‘Understanding, education and respect is key’
“Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:18-20), is the theme for the 2019 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Traditionally this week of prayer is celebrated between Jan. 18-25. In the Digby area, this year’s inter-denominational service will be 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 20, at Trinity Anglican Church, Digby. The celebrant/padre/preacher will be Rev. Linda DeMone with special music from Rivers of Grace United.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was first proposed in 1908 by Fr. Paul Wattson, founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement in Graymoor, New York, as an observance within the Roman Catholic Church. However, since the founding of the World Council of Churches in 1948, many other Christian denominations around the world have come to celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Nearly 75 per cent of the world’s population practises one of the five most influential religions of the world: Buddhism (376 million), Christianity (2.1 billion), Islam (1.3 billion), Hinduism (900 million) and Judaism (14 million). Despite the myth among those in English-speaking countries is that Islamic believers are Arabs, most Islamic people do not live in the Arabic nations of the Middle East.
In my undergraduate degree I had taken courses on comparative religion. As a young want-tobe clinician in a Masters program, I was mentored, guided and nurtured by an extremely learned, very kind former Christian missionary, Rev. Howard Taylor. Indeed, I was seeking in truth an easy credit for a graduate course, when I enrolled in a Family Therapy offering he taught. Yet, it was his course that gave me one of my most valuable constructs. “True health is like a chair. To be well there must be balance. Each leg has a role. Consider the physical, psychological, social and spiritual elements as legs. Yes, 3-legged stools work but to be firmly secure a 4-legged chair is far more secure and comfortable.”
All too often in our politicallycorrect world we negate or shy away from both the concept of faith and humanity’s need for spiritual roots. Prayer, except for student exam times, is not correct. The ethical constructs, the morality, the respect for each other, justice and equality that is the fundamental premise of all of the world’s 20 major religious philosophies is not explored in our educational system. That is tragic.
I am a devote Catholic, but over the years I have come to respect many traditions. Howard said, “the good Lord gave his children free will, who am I to judge how they see him and respect his gifts to them.” My Muslim, Jewish and Buddhist friends send me Christmas greetings. I in turn send cards and letters associated with their observances.
Understanding, education and respect is key. Our 1st nations whose awareness historically predates that 75 per cent, have given us a starting point, “Spirituality is defined as at the core of our being, our very identity. It gives meaning to all aspects of life including relationships with one another and the environment. All objects are living and share the same soul and spirit.” Heavy, I know, but perhaps a subject of thought.