Article October 20, 1986 Issue

POSITIVE PRESS

Mark Munro

The Boston Globe

From The Boston Sunday Globe

"School children talk about prayer"

"'prayer' she said quietly 'Guess I need it a lot' "This is Tonia.

"A 15-year-old eighth grader ... who said she'd never met her father, that her brother was always 'in trouble' and that her mother 'didn't have no money' .... Among young people of several faiths queried recently, Tonia was not unusual.

"Like Tonia, ... others echoed the simple seriousness with which she explained her personal devotions. Prayer is private, they agreed. Prayer is important. Prayer should he addressed on intimate and friendly terms to an ever-present 'father'.

"'It's going up in your room and being alone with God,' said Diane, 16, ... while 14-year-old Mario ... said: 'Prayer is talking to God.'

"Said 12-year-old Thomas ..., 'I thank God for the things He's given us and when I go to bed; I ask Him to watch over my mother and father and brothers and sisters and all the lonely people around the world'"

By Mark Munro, The Boston Globe

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