When popular Glenbard North High School band teacher Bill Schraft, 50, had a stroke last Saturday, his past and present students started a prayer group. But instead of gathering in a church basement or someone’s home, they turned to Facebook.

Within days, Schraft’s group on the social networking site had more than 500 members and 90 messages sending prayers to the Schraft family.

With religious Web sites gaining popularity, the Internet has added a new dimension to prayer and grieving.

Bill Schraft passed away early Wednesday at University of Chicago Hospitals. After his death, the group’s focus shifted to getting the word out and memorializing his life.

“If this happened 30 years ago, it would have been a lot more difficult to communicate with people,” said Schraft’s 22-year-old son Mike Schraft. “People were calling their entire phonebooks. This was a giant event that really hit home in a lot of people’s lives. In the past few days, I’ve been getting an e-mail or Facebook message, on average, every two minutes telling me their favorite story of my dad.”

Mike Schraft said the Facebook group and the inundation of e-mails and calls have helped him realize the impact his father had during his 28-year career.
 
“I had him sophomore year for a music class, and I can see why he touched so many lives,” one message in the prayer group read. “You will be missed Mr. Schraft.”

Another read: "I never really knew Mr. Schraft on a personal level, but more than half of my friends love him with all their hearts...he'll be greatly missed."

Bill Schraft’s death isn’t the only tragedy that has rallied people to start an online prayer group. When word of April’s Virginia Tech shooting spread, more than 250 prayer groups were started on Facebook. The largest group had more than 9,000 members.

Social networking sites and the Internet are also helping people connect to their faith, said Chicago Catholic Archdiocese spokesman James Accurso.

“[Online prayer] speaks to everyone being pulled in a lot of different directions. You can be connected to the word of God even if you’re busy,” Accurso said. “Prayer groups have been going on for quite a long time, and it is very steeped in the tradition of the church.”

Accurso said the church has been keeping up with the trend of online faith, and there are places where people can post online requests for priests or other clergy members to pray for them. AmericanCatholic.org, for example, accepts prayer requests that are then put on a scrolling screen at the National Shrine of St. Anthony of Padua in Cincinnati. Other religious Web sites like InternetPrayers.com also allow people to post prayers.

A Google search for “online prayer groups” returned more than 2.3 million hits. On MySpace, the most popular prayer group allows members to read daily Bible verses and has nearly 150,000 members.

The emergence of the Internet as a place for prayer is not surprising. A Pew Research Center study published last week said 89 percent of teens and 71 percent of their parents believe the Internet and technology like cell phones make their lives easier.

Religious Web sites in particular are gaining popularity. According to comScore Media Metrix, a company that measures Internet audiences, religious sites attracted an estimated 22 million visitors in September. Sites like GodTube.com, a Christian YouTube.com, saw a 973 percent increase in traffic between July and August, according to comScore.

For Mike Schraft, the Facebook group has made getting word out about his father’s death a little easier.

“My dad was a strong person of faith,” Mike Schraft said. “[Using Facebook] is promoting how people can use tools to connect to each other and to their faith. There are times when I’ve been sending e-mails and crying. But I’ve been able to keep in contact. I’m speaking with my hands.”