Yesterday I gave the invocation at the Women for Women's Power of the Purse event. Seeing as Women for Women in Greenville is not explicitly a Christian organization, seeing as Greenville is more diverse than many people are actually aware, I gave the following blessing, which I thought appropriate to the nature of the gathering:
Let us pray.
Gracious and loving God, who knows many names, we give you thanks for the many gifts of this life—the gift of this day, the gift of this food, and the gift of one another. Open our eyes that we might see you in the world about us. Open our lips that we might speak out on behalf of those who have a hard time speaking for themselves. Open our hands that we might find you through the act of giving. Open our hearts that we might recognize you in the different ways you make yourself known to us. Let your Holy Spirit be known to all Women for Women, to all the organizations it supports, and to all gathered here today and always. Amen.
First of all, note the explicit mention of the Holy Spirit. This is more than I would do in a context other than down east. To be honest, it was a stretch for me to pray something so Trinitarian at what is presumably a secular event. Judging from the reaction, though, I think the divinity of the Holy Spirit is in some major trouble, as mentioning the third person of the Trinity didn't seem to satisfy some of the Christians present. Only the first two persons--the "Dear Father God" or Jesus-- will suffice.
Perhaps I'm being overly sensitive, but I think I may have gotten some passive aggressive backlash a mere two hours later. One of the first questions asked of Naomi Judd, who was the event's speaker, was something to the effect of: "Do you feel you can't mention Jesus when you're speaking?" Ms. Judd handled the question beautifully, speaking about how talk show hosts want her to talk about things that don't matter, things like her daughter's weight, when she (Naomi) would rather talk about issues important to her such as Hepatitis C. She then went on to say that she recognized major world religions such as Judaism and Islam, though she didn't think everything that claims to be a religion is an actual path to the divine (I'm heavily paraphrasing here).
I recognize that this is not necessarily a prayer entirely appropriate on a Sunday morning in the context of a Christian worship service. This is something I would--and did--pray on a Wednesday morning in the Greenville Convention Center. I honestly believe it to be authentic to who I am.
Truths do not have to be mutually exclusive. Shouting how right we are will not make everyone else less right.
6 comments:
interesting content analysis of religious discourse. Who knew you all ("you all" referring to pastors, prists, reverands) took the time to really analyze their speech that much. It just goes to show how common and uneducated i am :-(.
JOseph! You're not common or uneducated.
Christians--and not just Christians--are supposed to bea people of the book, so we think that words actually matter. Honestly, though, I think it was more that there are certain buzzwords and catch phrases one can use to align oneself with this group or another group, which this prayer did not do.
maybe it is because prayers are current and personal. i think people have been 'numbed' with bible-speak.
great blog!
When I am asked to lead a prayer I consider that I am speaking for the group in offering thanks and/or petitions. Obviously I want to do that in a spirit that unifies the group and does not offend. Some will be offended by what I do not say, others by what I do say, but the one to whom I pray knows my heart, and I know my heart. I mean no offense, though I will commit it, and I mean no slight, though I will commit it. But I am forgiven before I offend, and in accepting that, I am fine. It was a good prayer in spite of the apparent gender bias of the group.
Good points. Like Rob says, no matter what, we do slight and offend, despite our intentions.
Thanks for commenting, y'all.
I think this issue is one that needs to be addressed by the folks who are attempting to make Greenville a "truly inclusive community." We can't continue to use exclusively Christian invocations at public events. What about our Jewish, Muslim, Gnostic, etc. neighbors who attend these events. They feel slighted when "Jesus" is the only Deity invoked. There are ways, such as your invocation, that are more inclusive.
Lynn Caverly
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