gathered to prepare gifts for children in the third world.  Participating in an event called “Operation Christmas Child,” students stuffed shoeboxes with toys, candy, school supplies, and basic health items.  These gift boxes will be taken to a collection center here in town, and then shipped half-way around the world to children in third-world countries who do not typically get to enjoy Christmas in the ways we have been blessed to become accustomed to.

Holly Aversano, our student minister for service, can be seen in the picture to the right, surrounded by presents that will be sent off to these children.  Other students who participated in the “stuffing party” included Abby Crawford, Ben Sheppard, Meagan Rowe, and student ministers Daniel Kilfoyle and Karen Hartsfield.

Following are the results of the survey on prayer and meditation that was given out to members of the Presbyterian Student Center. This survey was created to gather information on the attitudes of those members toward prayer and meditation. Survey data was collected between October 5, 2010, and October 18th, 2010 and was taken from 44 respondents.

The percentages included next to the multiple-choice answers reflect the rounded percentage out of the total number of respondents per question. Every question was not necessarily answered by each respondent, and  some respondents chose more than one answer for some questions, so total percentages to some questions over 100% may reflect this. There were a number of people who wrote comments out to the side of some of the multiple-choice answers, and this was informative for me, but for the sake of expediency, only those comments which were given in the short answer areas were included in these results.

I would like to encourage anyone and everyone who has an interest in our community to take a look at these results and share your thoughts with one another. The purpose of this survey, after all, was ultimately to facilitate such discussion.

-Mitch

–

Which of the following statements best summarizes your general attitude toward prayer?
14%  Prayer is our way of letting God know what we need.  (6 of 44 respondents)
0%  Prayer is unnecessary because God knows our innermost thoughts.  (0 of 44 respondents)
48%  Prayer is our way of acknowledging what God already knows. (21 of 44 respondents)
16%  Prayer is less about talking to God than listening for God. (7 of 44 respondents)
30%  Other:  click here to view individual answers. (13 of 44 respondents)

Do you believe that prayer deepens your relationship with God?
100%  Yes (43 of 43 respondents)
0%  No (0 of 43 respondents)

How comfortable are you praying in a group?
16%  Very comfortable (7 of 44 respondents)
55%  Somewhat comfortable (24 of 44 respondents)
27%  Somewhat uncomfortable (12 of 44 respondents)
5%  Not at all comfortable (2 of 44 respondents)

How often would you say you pray in a group?
32%  Never or rarely (14 of 44 respondents)
32%  Once or twice a month (14 of 44 respondents)
20%  About once a week (9 of 44 respondents)
18%  Multiple times each week (8 of 44 respondents)

Do you believe that there is a spiritual difference between the practice of corporate prayer (prayer in groups) and solitary prayer?
75%  Yes (33 of 44 respondents)
25%  No (11 of 44 respondents)

If you answered ‘yes’ to the previous question, please briefly explain your distinction.
click here to view individual answers.

Do you come to the weekly Prayer Group on Sunday evenings?
9%  Yes (4 of 44 respondents)
77%  No (34 of 44 respondents)
16%  I’ve come a few times (7 of 44 respondents)

Have you ever come to pray in the Chapel during the week?
11%  Yes, on a regular basis (5 of 44 respondents)
30%  I’ve come a few times (13 of 44 respondents)
57% No (25 of 44 respondents)
5%  People pray in the Chapel during the week? (2 of 44 respondents)

Do you feel that the Prayer Request Board is an adequate means of informing our community about your prayer concerns and/or joys?
93%  Yes (39 of 42 respondents)
7%  No (3 of 42 respondents)

If you answered ‘no’ to the last question, please briefly explain how you believe this process could be improved.
click here to view individual answers.

