Nursing juniors and faculty pray together at the "Blessing of the Hands" ceremony.
Dr. Robbie Henson, dean of the College of Nursing, speaks at the "Blessing of the Hands."
Megan Smith (left), assistant professor of nursing, prays with junior nursing majors.
OBU College of Nursing Hosts Prayer Ceremony for Junior Nursing Majors
August 14, 2020
The OBU College of Nursing held a “Blessings of the Hands” ceremony Monday, Aug. 10, on the first day of the fall semester. The ceremony commissioned all junior nursing majors as they enter the nursing program of study.
Dr. Robbie Henson, dean of the College of Nursing, described the ceremony as, “a time of recognizing their calling to be the hands and feet of Jesus as they learn to care for people who are at points of transition in their life--the joy of a birth, the pain of trauma, the fear of the unknown.”
The “Blessing of the Hands” ceremony took place just east of Stavros Hall, home to the College of Nursing. Laura Gramling and Megan Smith, both assistant professors of nursing, planned the ceremony, while senior nursing students Katy Fischer and Liz Walker provided live worship music. Henson spoke the blessing and the entire nursing faculty prayed over the students in small groups.
While 2020 is an unprecedented time, especially in nursing and health care, the “Blessing of the Hands” ceremony allows junior nursing students to safely pray and worship with one another. In the midst of the uncertainty, Henson says that the students are “reminded that there is no safer place to be than in the center of God’s will.”
Learn more about the College of Nursing.