THE Manitoba government is one step closer to replacing the prayer that opens daily sessions of the legislature following a so-called prayer summit Monday.
The event, which was held at the invitation of Premier Wab Kinew, brought together about 60 representatives from various faith communities — and some who came from a secular perspective.
Afterwards, Kinew said it was “a spiritually nourishing experience” that was “constructive and unifying, and left me with a hopeful feeling.”
At the annual Manitoba Multifaith Council leadership breakfast in February, the premier announced that he wanted the prayer replaced.
Kinew called it “a very nice prayer.” But, for him, it felt very much like a Christian prayer and not representative and inclusive for all Manitobans.
“I have a deep reverence for Christianity,” Kinew said at the time. However, Manitoba includes atheists and people of all faiths, so he said it’s time for a new way to open daily sittings.
People at the summit agreed there needs to be a moment of reflection before each sitting, Kinew said, and that it could be a time for elected officials to think “humbly” about their service to the public.
One idea that seemed to have strong support was to give elected officials a chance to be silent for a moment, to “ground themselves” before getting into the business of government, he said.
“So many people (at the summit) talked about the role of silence,” Kinew said, adding a moment like that would give elected officials a chance to “inhabit the space of the numinous, the divine, or something greater than themselves.”
The summit was the start of the process of changing the opening of daily sittings, Kinew emphasized. A report on the summit will be created for the Speaker, after which there will be conversations with MLAs and the legislture rules committee.
If there is agreement to change the opening, the public might be asked to weigh in, Kinew said.
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John Longhurst
Faith reporter
John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg’s faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News.
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