A few years ago at the conclusion of a gathering of my colleague group, John Kerr said good-bye to me at the door of his house and spontaneously reached out to give me a blessing as I left. He said, "We don't do that enough, do we?" Bless each other. Ever since he and I have been exchanging blessings, and I have found it to be such a lovely way of praying for each other. Recently I began reading Russ Parker's book, Rediscovering the Ministry of Blessing. It talks about the scriptural roots of blessings and the different types of blessings and how they can be used in ministry. It's been a wonderful book to read in Advent and has inspired me to start thinking about how I can incorporate blessing prayer into my ministry more. The Plaza Prayer Station is one place I'd like to try it. 
This past Thursday was a day full of blessings. It started with two St. Stephen's volunteers who helped me load up an abundance of snacks that had been donated by members of the church to hand out to students during their exams. United Campus Ministries organizes the event. From 10-4 each day of exams churches come and hand out treats to frazzled exam takers. Some are nervously preparing to take an exam and some approach the table bleary-eyed, scarcely able to focus because they've been writing essays for 2 1/2 hours. Some are hyped up with the joy of an exam-gone-well or with sugar and caffeine pulsing through their systems. We provide chips and fruit and granola bars and other sweet and salty snacks. We always have a few home-baked items, and those are the most popular of all. The students are sweet and appreciative, and we assure them of our prayers for them in this stressful time. This year one student asked for prayer for her baby who is due in 3 weeks, so I was blessed to be able to pray with her.
After time at the snack station I moved out into the cold, windy winter sunshine of the Plaza and set up the station. A few regulars came by and a couple of new ones. I prayed for a mission trip to Vietnam and for discernment and clarity for some making decisions as well as for relief from stress and anxiety. At one point I was startled by the loud sound of three young men on skateboards zooming by. They weren't my skateboard dudes, but they brought a smile to my face nevertheless. Another student brought me hot chocolate, and I was grateful because it was cold!
It was my last time to sit in the Plaza this semester. Just before I decided to pack up, one of the original members of the skateboard crowd came over to chat. He was the very first one who had come over to me on that warm September afternoon when I began this ministry and told me he thought what I was doing was cool. The first one to come up and the last one I spoke to before leaving. Only God, I thought, could bookend the semester so neatly. I invited him and the campus ministry he's a part of to participate in our "Blessing of the Semester" event that we're going to do on the first Sunday of next semester. It will be kind of like a house blessing, only we're going to bless all the main buildings on campus. We'll start on the chapel steps in full vestments, swinging incense and carrying a cross, and we'll make our way through the student union to the humanities, science, and business buildings, past the admin building that's under construction, through the library and back to the chapel. I'm hoping people will see us crazy Christians and get curious about what we're doing. Blessing the semester. Blessing the campus. Blessing the students, faculty, and staff. And most of all, giving thanks for all the ways God continues to bless us.
As for me, I deem the first semester of the Plaza Prayer Station a success beyond my imagining. I trust that God has blessed CNU through me. I know God has blessed me through this ministry. And now, we rest. Until next semester...
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