Evening Prayer Sees Light of Day for First Time in 29 Years

This past Tuesday, the first Evening Prayer (EP) of the school year was held in Phillips Church. The service, which has been hosted by Reverend Robert Thompson for the past 29 years, began and progressed in its typical fashion—Thompson read a selection of poems by poets such as Howard Thurman, students stretched their arms and wrapped them around their dates with Thompson’s usual “Welcome to Evening Prayer” and the designated musician of the service performed. Although the night was almost usual and unchanged, attendees inevitably noticed that something was amiss: the ceiling lights were left on throughout the entire service.

The decision to keep lights on during EP originated with former principal Tom Hassan. After receiving a complaint from an instructor that inappropriate behavior was occurring during the service—particularly in the back of the church—Hassan and Thompson discussed ways to discourage any potentially harmful activity from taking place.

EP is widely considered both a time for serenity and faith, as well as a popular weekly date location for students. To discourage inappropriate behavior and uphold the original values of the service, Thompson said that the lights-on EP will become a norm. EP will no longer occur in the dark.

Thompson said he hadn’t noticed any inappropriate activity in the back of the church, as he is often reading or seated in the front. But when Hassan attended a service himself in the spring, he suggested that the lights be turned on to discourage inappropriate behavior.

“The idea is to not provide a safe place for anyone to provide unwelcome physical contact.”

Thompson hoped that adding a little light in the back will address the issue, without influencing the peaceful atmosphere.

“It won’t be a whole lot of light, it will still be a dark place and the significant light will be candlelight,” Thompson said. “The idea is to not provide a safe place for anyone to provide unwelcome physical contact.”

On Tuesday, Thompson kept the overhead lights on as students entered the church and then lowered them as EP began.The stain glass window above the door of the church was illuminated and it supplied enough light for those in the back to see one another.

While the church was lighter in the back, those sitting up front were, for the most part, still surrounded by darkness, according to upper Nada Zohayr, who sat near the front on Tuesday. From where Zohayr was sitting, EP “felt the same as as it always has been.”

Thompson said in all his years of hosting EP, he has never had a student formally complain about feeling uncomfortable because of unwanted sexual advances. However, Thompson agreed that he believes it is necessary to take a preemptive measure to ensure safety.

“I don’t want to wait until something is obviously broken before we make some changes. This seems to be a prudent adjustment that will not really negatively affect the program,” he said.

As a national spotlight has been turned to sexual assault and consent on college and secondary school campuses, this change is another measure to discourage any potentially forceful sexual behavior, especially at a service organized and held by the school each week.

Nonetheless, the community response has been largely negative. While preps and new students will not notice a change, returning students and even alumni have taken offense at what they perceive as a disruption of tradition.

Upper Zea Eanet said she’d miss the ability to be completely relaxed and carefree, a result of the darkness.

“You can go to EP and be ugly in the dark where no one will see you,” she said, drawing from personal experience. “So I think they should keep the lights off.”

Some students thought that the change was unnecessary, as inappropriate sexual behavior during Evening Prayer has never been as big an issue as this change may make it seem to be.

Other students were less offended by the change and instead worked to see the positives in the inevitable imposition.

Upper Alejandro Arango argued that while the lights will make EP less intimate, “some could argue that it makes it more meditative, [because there’s] more looking at the performances. I’m optimistic that it can still be a special event and something that people genuinely enjoy.”

Arango also said he could “see the reason behind [the change]” and that if it is a change the “administration sees as the best force of action to take” then their decision should be respected and supported.

Zohayr agreed that the change was necessary and said it may help to reduce situations similar to the St. Paul’s “senior salute.”

“From the times that I’ve been to EP and I’ve passed by the back there has been a lot of stuff happening. But I think that the only issue regarding EP with consent is when you have preps being forcefully set up by their upperclassmen and going with people they either feel uncomfortable going with or going with people who are too old for them,” Zohayr said.

Upper Somto Ejinkonye said he witnessed an incident at EP his prep year that reminded him of recent incidents at St. Paul’s. Turning on the lights “maybe will stop that kind of thing from happening,” Ejinkonye said

Ejinkonye also said he thought turning on the lights wouldn’t lower attendance as most people go “for the music and to hear [Reverend Thompson] speak,” which, Ejinkonye pointed out, was all still there.

Upper Michelle Ramiz, who goes to evening prayer almost every week, said that only the “people who go with certain purposes in mind” will notice the change.

But, Ramiz said, “I personally don’t care.”