Time To See You At The Pole

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Time To See You At The Pole

Special Report - September 20, 2010
On Wednesday, September 22, thousands of Christian students at public and private schools across the United States, including North Carolina, will gather together to pray for their peers, their teachers, their families and their nation during the 20th annual “See You at the Pole” (SYATP). The student-led, student initiated prayer gathering, which began in Texas in 1990, is coordinated by the National Network of Youth Ministries. Described as the “Annual Global Day for Student Prayer,” SYATP is traditionally observed by students at 7:00 a.m. in front of a school’s flagpole at elementary, middle, high school and college and university campuses across the U.S., as well as in Canada and in Australia (on May 20). The theme for this year’s SYATP is “Reveal” and is based on Matthew 6:9-13.

“For 20 years, we have seen this day serve as a springboard for unity for teenagers on their secondary and college campuses,” said Paul Fleischmann, president of the National Network of Youth Ministries, in a press release. “See You at the Pole unites students in prayer at the beginning of the school year. Challenging youth to take leadership on their campus is always a good idea. Every year, it offers a fresh challenge for them to minister to their friends.”

The SYATP website emphasizes that the annual prayer event is legal. “The right of students to gather and pray outside of instructional time—while at school—is clearly a Constitutionally protected form of free speech,” the SYATP website states, noting that 1995 guidelines drafted by the U.S. Department of Education on “religious expression at public schools” specifically mention student participation in SYATP. To learn more about religious freedom in public schools, read the article “Religious Freedom in Our Public Schools,” in the September/October 2006 issue of Family North Carolina magazine.

For more information about “See You at the Pole 2010,” including promotional and planning materials, visit the web site at www.syatp.com.

Related article:
Religious Freedom in Our Public Schools - FNC Sep/Oct 2006