“A
Living Service”: The
Interfaith Prayer Service with His Holiness the Dalai Lama
by Jill Wood
Photos by Anya P. Royce
About an hour before the Interfaith Prayer Service began, I must admit that I was rather nervous. Brother Benedict Baer, Mother Linda Johnson, and the other members of the interfaith committee had put so much work into this service. Shouldn’t they have asked a more practiced Episcopalian to be the verger? (I’ve only been one for six years.) What if I dropped my verge? What if I tripped on my lovely robes? What if I forgot to lead someone to the podium? Rather nervous? I was really nervous. Then, I saw the Dalai Lama, and quite simply, he was the face of true, beautiful, perfect compassion. He had such a calm and radiant smile in the midst of the chaos that surrounds him. And as the service began, he seemed to be having such a good time. He smiled. He clapped his hands. He swayed to the music. I mean he was really enjoying himself, and all of a sudden, my anxiety seemed rather silly. Everything was going to be fine, and it was more than that. It was heavenly.
The
Dalai Lama described the interfaith service as a “living
service,” and I can’t think of a better way to describe the
look, the sound, or the feeling of that day.
It was a service alive with color.
From the Tibetan monks resplendent in their saffron and
burgundy to the crisp white and black robes of the Benedictine monks
to our own Bishop Cate Waynick in lovely ecclesiastical purple, the
processions opened the service with a rainbow of colors.
What I loved most about the visual look of this service was
that each person represented their traditions faithfully, and they
all seemed to fit perfectly together.
The beautiful headdress of James Trosper, the Shoshone sun
dance chief, and the colorful turban of K.P. Singh, who represented
the Sikh tradition, visually symbolized the purpose of the service;
as they sat next to each other, their majestic head coverings were
physical reminders that different faiths look beautiful together.
The
service was also alive with many different kinds of music—the
beauty of song, the beauty of the spoken word, and the beauty of
language. The many
talented musicians who worked so hard to make the service a truly
worshipful experience helped to create a prayerful atmosphere. The service began with calls to prayer, several of which were
sung or chanted, including: the
Sikh call to prayer, led by K.P. Singh; the Islamic call to prayer,
led by Katrin Abdo Jomaa; the Hindu call to Prayer, led by Dr.
Girdhar Ahuja, and the Jewish call to prayer and the blowing of the
shofar to declare a year of peace.
The spoken calls to prayer from the Baha¢’i
tradition, led by Dan Enslow, the Unitarian tradition, led by Rev.
Barbara Carlson, and the Christian tradition, led by Pastor Kelli
Skram, were also prayerful songs that were beautifully read and
reminded us that the spoken word makes lovely music.
We also had a chance to hear lovely readings from Sidra St.
Rain, Patricia Coleman, and Benjamin Straley, all of whom helped to
further the message of peace. Benjamyn
Ellerin sang a beautiful Hebrew prayer, which was read in
translation by Dena Kranzberg.
The beautiful voices, in all their languages, and the
prayerful spirits of all those who led calls to prayer or sang
prayers or gave readings helped all of us to experience the power of
prayer in their traditions, and I think that was one of the greatest
gifts of the service, the harmony of different religions praying
together for peace. The
Dalai Lama seemed to take great joy from the music in the service,
taking the chorus of one song as a central theme for his talk;
“our god is compassion to all creation.” The Dalai Lama explained that, in fact, God is compassion, in
all his or her forms, and that God gave different religions to us so
that the many different peoples of the world might each find a way
to practice compassion and peace.
His Holiness encouraged us to see religious diversity as a
gift, and this service was a blessed reinforcement of his message.
One final thing that I must tell all of you about is the great humor of the Dalai Lama. He is a man who takes great joy in life, who is ready to laugh and to smile, and his radiance is contagious. The crowd was large, but I really felt that we were a family—a large family of many different faiths who love God. It felt like heaven to me.
New
Beginnings
Things have gotten off to a great start as we’ve jumped head first
into the fall semester! Canterburians kicked off the academic year
by gathering at the home of Don and Carol-Anne Hossler on August 25
for a cookout and pool party. A wonderful time was had by all, and
it also provided time for students new to IU and Canterbury to get
to know one another in a relaxed setting. Many thanks to the
Hosslers for their generosity in opening up their home to us.
Also, many thanks to everyone who has contributed their time and talent
this summer. Your work has helped to ensure that this year will be
one of the busiest and most productive academic years we have ever
had!
Chaplain’s
Brunch
On August 26, the traditional Chaplain’s brunch was
resumed following the 10:00 service; the brunch well attended. Each
Sunday after the 10:00 service, there will be Chaplain’s brunch at
a local restaurant. All students, faculty, and staff members are
invited to participate.
Reconciliation
Conference in New York City
A
most exciting event to start off our year was the inaugural conference at the General Theological
Seminary’s new Desmond Tutu Conference Center. Archbishop Tutu was
the honored guest and spoke; also present were the Presiding Bishop,
the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts-Schori, and the Rt. Rev. V. Gene
Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire. The conference, held on Sept.
10-12, focused on the topic of reconciliation. Episcopal Campus
Ministry sent a delegation that included two students, a faculty and
a staff member, and Mother Linda+, the university chaplain. You can
read their reports by following the links below:
Canterbury Chronicles archives
For previous installments of Canterbury Chronicles, see the archives of Trinity Topics, the monthly newsletter of Trinity Episcopal Church, Bloomington, where Canterbury Chronicles is published.