Fall 2020 Welcome Prayer

Dear God,

Blessings belong to You. We welcome You to direct our steps on this journey. Your heart towards us causes us to flourish.

We celebrate the contributions and mourn the losses of ones dear to our community. Their work is complete, and their fruit remains with us. We remember:

• Trustee Andrea Harris’s love for Bennett and passion for empowering women,
• We remember retired professor, Dr. David Pinnix. The memory of his musical gifts lives on.
• We remember professor, Dr. Ruth Lucier, whose smile was light on our campus.
• We also celebrate colleagues and friends enjoying retirement.
• We represent portions of their collective legacies.

Lord, we thank you for the visionary and courageous leadership of President Walsh and her team. The College is further positioned to attract fruitful partnerships and steward pools of valuable resources. Through their dedicated efforts, Bennett continues to be a unique and necessary treasure “for such a time as this.”

We embrace new colleagues with various areas of expertise. Their commitment helps Bennett’s forward movement in our mission to holistically educate women of color, cultivate communities of influence, and transform a nation and world awaiting their gifts and graces. The transition to remote classrooms is a testimony to Your wisdom for the Bennett community. We are keeping our students’ best interest and those close to them at the center of our concerns and planning.

Lord, for students and families who believe You have directed them to us, we cannot thank you enough. We do not take such sacred trust for granted. In our virtual settings, please help us to offer excellence in support of their growth. Use us to stimulate their thirst for knowledge and their willingness to explore ideas and experiences beyond their current understanding.

God, please strengthen our resolve to be patient with ourselves and the process of navigating our current culture. Please help us to be kind to ourselves and one another.

In these opening sessions, we have had some mountain top moments when sharing innovations to assist with student engagement and success. Now it is time to transition to the valley where the sacred work of education takes place. As we transition, we take the relationships, comradery, tools, and inspiration that ignite and fuel our callings.

Thank you for Your love, grace, and mercy. Be with our students and their families. Be in our communities, bringing peace with understanding and positive, lasting change. Be with our nation as we seek to be defined by Your standards. Be with Bennett College, Your unique treasure. Lord, we trust You. We are willing to follow Your lead, knowing You desire good for Your children.

Bless us with health, strength, wisdom, and joy. We give you praise. AMEN.