On Sunday, August 25, St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church kicked off the new school year with a new monthly prayer experience: praise and worship evenings to be held on the fourth Sunday of every month. The celebration consisted of singing, silence, adoration, and benediction lasting from 7:00 to 8:00 P.M. To promote a more intimate setting, students gathered in the St. Benedict room complete with a small altar, candles, and refreshments to be enjoyed after prayer had ended. Mike Martinson and Daria Haney led music with the event planned by Martinson, Haney, and Melissa Graves St. Thomas’ youth minister. Deacon Nate Haney led benediction.
Many of the students in attendance were former attendees of Steubenville Northwest, either in 2023 or 2024. Steubenville Northwest is a Catholic youth conference organized by the Franciscan University of Steubenville that gathers high school students together to pray and learn, often through a praise and worship style. Kellan Reas, a junior at BCCHS, was one such student who attended Steubenville Northwest in Spokane in 2023. “I liked how even though it was the first night, everything kind of moved smoothly. I feel like, with the people that were there, they kind of had experience with it, and even those that didn’t, they weren’t necessarily afraid to join in when, like, others were singing and things like that,” Reas stated. Songs ranged from contemporary Christian music to the traditional “Down in Adoration Falling.” Reas commented, “It was nice having music before to kind of get you in that mindset, and then kind of having the adoration, the silent time, and then ending with some more music. I just think the format was really good with it.” Sage Sebastian, also a Central junior, had limited praise & worship style prayer experience going into the August 24 event, having a similar experience once before at the Diocesan Youth Event in March of 2024. Sebastian agreed that the balance between music and silence was complimentary. Both Reas and Sebastian hope that people who attended in August will bring a friend in September to increase attendance even more because an hour spent with Jesus serves as a break from busy high school schedules.
St. Thomas hopes to continue offering praise and worship nights for anyone interested in growing their faith through song and silence before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Those seeking to grow closer to Jesus in an intimate and unique way can mark their calendars for September 29 from 7:00–8:00 P.M. at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church .
