ALTON - Students, staff and community members gathered outside of Alton High School for their annual “Prayer at the Poles” on Wednesday morning.
As per the tradition, the group circled the flagpoles in front of the high school and kicked off the school day with a prayer on Sept. 27. They thanked God and prayed for healing, safety and unity in all schools and communities.
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“It’s really a representation of the kids in our school,” student Bekah Calaway-Habeck said. “There’s over 1,000 kids that go to the school, and so I don’t see most of them most of the day and I don’t know who’s a Christian and who’s not and I don’t feel that impact on a day-to-day basis. So I think when you have a group calling like this and you call them all out here, then I feel like you get to see how many there really are and you can feel that impact.”
The morning began at 6:30 a.m. with a “pre-rally unity march” around the premises of the high school. Alton Mayor David Goins helped organize the march, and he invited local pastors and community members to join.
The group reconvened in front of the high school for the prayer at 7:45 a.m. They held hands and went around the circle so that anyone who wanted to speak was able to.
Jessica Carlisle, AHS teacher and a youth group leader at Enjoy Church, explained that “Prayer at the Poles” is an annual tradition. This is her first year as the organizer, and she worked with Calaway-Habeck to get the word out. They also plan to start a club at AHS called “First Priority” to help Christian students connect.
“We just wanted to keep it going,” Carlisle added.
As the morning concluded, the group dispersed and students and staff went inside to begin the school day. Goins thanked those who had joined him in the unity march and expressed his gratitude to the AHS community.
“We prayed over this school, not just this school, but all the schools,” he said. “I’m just so blessed to be here today with the students, faculty and staff.”
