“It gives me such joy! I love it!” This is how Sharon, from Chambly (Quebec), explains why for the last ten years she and her husband, John, have been inviting friends and acquaintances to her home to pray and talk about spiritual matters.
During the last two years, Sharon and her husband modified their method and, since then, they have been inviting a small group of people to a thematic “spiritual brunch” on Saturday mornings. The themes explored so far have included “joy and sadness,” “the conservation of natural resources,” “how to nurture the positive,” and “perseverance and detachment.” Everyone is invited to bring a prayer, a passage from a Holy Book, a poem, a reflection, or a piece of music that pertains to the theme. They always start with a period of prayer, followed by a discussion of the theme, and then they eat together. The guests have such a good time that they often stay until late afternoon.
“The goal of these gatherings is to remind ourselves that we are spiritual beings and to think about our inner life,” explains Sharon. She adds that the gatherings are very informal. Participants are free to say prayers if they wish, and readings from all religions are welcome.
Sharon mentioned that several close friendship have developed at these gatherings. They bring together people from various countries, cultures and social classes, who speak a number of languages. Multiple generations are represented. Two seven-year-old girls are regulars, and they also like to offer prayers. “It is so great to have children with us,” says Sharon. “At the beginning, we were afraid that they may distract us, but everybody is happy to have children there because it is a reflection of the reality of community life.”
She says that she gets a lot out of organizing the get-togethers and that she is particularly touched to see how praying together is such a source of joy for the others, some of whom have said: “It is so good to have a chance to reflect and to reset our clocks and put things in their proper perspective,” and “A special energy is created when we pray together; it helps me in my daily life.”
Even if it can seem intimidating to talk about prayer or our spiritual life with people we may sometimes not know very well, the greatest lesson Sharon has learned over the years is that it is worthwhile to talk about prayer with the people around us. She says: “Now I am brave enough to invite people to our prayer gatherings as soon as I feel the least bit that the person believes that we are spiritual beings. We never know how they will respond and it can be surprising.”
John and Sharon are always thinking about what they could do to improve the gatherings. Among other things, they are very careful to avoid letting the discussions turn into arguments. They believe that it is essential for participants to feel they can express themselves freely. She has noticed that people do in fact appreciate being able to express themselves freely on spiritual questions without worrying about being judged.
Everywhere in the world, Baha’is organize similar prayer meetings, trying to create a space where people of all beliefs can come and reflect together on the power of prayer and on our spiritual nature. You can find out more about prayer gatherings held in various localities in Canada at http://ca.bahai.org/building-community/devotional-gatherings.