Progressive Faith Blog Con 2006
Whew. The conference is over. I am still very moved and happy that I attended. The images of the conference are vividly with me. We were people basically of four faiths -- Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and Muslim. We met together, prayed together, worshipped together, ate together, laughed together. Yes, you read that right -- we worshipped together, with each of us participating as we were able or comfortable.
Understand for a moment what it meant that male and female, Jew and Muslim were all part of the group of four faiths praying as they faced East on Saturday....and that Christians and Jews saw in Shabbat together with Muslims and Buddhists.....and that all faiths sang "Amazing Grace" and "Let there be Peace on Earth" at Christian worship, and meditated together led by a Buddhist. Each tradition sought the most inclusive parts of their prayer and /or worship tradition and shared it. It was impossible. No one does this, even wild-eyed interfaith gatherings. No one.
We did.
And at the end of the weekend, it was this, even more than our discoveries of political unity, that made us believe a better world was possible. It was shared prayer, shared love of God that convinced us all that miracles could happen, and that the world could be made new.
Understand for a moment what it meant that male and female, Jew and Muslim were all part of the group of four faiths praying as they faced East on Saturday....and that Christians and Jews saw in Shabbat together with Muslims and Buddhists.....and that all faiths sang "Amazing Grace" and "Let there be Peace on Earth" at Christian worship, and meditated together led by a Buddhist. Each tradition sought the most inclusive parts of their prayer and /or worship tradition and shared it. It was impossible. No one does this, even wild-eyed interfaith gatherings. No one.
We did.
And at the end of the weekend, it was this, even more than our discoveries of political unity, that made us believe a better world was possible. It was shared prayer, shared love of God that convinced us all that miracles could happen, and that the world could be made new.
posted by Mata H at Sunday, July 16, 2006
7 Comments:
Thank you for this post, and for your presence! I'm so glad the worship moved you in this way.
Amen to what Rachel said. I was so impressed that Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike were open to Zen meditation, which is typically seen as being either "idolatrous" or "godless." I'd like to think, though, that focusing on the sacred *breath* of our individual traditions allowed us to recognize similar inspiration in other paths.
Wow, this sounds so wonderful. I wish I could have been there. Thank you for your prayers and for reporting on the Blog Con.
Way cool. Thank you for giving hope to us all with this post.
Mata, it sounds like the Blog Con was all you'd hoped it might be, and so much more. Can't wait to read more of your reflections of the weekend. So timely with what's going on in the Middle East now. If only people would see one another and offer respect...
A message of hope indeed, prayers that this is possible outside the confines of one space
It must be 'great' to all worship the Devil together.
y2t
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