Donna Braband, ELCA Acting Director for Schools

Upon entering the main office the principal noted that no one seemed to be around. The door to the copy room was still closed and locked and there was not a teacher in sight. Upon turning the key to unlock the closet that they called the copy-room, he was in awe at the sight that unfolded before his eyes. To his amazement he found his teachers in the dark in prayer for a fellow teacher who was in crisis. Slowly he closed the door and left the teachers to finish. To pray for healing these teachers had to meet in secret because their school did not allow anyone to pray on school grounds.

As Lutheran teachers and administrators we are blessed in that we can turn to prayer wherever and whenever we need. Wait. That is not a permissive statement, as if prayer were something we turn to when things are impossible. Prayer is not our option of last resort. That is an imperative statement. Prayer is not just the last thing we do, it is also the first thing. It is still early in Jesus’ relationship with his disciples that one of them asks “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” [Luke 11.1] Prayer is more like the rhythmic cycle of breathing and expiration that sustains our living. Everything we do, and everything that we are, depends on this prayer relationship, this communication of Jesus’ Spirit with us.

Prayer begins and concludes our day. Prayer surrounds us in every instruction session, every planning meeting, every conference, every lesson-planning episode. We invite Christ’s Spirit to dwell within us and within our vocation of teaching and administration. We should not be surprised then when Christ’s presence is realized and we become that which we already are, disciples of the Master who reveals to us the God who is as a loving father.

Prayer will be as familiar to Lutheran educators and administrators as chalk dust.

Do you meet as a faculty or staff to talk about what is coming up? Is prayer an important part of your meeting? Do you begin with prayer? Do you conclude with prayer?

Do you take time to meet to review ways to better communicate your mission to the congregation and discuss how to better incorporate the congregation’s mission into your school’s life? Is your mission something you pray about, inviting God’s guidance and wisdom to inspire your visioning?

Do you meet in fellowship to build healthy relationships between teachers, administrators, and staff? Is corporate prayer a way of bridging the gaps between generations, races, genders, and social-classes?

Do you meet for learning experiences which all can share? Is prayer based on a reading from Scripture, something you are familiar with, or comfortable with?

Do you meet to regularly assess what you have accomplished or what needs to be changed to further your initiatives? Is prayer an invitation for God to direct and lead your school’s ministry into greater faithfulness?

If you do not meet regularly you should consider the importance of face-to-face communication. You need to work and communicate with one another to build a trust between members of your faculty and staff, a trust that makes solving problems, sharing ideas, discussing classroom incidents, and other day-to-day highs-and-lows an opportunity for sharing both dilemmas and solutions. And allow prayer to be a part of your new-found strategy of bringing people together.

Many Lutheran congregations are re-discovering the value of small-group prayer. In my congregation people are regularly drawn together for prayer. One of the most dynamic settings is in our Confirmation Ministries program, where young people are placed in a small group with an adult guide twice a month for reflection, discussion, and, most importantly, prayer. Each member of the group shares their ”highs and lows” of the previous week with another member of the group. Those highs and lows are shared with the whole group and incorporated into a prayer which the group shares together. Sometimes guides report that their entire time together is spent on nothing other than the sharing of highs and lows and the prayer that surrounds them and lifts these needs before God. Lutheran educators and administrators could readily use the same technique in their schools. What works for children should work for all of us, don’t you think? The prophet Isaiah knew this in ancient times: “And a little child shall lead them.”  [Isaiah 11.6]

Back to Spring 2002 Index