April 25, 2010
So another rainy day scheduled for the peace walk – only this year they’re talking heavy, deluge kind of rain.
Rain, rain go away,
Come again some other day.
Funny how things roll together. I’ve been thinking about the Joan of Arc legend and how a seemingly Divinely inspired change in the wind allowed her army to cross a river so she could attack and defeat an English army to begin her successful career as a soldier for God and for France. And it just so happens that on my desk are a couple of church bulletins from the St Joan of Arc church that, for the last two months, has been a weekly stop off point for a client of mine. A very nice guy but a chronic relapser his six months sober now have him over two hurdles he’s not been able to pass for a long time. And since the beginning of Lent, his finally acting on a suggestion I’ve been making to him since the fall, that he go to church, maybe is part of the reason. The pastor now knows him, calls him by name each week, and is a cool enough guy to have the mass goers each week write down a prayer and share it with a stranger, so you’ll have a person you do not know, praying for you.
And this little practice, reminded me the little ‘get to know you’ questions we put on the back of the walk itinerary to pose to someone you do not know as we walk from spot to spot.
So it goes. I’ve already gotten a couple of nice responses from members of the walk committee about my e-mail that we maybe pray to St Joan of Arc for a change in the scheduled weather this Sunday. Doubtless those specific prayers will not be answered. But the way I look at it, prayers are never wasted. Doubtless the reality that is now Joan of Arc is getting a little charge that some folk from a town called Philadelphia in a year called 2010 are calling on her for some help. Great saints, I am sure are never stingy with grace and regardless of what the skies bring down this coming Sunday, the beauty, wonder and splendor of our efforts, now will have another French-flavored source of grace flowing with us.
So this will be the 4th straight year it’s rained. But the weather has done nothing to dampen the spirit and benevolence of the walk. God is good and in our efforts to have people of all faiths and shapes and sizes walk together in harmony and peace, whether it’s sunny or rainy, His love will be shining down on us.
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And so now the walk is over. The umbrella I wore on my belt, never was taken off. The windshield wipers that were on as I headed to mass this morning were off by the time I was driving to the walk. They went back on as I headed home afterwards. The walk itself was not only dry, it was a triumph. A little smaller turnout this year, the usual delays holding up the schedule, some scheduled speakers and singers pulling out at the last moment all added to the intrigue, but overall it was a huge success. After the very warm introduction by the pastor at the Hickman Temple African-Methodist-Episcopalian church that was at our first stop, a Native American woman played a wonderful song on her flute. The slower first half that was about remembering our ancestors and the second faster part, was about we should be grateful for the graces we’ve been given. Long before the white man brought his agendas and religions to this land, the natives had a warm and wonderful Father-Spirit, Mother-Earth spirituality that is something we surely need to tap if we want to stop the butchering of this earth that has been going on for far too many years. The alternative is our eventual self-destruction.
Another first on this year’s walk was a beautiful dance routine by a group of Eastern Indian classic dancers. They performed at the Calvary Center for Culture and Community that is the home for about a half-dozen different faith traditions and was our last stop. There we again were graced by a mesmerizing song and music by the Sikh community. The youngster belting out his parts reminded me of a young Michael Jackson. The Imam from our home mosque, Al Aqsa, led the Pm Salat prayers before he chanted his annual beautiful message from the Koran.
The stirring Buddhist chant at St Frances de Sales Church and some beautiful poetry by youngsters from the Walk the Walk program, were wrapped around a couple of wonderful songs where the entire congregation joined in. Leaving there seeing the people filter out, I was overwhelmed with this feeling of comfort and warmth – that this event is a very special thing.
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Well near 11:00 PM now. The rain is pelting hard on my window here. A while back there was even some thunder. The rain still came, it just held off for as long as it had to. The drudgery that is Monday morning will probably seem a bit worse tomorrow with the rain coming down. Such is life.
Something about to Om-kind of chanting we did today, made my insides almost feel like they were vibrating. I remember how vibrating was exactly how I described the feeling the first time I heard the Imam chant in our first stop on our first Peace Walk seven years ago. The vibrations, the lovely flute music to our ancestors, the peace-promoting passages of the Torah, Koran and the St Francis prayer today, to me were about Unity…amongst ourselves and all that came before us.
I suspect I’ll have a fresh St Joan of Arc weekly bulletin handed to me tomorrow morning. The grace of Joan for sure, along with that of countless Muslim, Jewish, Native, Eastern and Christian saints, all did I invite into my being today through the prayers and the chants and the songs. How much I allow that to be my driving force through the mundane Mondays, etc of my life, will tell the tale of both the happiness and success I will know.
My guides are many-splendored and many-sided. It is up to me to follow them.
