Are prayers only empty platitudes?

Seven hundred students at East Catholic High School in Manchester, CT, are busy again this year, not only with college prep academics, competitive sports, choral and dramatic productions, but also with community service. They volunteer in area soup kitchens, raise money and collect food for needy families here and abroad, and distribute Christmas gifts to poor children. They believe prayer without action is futile. But here's the catch. They also believe action without prayer is futile.

                                                                                                                                                Facebook
ECHS students, representing a cross section of religions, recently made a video for their school's Facebook page which captured national attention. Within days, it had been shared by 3,327 users. Several news sites picked it up, and the school has received calls of thanks from across the nation. The video was sent to this blog as a "possible Crumb of Comfort" from a reader in Redlands, CA.

Students created the video in the wake of the massacre in San Bernadino, CA, last December. Days after the killings, the New York Daily News headlined, "God Isn't Fixing This." In their video, students refute the idea that prayers in the face of bloody chaos are an empty platitudes. "The message that we want to send is that prayer does matter," says Principal James Hartling. "Prayer is part of action." To see this brief, heartfelt video, visit vimeo.com/148643920