Do you believe that people who have very different thoughts on prayer and/or God can come together to pray?
98%  Yes (42 of 43 respondents)
2%  No (1 of 43 respondents)

How comfortable would you feel praying with someone of a different Christian tradition than your own?
0%  Not at all comfortable (0 of 44 respondents)
30%  Somewhat uncomfortable, but open to it (13 of 44 respondents)
18%  Somewhat comfortable (8 of 44 respondents)
52%  Very comfortable (23 of 44 respondents)

How comfortable would you feel praying with someone of a different religious tradition than your own?
2%  Not at all comfortable (1 of 44 respondents)
25%  Somewhat uncomfortable, but open to it (11 of 44 respondents)
27%  Somewhat comfortable (12 of 44 respondents)
45%  Very comfortable (20 of 44 respondents)

Do you believe that music, sung or played, can be a unique form of prayer?
98%  Yes (43 of 44 respondents)
2%  No (1 of 44 respondents)

Which of the following phrases best describes your feelings on the prayerful use of music during worship at the Presbyterian Student Center?
51%  Wonderful (20 of 39 respondents)
44%  Satisfactory (17 of 39 respondents)
5%  In need of improvement (2 of 39 respondents )

If you answered ‘in need of improvement’ to the previous question, please briefly explain how you feel this could be improved:
click here to view individual answers.

Do you believe that visual or performance art can be a unique form of prayer?
98%  Yes (43 of 44 respondents)
2%  No (1 of 44 respondents)

Do you believe that athletic performance can be a unique form of prayer?
76%  Yes (31 of 41 respondents)
24%  No (10 of 41 respondents)

How often do you read and reflect on contemplative and/or prayerful books or writings in your free time?
50%  Never or rarely (22 of 44 respondents)
39%  Sometimes (17 of 44 respondents)
11%  As often as I am able (5 of 44 respondents)

How likely is it that you would participate in an overnight prayer retreat sometime before the end of the academic year?
14%  Not at all likely (6 of 42 respondents)
21%  Only if I had nothing else better to do (9 of 42 respondents)
24%  Fairly likely (10 of 42 respondents)
31%  Unless I had a conflict, I would participate (13 of 42 respondents)
10%  I would go out of my way to participate (4 of 42 respondents)

Contemplative meditation is sometimes also referred to as ‘prayerful silence.’ How important do you believe it is to set time aside regularly for personal prayerful silence?
0%  Not important (0 of 44 respondents)
18%  Not that important, but it’s a good idea (8 of 44 respondents)
27%  Somewhat important (12 of 44 respondents)
55%  Very important (24 of 44 respondents)

How many times a week do you usually set aside time for personal prayerful silence?
36%  0-1 times per week (16 of 44 respondents)
34%  2-3 times per week (15 of 44 respondents)
7%  4-6 times per week (3 of 44 respondents)
14%  Once each day (6 of 44 respondents)
9%  More than once each day (4 of 44 respondents)

Are you familiar with the phrase ‘Centering Prayer?’
55%  Yes (24 of 44 respondents)
45% No (20 of 44 respondents)

Are you familiar with the phrase ‘Lectio Divina?’
23%  Yes (10 of 44 respondents)
77%  No (34 of 44 respondents)

If you answered ‘no’ to either of the previous questions, would you be interested in learning about these prayerful practices?
92%  Yes (35 of 38 respondents)
8%  No (3 of 38 respondents)

How likely is it that you would participate in activities involving one of these prayerful practices?
7%  Not likely at all (3 of 41 respondents)
10%  Only if I had nothing else better to do (4 of 41 respondents)
51%  Fairly likely (21 of 41 respondents)
32%  Unless I had a conflict, I would participate (13 of 41 respondents)
0%  I would go out of my way to participate (0 of 41 respondents)

Which of the following statements best describes your thoughts on prayer labyrinths?
14%  What’s a prayer labyrinth? (6 of 44 respondents)
34%  I’ve never had the chance to walk one, but I’d like to soon. (15 of 44 respondents)
18%  I’ve walked one before, but I didn’t gain anything from it. (8 of 44 respondents)
34%  Prayer labyrinths help me to quiet my distracted mind. (15 of 44 respondents)
0%  I think prayer labyrinths are a distraction from true prayer. (0 of 44 respondents)

Using the space below, please feel free to add any additional thoughts you may have about prayer and meditation.
click here to view individual answers.

On Tuesday, we held our first worship service of the fall semester. It was also our first service since moving to Tuesday. We were had a great turnout and met a lot of new faces. Our parking lot is still under construction and we couldn’t provide parking, so we were grateful to have so many people come out.

This was also our first service with sound equipment. The band sounded great and Kyle did a great job with the equipment.

Join us next Tuesday at 8p for worship is you are able!