Garlands of Peace

For September 11, I got to work with Dr Diedra Kriewald on a Prayer Vigil. What a powerhouse liturgist she is! We remained focused on the whole picture: We have a long way to go, we can be peacemakers right here & now, and we move forward with hope.
Participants took bookmarks with the names of US soldiers who have died in Iraq. I still have mine hanging on my wall. That was the first thing i saw when i walked in this morning. I've memorized that soldier's name, and i breathe it silently in a moment of prayer for his loved ones, and the loved ones of soldiers everywhere. I breathe silently the name of my friend and seminary classmate who is now serving as an army chaplain. I breathe silently a prayer for those who are fighting our world's wars right now, friends or foes. I ask how i can make peace today, terrified that God will show me.
These bookmarks are all over campus now, reminding us of the terrible grief caused by war.
We lit luminaries decorated with names of Iraqis who have died, names of loved ones who are currently fighting, names of those we lost on September 11, 2001, names of persons for whom we wished to shed light. Prayerful moments will continue as people are reminded of the many, many people and places affected by war.
Take your worshiping and your prayer out into your office, cubby, work-field, lunch hour, cigarette break, or daycare. Simply breathing a silent prayer for your colleague as he tells you about trouble in his marriage, or your boss as she is reprimanding an employee, or your colleague as he speaks in anger against another can change the trajectory of your whole day.
According to ancient Hebrew and Greek thought, Spirit and Wind and Breath are of the same material/movement. So breathe deeply the stuff of which our Holy Spirit is made, and worship right where you are. We have a long way to go, but we are not powerless. And we have hope.
September 21 is international day of peace. Celebrate it.
http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org/