However, come Wednesday they’ll be heading to poles of a different sort.

Wednesday is See You at the Pole 2008, the annual student-initiated, student-led gatherings that will take place at school flagpoles all across the country.

As in years past, students will gather around 7 a.m. to pray for each other, their schools, communities and the nation. Pictured above are students at Del City High School, along with an adult advisor, praying together as the sun came up on See You at the Pole 2007.  

This year’s theme is  “CONNECT: Speak, for your servant is listening” from 1 Samuel 3:10.

According to www.syatp.com  more than 2 million teenagers met for See You at the Pole last year in all 50 states.

So parents if you are dropping your youths off at school on Wednesday and see a crowd around the flagpole, you are seeing youth prayer in action.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

The Rt. Rev. Edward Konieczny, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, will share information about the conference, which he attended in England along with other bishops in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Dates,  times and locations of the briefings are as followed:

6:30 p.m. Tuesday at All Saints Episcopal Church in Duncan.

6:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Ardmore.

6:30 p.m. Thursday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in Oklahoma City.

6 p.m. Sept. 8 at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Enid.

7 p.m. Sept. 12 at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Tulsa.

6 p.m. Sept. 21 at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Grove.

PHOTO ABOVE RIGHT FROM EPISCOPALOKLAHOMA.ORG/The Rt. Rev. Edward Konieczny, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, poses for a picture with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, at the 2008 Lambeth Conference in England.  

Betty A. Van Horn, state coordinator of Oklahoma Moms in Touch International recently sent an e-mail encouraging Oklahoma moms to listen to MITI founder and president Fern Nichols (pictured at left) on the syndicated radio program “Revive Our Hearts.”

Moms in Touch is an international Christian organization of mothers who gather in local groups to pray for their children and schools. Revive Our Hearts is a faith-themed radio program hosted by inspirational speaker and author Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

The Moms in Touch leaders are sharing their thoughts and information about MITI with DeMoss through Tuesday, Aug. 19 on the radio show. 

I used to listen to the show on KQCV 800 AM in the Oklahoma City area, but according to the Revive Our Hearts’ Web site, the program is no longer available on that 800 station.

It is available in Oklahoma, according to the site, on the following stations:

11: 3o a.m. — Oklahoma City KQCV 95.1 FM, 95.5 FM and 94.1 FM.

11:30 a.m. — Tahlequah MBN 88.7 FM

9 p.m. — Tulsa KCFO 970 AM

5:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.  – Woodward KREJ 107.9 FM

9:30 a.m. — Frederick KSYE 91.5 FM

I happened to see Nichols in action at the Prayerforce gathering hosted last October at First Baptist Church of Mustang.

I went to the event with several ladies from my church and it was pretty powerful. Nichols firmly believes that all children need someone praying for them.

She’s written a book to that end: “Every Child Needs a Praying Mom.” 

 She urged the women gathered in Mustang to pray not only for their own children but for other children in their communities.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor