Still

 “Be still and know that I am God…..”

This line has been resonating in me since Lent began and for the first night of our Silent Prayer it seemed particularly apt. In the Book of Alternative Services I found this prayer:

“O God of Peace, who taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence, shall be our strength; by the might of your Spirit lift us we pray, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

This prayer is found in the section marked Ministry to the Sick but for me it is applicable today and particularly during Lent. This is where it comes from in the Bible, in Psalm 46:10:

“Be still, then and know that I am God,

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

Sitting quietly in a pew I have never sat in before or walking the Stations of the Cross over and over again, I experienced the church in a way that I never have before. We had thrown the outside door wide open and the wind rattling the doors and the chants quietly reverberating from the speakers made me aware of the world outside but also focused my attention on Him who is everywhere. I was profoundly moved by my experience there last night.

Still.

Kenzie

     Today I went to my first pow wow. It was amazing! There was a Grand Entrance which was incredible with all the dancers, royalty and dignitaries coming forward. There were different age range competitions like Tiny Tots but what I especially enjoyed was an initiation for a beautiful little seven year old girl named Kenzie. Her family travelled two days to come here from Saskatchewan for this express purpose. She was initiated into her dancing life with a ceremony that acknowledged the support of her aunties and her family in the past but which also recognized their ongoing support in the years to come. It was an awesome ceremony which incorporated drumming, song, dancing and prayer. Four blankets were laid out in a circle with four different elders standing near them. As Kenzie danced over them, the blankets were quickly swept up and put around the shoulders of the elder standing closest. Her dance celebrated her life and the lives of her people.  And as her father noted, it also celebrated the fact that she will never be part of the residential school system like he was. It was a joyous, humbling, unique experience that I will not forget.

Prayer

     I’ve been praying a lot recently, more even than usual. I’m also reading a book about prayer; how to pray, specifically. In learning to pray The Lord's Prayer, the prayer that Jesus taught us all, with greater intentionality and purpose I find every line new and fresh although I have been repeating this prayer, over and over, my whole life through. In times of need, fear, loss, sadness and joy this uncomplicated exhortation covers all the bases and yet children can learn it, simply and easily.

     What I also find interesting today is that the commandment given by Jesus to treat others as you yourself would want to be treated, which is in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, is not a concept specific to Judeo Christian religions only but exists in so many different religions and cultures in the world. A handout from the Surrey Interfaith Council beautifully illustrates what we call "the Golden Rule" or "the summary of the Law and the Prophets, representing a core Christian ethic of love, reciprocity, and proactive kindness" according to Google and the equivalent concept in various other religions.

     These are hard times, full of division and hatred, greed and contempt, war and loss and yet rather than feeling that we stand alone in our beliefs we can realize that others hold this core value as central to their beliefs as much as we do. I pray that all of us, myself included, would recognize that a wish for peace and harmony is a heartfelt hope that we all hold deep in the recesses of our human souls, if we only search for it. And pray.