OCFs hold 1,440 Minutes of Continuous Prayer

BOSTON, MA [OCF Communications] — Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) held its 2nd annual National OCF Day of Prayer beginning at sunset Sunday, March 13 and ending at sunset on Monday, March 14, 2005 with OCFs from coast to coast participating in 1,440 minutes of continuous prayer. The 24 hour day prayer coincides with the beginning of Great Lent and the service of Forgiveness Vespers on Sunday, March 13 and Orthodox college students continued praying for 24 consecutive hours following.

The National OCF Day of Prayer originated as an idea of the OCF Student Advisory Board in 2003, and quickly became a priority of the students to make this awesome idea a reality. OCF groups from colleges all across the United States and Canada signed up for one-hour increments where they participated in a special prayer service which included petitions for peace in the world, unity in the Church, and the well-being of Orthodox college students and their futures. A participant in the Day of Prayer from the Princeton University OCF shared, “It was a great way to kick off the Lenten season. I liked that we took turns reading the Psalms. Everyone felt involved.”

Over 33 OCFs took part in the 24 hour event involving hundreds of students, which gives the potential to have affected countless others through the prayers. One of the main goals of the National OCF Day of Prayer was to bring the geographically scattered OCF chapters together through the unity of prayer. Connie from University of Michigan -Ann Arbor OCF declared of her experience, “This was so incredible and so cool to think that OCFs around the country are all doing it!”

OCF participation included Pennsylvania State University to Biola University to University of Virginia, to name a few. Fr. Timothy Sas, Executive Director of OCF stated, “As we begin the journey of Great Lent, the OCF National Day of Prayer demonstrates the will of our students to commit to remain connected to the Church during college, prayer by prayer.”

The National OCF Day of Prayer will continue to be an annual event, uniting many of the approximate 40,000 Orthodox college students studying at colleges and universities from coast to coast.

About OCF

Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) is the official campus ministry effort of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA). It is a Pan-Orthodox effort, overseen by an Executive Committee and aided by a sixteen-person Student Advisory Board. The office is located in Boston, MA, where a full time staff develops OCF programs and resources. The staff is available to guide and support local OCF chapters through communication with the larger Orthodox community, national programs, and development of resources for use by Orthodox college students. SCOBA designated the 3rd Sunday in September each year as “College Student Sunday” to raise awareness of our students on campus and OCF’s activities.