Will You Pray with Me?
Something that always grates on me in Unitarian Universalist services is when the minister or service leader says, “Please join me in the spirit of meditation.”
This bothers me even more than the “God” word dance we do so often, and I thought until recently that it was because of the apparent phobia we collectively have about traditional religious language, but I’ve come to realize that there’s more to it than the choice of word.
I want to hear the phrase “Let us pray” in our churches. Here’s why: I see prayer in church is an act of community intention rather than a private, individual reflection. We need not bow in supplication to a higher being or personal image of God in order to pray, which is the (I think) knee-jerk fear that many Unitarian Universalists have when they think about the concept of prayer, but to me, meaningful prayer is that which acknowledges that we are but small pieces of a greater, more beautiful whole.
I’ve heard a number of different prayers over the last month or so, from the mumbled, apologetic, “is this really church?” type to a lengthy and eloquent, yet strident, response to a sermon, to pastoral recognition of joys and sorrows in the community, to simple, declarative grace said over meals with dear friends. And I’ve come to feel that what I need from prayer, and what I think our religious community needs from prayer, is the deliberate drawing together of that which we are together that is more than we are as individuals. It’s about stating our intentions as a community, the very reasons we come together in community, and it’s about gathering those intentions into our collective highest resolve that can then make a very real difference in this broken world of ours.
When we use the words “meditation,” “contemplation,” or “reflection” in place of prayer, I think we strip the heart right out of what it is we’re meant to do in our religious lives. To me, these words imply solitude rather than community. And, frankly, that’s not what I go to church for.
Here is a prayer that I dearly love, disguised cleverly as a poem:
I thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
~~ e.e. cummings
Why and how do you pray?
Comment by UU Jester
November 13, 2006 @ 1:18 pm
1) I would never say “Let us pray.” Call it phobic if you will. I think of it as being respectful. I invite people to join me in whatever I’m currently doing. Some times, that is silence, some times it is meditation, and some times it is prayer. Often, it is all three. And so I say, “I invite you into a time of prayer and meditation.” Come with me, or not, as your spirit dictates.
2) How do I pray? Depends.
Are you asking about the deeply personal prayer I do before I enter the pulpit to preach? I spend time near something natural, outside if possible, and then I call to mind as many connections to those that have made me who I am as I can. And with each image, I reach out along those connections with gratitude feeling the calm, assurance, and love they gve me.
Or are you asking about how I lead a prayer in community from the pulpit?
That depends on the purpose of the prayer– but some elements are always the same. I try to hold up our connections. To each other. To the wider world. I express gratitude. And I express hope that through our connections we be granted …. wisdom, healing, love… whatever I feel the community most needs at that time.