Dr. Chen accomplishes this goal in part by offering a brief time for reflection and prayer at the start of each class. "This time of reflection and prayer is to help students and myself settle in class, quiet our minds, and shake the dust off our shoes," said Dr. Chen.
The prayers are intentional opportunities for Dr. Chen to pray for the students, share a group moment, and enhance the learning climate. "As part of the prayer, I make it real and relevant by praying for individual student needs, student academics, and current issues or events in the pharmaceutical sciences," said Dr. Chen.
Prayer in the classroom is a long-standing tradition and embedded into the curriculum at Loma Linda University. "Classroom prayer demonstrates a real connection with our University mission of furthering the healing and teaching ministry of Jesus Christ and to make man whole," added Dr. Chen.
Edited by Stephen Vodhanel
An excerpt from Dr. Chen's prayer:
Father God in Heaven,
I pray that within this ministry of pharmacy
And of the healing sciences,
We are able to dispense with excellence,
The ointment which anoints.
Let us be whole and administer comfort to aching joints.
Let us be excellent for those we love,
And for those that love us,
And for those that we serve.
Father God,
We are beautifully, distinctively, and wonderfully made.
I pray that we know this well and deeply
In our souls.
Father God in Heaven,
I know I pray for much,
I am but a mere person,
But I really do pray all of these things in your precious name,
The name of Christ Jesus, and the Holy Spirit,
Amen.