Arizona Students Refuse To Remove Prayer From Graduation

Mark 13:13 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”

Despite an administrator’s attempt to get prayer removed from the Pima Unified School District’s graduation, students made sure that God was given praise during the event.

Superintendent Sean Rickert had ordered the removal of prayer from the graduation event because he wanted to make sure he wasn’t violating the rights of any student who didn’t want to participate in or hear a prayer at the event.  He said that he made the decision on his own without any threats of legal action against the school.

Community members and students were outraged at Rickert’s actions, and when the Superintendent and other school officials refused to change their mind on the matter, students took the matter into their own hands.

Not only did students present prayers as part of the ceremony, many graduates made a silent protest by handing a marble to the superintendent as they graduated, an indication they believed he had “lost his marbles” with his actions.

“My class wanted God in our graduation and we weren’t going to take no for an answer,” said Esperanza Gonzalez, one of the students who prayed at the event.  “The world keeps saying ‘no to God, no to God’ unless you’re in prison, so we said yes to God because He has helped us throughout our entire high school career.”

23 thoughts on “Arizona Students Refuse To Remove Prayer From Graduation

  1. Now that’s the kind of backbone we need to see in all Christians! What are they going to do to us when we stand firmly in Christ, jail us? Bring it on!!!!!

  2. Praise God for these students, that is what all of us should be doing everytime the enemy comes against us, we should rise up and stand for what we believe in God.

  3. The SLEEPING GIANT has awakened. We thank you Lord Jesus Christ for YOUR GENERATION has arose. Christians with BACKBONE in the face of persecution. LET GOD ARISE AND HIS ENEMIES BE SCATTERED.

  4. As an Arizonan I could not be more proud of these students in Pima Unified shame on Mr. Rickert and HURRAY for the LORD and these kids.

  5. Awsome forthese students to stand up for GOD.All of us Christians need to stand up for GOD in ALL circumstances!!

  6. It is wonderful to see what God doing in these times. Just the other day when my husband David and I were talking about the world today and the lack of faith and it became apparent to us that the children who are in their teens now are hungry for truth and it is evident as those in school are now abstaining from sex before marriage and the abortion rate is down in their category. It is time to get prayed up for what is coming.

  7. Praise God for these students and their leadership and boldness.We need as a nation to be lead by students like these because this is our only hope.Never stop you guys…keep on keeping on.

  8. Good for them standing there ground. That’s the problem today, they have took God out of our schools and our problems multiplied. I am proud to see kids who know there constitutional right and are not afraid to stand on it. May God bless them and protect them and continue to stand strong for the glory of God. We need a lot more Christians just like them! Thanks Kids

  9. It’s good to see there are some REAL Christians left, way to go! Support God, not non-believers! It’s time to stand up for God, regardless of the consequences.

  10. Hats off to your graduation class for standing up for God and what he has done in your lives to honor and praise him. You will be blest you this. Love all of you Christian students for your stand at graduation.
    Karen from Ridgeland, Ms.

  11. Shame on the superintendent Sean Rickert & may God Bless the students for their courage & boldness, I wish the Christians in the 60′ would have stood up like that, prayer would still be in school daily. There is still hope, a generation is moving in for God, Yes to God. Amen!

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