Every Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Catholic Student Community holds a prayer table for students and visitors of Iowa State.

The Catholic Student Community is based at St. Thomas Aquinas in Ames. At the church there is a main student center where students are free to come and go.

“We’re an organization; we basically want the Catholic faith on campus,” said Mark Ryant, junior in industrial design and the peer minister of the outreach team at St. Thomas Aquinas. “We do a lot of outreach on campus, and that is where the prayer table comes in.”

The intentions, or prayers, given at the prayer table are all confidential. The prayer table varies in location; it is either located in the Memorial Union or outside of the library. Anyone is welcome to submit to the prayer box at the table.

“It’s a benefit to anyone who stops by. A lot of people want someone who they know cares enough to pray for them,” Ryant said. “We care for everybody; it doesn’t matter who they are, we still care for them. It’s an outreach that shows the Catholic Church really cares for everybody.”

On Sunday, the prayer group meets, and they read the prayers out loud and then throw them away so the prayers remain confidential.

“Sometimes we do different types of prayer, but for these ones in particular we offer up all the intentions that are set on campus and then we read on them and close it with another prayer afterwards,” Ryant said.

Sometimes the group will get responses and thanks from those who submit their intentions, Ryant said.

“We have had multiple people stop by and talk about why we believe what we believe. Me and my team actually practice with each other telling each other our faith stories,” Ryant said.

Ryant said that the group encourages discussion with their peers.

“That’s part of the outreach team as well. At the table we are supposed to be able to talk to people. We usually say hello and good morning to people as they walk by and encourage discussion if they want to talk,” Ryant said.

There are seven people who are a part of the prayer table and the outreach ministry.

“I really want to make a difference in people’s lives. You don’t always see it but just planting those seeds can make all the difference in someone’s life whether you realize it or not,” said Stephen Kesten, senior in accounting.

With finals approaching, the Catholic Student Community expects a lot of intentions from students with their finals.