The Church of the Ascension hosted a 12-Hour Day of Prayer on Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

They served as one of four host sites across the Episcopal Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania.

The church was open throughout this time for prayer, as well as having times of common prayer following the traditional daily offices of Morning Prayer at 9 a.m., Noonday Prayer at noon, Evening Prayer at 5:15 p.m. and Compline at 8:30 p.m.

Deacon Deb Cavagnaro spoke on the Day of Prayer, stating that it was intended to give everyone a chance to pray together at the same time, and maybe even for the same things.

“Sometimes coming together in prayer serves as a collective understanding of what God is asking and doing going forward,” said Cavagnaro.

The Day of Prayer comes after a recent act of violence at a high school in Parkland, Fla.

Cavagnaro spoke on this stating that one thing she tries to tell individuals who are scared, or even mad, is to have empathy.

“Everyone is human, and everyone is God’s child,” she stated. “It’s important to understand each other’s suffering.”

The Rev. Stacey Fussell had one child in 2nd grade and one in 4th at the time of the Sandy Hook shooting, and she remembers how scared she was to put them on the school bus the next day, stating that it was one of the hardest things she’s ever had to do.

“I think it’s important for people to know that even when you’re a priest, things like this shake you to the core,” she said. “I also think it’s important for people to understand that it’s okay to scream to God and ask “Why?””

She also wanted individuals who may be having a hard time wrapping their minds around everything happening in the world today that there’s nothing we go through that God doesn’t understand, and that He understand a parent’s grieving heart.

“In addition to praying, we also need to do something,” she stated. “If we want to make the world a safer place we have to make changes.”

She believes that when individuals come up to her who may be scared and angry, that the best thing to do is just be honest with them because God has a way of working things together.

“Sometimes you have to pray, cry and grieve and that’s okay,” she said. “I would also tell them that no child is ever without God. The world is scary, and it’s scary to send them out into it when we can’t be with them, but God is always there.”

Fussell also stated that with everything happening in today’s world, it’s a sign that we aren’t in control, but God is.

She believes that the Day of Prayer is significant because there are always needs to be prayed for.

Individuals can wander into the church, pray and reflect, and then wander out, and to Fussell, that is the whole point of a church.

“We create a space for people to have an encounter with God,” she said.