Many teenagers are doing numerous amounts of creative things with their lives. With school, first jobs, active sports schedules, and other activities, many students have limited time for anything else. Junior Amanda Riffe is no exception. She sings at her church, Resurrection Life Church, for the main services. Although Amanda has an occupied schedule, she has made time for a new duty in her life.

Amanda has started a prayer group named United Prayer, located at the Cascade Jam ‘N’ Bean. This is a group that gets together once a week to discuss current world events and how they feel about it.

“It’s not a gossip drama story. It’s about where we are in our lives and we pray,” Amanda said. “We use faith to solve life’s issues because for us, all we really have is faith and hope.”

There have already been a few attendees, including junior Ellie Matelic. She is also a good friend of Amanda’s and supports her through this new journey.

“I’m really proud of her for everything she’s done,” Ellie said.

Along with Ellie, theater teacher Robbin DeMeester is involved in United Prayer as well. She and Amanda attend the same church and came up with the idea to create this prayer group together because of all the recent events that have caused a conflict in society.

“I know for me, and for Amanda, it has made us excited that we can do something that is positive and that will [cause] change.” DeMeester said.

Amanda is currently working on changing the location to the school. People of any or no religion are welcome to attend the weekly meetings because it’s not necessary to take part in the praying if they just wish to come and talk. The main point of the group is to unite people in the midst of  troubling times. United prayer is completely confidential and nothing said will ever leave the group.

As a junior trying to balance the “hardest year of high school,” Amanda is taking the leadership position of this group. She feels she really needs to expand this organization to improve the lives of other students.

“I see a lot of hurting people at our school, a lot of people who are angry and upset at the world.  It’s one thing to just listen to it all the time,” Amanda said. “This is the only thing I could come up with to unify people with God.”

Amanda is very confident in her faith, which makes her leadership of the group so substantial. It shows a good example for the group of students.

“She’s interested in meeting people where they are, not just pushing her own agenda but really caring for other people,” DeMeester said. “I think she really tries to think about where people are, and what their needs are, and what she can do to help that need.”

Amanda hopes to transform this group into something larger over time. She has everything in place and is set strongly for what she would like to do with United Prayer. She is a very kind person and it shows as she leads.

“[Amanda is] super intellectual, but she doesn’t have hubris about it,” DeMeester said. “She’s very aware of the world [and] she’s very aware of people.”