After Russia invaded Ukraine, the Creighton Student Union partnered with campus ministry to bring a prayer service to the steps of St. John’s where the organizers were speaking, singing and praying with students gathered around the fountain. 

The Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, S.J., and Francisco Pastor-Rivera, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences were the main speakers at the service. 

Pastor-Rivera, the President of CSU, proposed the ceremony to Campus Ministry and coordinated multiple student speakers to represent an array of campus organizations. 

“The goal of the event was for the Bluejay community to come together as united world citizens aiming, calling and praying for peace,” said Pastor-Rivera in an email interview. 

The prayer service did not address political opinions on the war nor was it solely directed towards the Catholic student demographic 

As the speeches began, the crowd of students grew to roughly double in size with students walking to class stopping to listen. 

“I know I saw a few of my friends walking by the mall, stopped to ask me what was going on, and decided to stay for the ceremony,” said Kenya Lewis, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. 

“CSU stands with Ukraine and for democracy,” Pastor-Rivera said in his speech. “We, as a Bluejay community, will not politicize the crisis, and we will not subject any of our fellow students to any form of bigotry.” 

Lewis spoke briefly at the service as the Assistant Vice President of Programming for CSU . 

After delivering his speech, Pastor-Rivera began to sing “This Little Light of Mine” and invited the crowd to sing along with him. 

The song was an improvisation on Pastor-Rivera’s part. The initial plan was for candles to be passed out to the crowd. However, due to wind, that idea was scratched. 

“The candle represented the light of the world, praying for the better intentions of humanity to shine,” said Pastor-Rivera. 

With the war taking place nearly halfway across the world it’s affects have reached the center of the United States here in Omaha, Neb. 

“I think it was important to hold this event because it’s good for our community to be involved with current events in a respectful way,” said Lewis. “Considering that we are a Jesuit university, I feel like our values call our community to take a stand for peace and harmony.” 

The service was announced through several avenues including social media, an email announcement from the Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, S.J., and Pastor-Rivera’s campus wide CSU monthly address everyone. 

“All are welcome to attend a prayer service for the people of Ukraine, that they may be held in the loving care and protection of our gracious God,” said the Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, S.J., in an email to the Creighton community.