CCO Campus Ministry

Home / Newsroom / Responding to the crisis at Penn State

Responding to the crisis at Penn State

As the Penn State University community reels from the events that have unfolded on that campus over the past week, CCO staff members seek to help students process and respond to the crisis in State College, Pennsylvania.

The sex abuse scandal that has consumed Penn State’s storied football program has been well documented. Please join us in praying for our staff and the students with whom they have opportunities to share.

From CCO staff member Erica Young Reitz, here are some specific prayer requests:

  • For the victims and their families.
  • For justice. Pray that in the uproar over our football program and the institution itself that that victims and families would not be forgotten. Pray for current decision-makers and future jurors and judges. Pray that in the end, what is right, true, and just prevails.
  • For students, alums and the PSU community. This entire situation has tested and toppled idols for many people (ourselves included). Regardless of what you think about the recent decisions made, people are confused, hurting and don’t know where to turn for hope. Please pray for opportunities to point people to greater hope—our Only Hope—Jesus.
  • For all victims of sexual abuse. The discussions and exposure of this scandal rips scabs from old wounds for many victims of abuse. From sheer statistics alone, we know there are many men and women hurting right now because of pain they have endured from sexual abuse. Pray for opportunities for healing, and pray that we are sensitive to students who many need help and counsel in this time.
  • For me, my co-ministers at PSU, Calvary, and the Church of State College. May we be faithful, compassion-filled shepherds to a crowd of people who feel lost and helpless right now (Matthew 9:36-38). We are all grieving, but we do not grieve without hope.

CCO staff member Steve Lutz addressed students last Monday, as the news was just breaking. You can read a summary of his comments here, in Crisis on Campus: How Should We Respond?

Thank you for joining us in prayer. As Erica writes, “May God use this awful mess for His glory somehow.”