New to Campus Ministry: Praise Night

 by Logan Sabaka ‘26

"No one lives alone. No one sins alone. No one is saved alone," said Pope Benedict.

In the fall of this past year, Campus Ministry hosted a new event: Praise Night.  Praise Night is a time to worship our Lord and escape from all of our distractions and stresses. Praise Night consists of snacks, adoration, and friendly talk among its participants. There were about 8-10 attendees on Monday night. The students started by gathering in the spiritual life center, snacking and talking among one another. 


Photo courtesy of Kate Phenicie 
After a while, students migrated to the chapel and prepared for an hour of adoration, prayer, and emotionally hefty music. Attendees praised, prayed silently, prayed aloud, sang aloud the songs of praise, and prayed over each other. There was a sense of faithful community and belonging in the chapel that night. Katherine Phenicie is the spiritual advisor for Delone Catholic and the one who came up with the idea for a Praise Night. 


As of now, Phenicie is keeping it limited to peer ministry, a group of high school students who express their faith freely and are an example of living the Word. 


Phenicie said, “This came from a question I sent to Peer Ministry over the summer about the prayer services that we offer throughout the year. A few people mentioned making them optional so that only people who were truly invested were in attendance, and then they would be more meaningful overall. I didn't like the idea of making the prayer service during Lent, for example, optional during the day, but I did love the idea of creating an optional service after hours.” 


More problems arose when the question of attending class came into the decision. Students would be overwhelmed after the service because of missing class material, so Phenicie held the Praise Night. 


Phenicie gave the ultimate goals of Praise Night: “I thought if we could gather in a really relaxed setting with no pressure or expectations, we could praise God sincerely, have profound encounters with His love, and relieve some anxiety/stress/loneliness. A win-win-win!” Being the spiritual advisor and overseer of all of the retreats, Phenicie cares a lot about the students’ faith and expressing their love for God freely. She doesn’t want anyone to feel trapped or judged for praising the Lord. 


Taylor Dettinburn, Kairos Core Team Leader and attendee of Monday night’s Praise Night, is very positive about the whole idea of a separate place and time for praise and worship. 


Dettinburn said, “Praise night really allows me to reflect on how my relationship with God has been recently. It's an opportunity to reflect on how much time I've been able to dedicate to God, offer up my intentions to Him, and sit and worship in His presence! Praise Night builds a sense of community with others because you're surrounded by other people with the same goals as you, which is to grow closer to God.” All of the distractions of life are silenced for the hour, which allows the attendees to fully focus on their relationship with God.


When asked about the growth of the event, Phenicie said, “I would love to see attendance grow! I would also love to see students empowered to be able to lead and pray aloud during the hour. More than anything, though, I hope and pray that the Holy Spirit works through these gatherings to flow out to every area of Delone Catholic, so that it can be totally filled with His presence!” 


Phenicie doesn't just want this to be a one-time thing where people open up about their faith and praise for an hour. She wants the praise and love for God to expand into the daily lives of the attendees and to incorporate the love for God into love for others.


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