Prayer Vigil for the Earth
An Invitation For A Deeper Spiritual Context
Background
The following is a description of the organizers' deeper spiritual
intent and context for the annual Prayer Vigil for the Earth. During
previous years, these deeper purposes have been held privately. We
thank David Miller of the Nathan Cummings Foundation for encouraging us
to speak openly of our spiritual goals and to the Lifebridge
Foundation, who simultaneously requested a description of the heart or
essence of our work. These two invitations provided the impetus for us
to share the deeper spiritual context of what we are doing, why we are
doing it, and how we evaluate our success.
A Calling
In 1993 a spiritual calling to create an event in Washington, DC
emerged in the minds and hearts of several individuals. By 1997, the
original group of three collaborators had expanded to over thirty
people on the Organizing Committee,hundreds of volunteers had offered their services, and many organizations were providing
in-kind donations. At the urging of Lakota elder Harry F. Bryd, the
Prayer Vigil went from a primarily Indigenous Wisdom Keepers event in
1993-1996 to a multi-cultural and multi-faith event offered to the public in 1997 to the present. In addition, simultaneous events have
been held in different sites within the USA and in many different
countries. In keeping with the organizers' spiritual belief in the
power of people gathered in sacred ceremony across the centuries and
the capacity for such ceremonies to make enduring impacts on
consciousness, the Prayer Vigil for the Earth is held annually to plant
seeds for present and future generations free to all. Important
background for understanding the spiritual nature of the event is
provided by these three considerations: (A) the setting for the
original annual event; (B) the sacred structure for housing people and
activities; and (C) the social-spiritual architecture provided to
nurture the seeds.
The Setting
The
Mall in Washington, DC, in particular the center of the Mall near the
Washington Monument, is an appropriate setting because:
- the location symbolizes a successful people's democracy;
- Washington, DC is a powerful city on the Earth at this time;
- the Mall provides a model for all the world's people to participate in their own freedom and democracy,
- the deeper values of the site reflect the core values of the Constitution as well as other democratic systems indigenous to this land, e.g. the Iroquois Great Law of Peace;
- the site calls out for healing a city and a nation whose political functions are in need of renewal and transformation; and
- mystical and Masonic literature indicate that an obelisk, which symbolizes masculine power, such as the Washington Monument broadcasts information and energy.
For these reasons, the setting for the early Prayer Vigils for the Earth was in the center of the Washington, DC Mall next to the Washington Monument. From 2003 - 2005, the Vigil site moved to West Potomac Park, a beautiful setting near the Potomac River. The increased security in Washington DC made the Washington Monument site unavailable at that time. The West Potomac Park site offered a setting very conducive to meditation and intense prayer. It enhanced the ability to take the core values of the Vigil and incorporate them into our hearts. In 2006 we returned to the Washington Monument to bring prayerful focus back to the heart of Washington DC.
The Sacred Structure
Recognizing that the Prayer Vigil would be a living, virtual form whose
enduring physical presence would rest in its ability to make the soil
upon which it is held sacred, the organizers selected the structure
valued by Indigenous people throughout the Earth and many other
cultures-the sacred circle or hoop. The circle, symbolic of the Earth's
shape, is ideal because it provides a container for all life and
because everyone enters as equals. The circle is created by the
erection of an Earth Peace Village, which is demarcated by portable
structures. During the beginning years, the circle was composed of
tipis. As a reflection of the multi-faith, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural
nature of the Prayer Vigil since 1997, in addition to tipis, the Prayer
Vigil circle now includes a Jewish Sukkah,a Christian altar, an African ancestral altar, an international labyrinth, and a Tibetan Stupa.Buddhist and Japanese Prayer Flags and the John Denver Memorial Peace Cloth encircle the site.
Sacred Fire 
Every year a fire, which is symbolic of power, cleansing,
transformation of matter into energy, and the molten fire in the center
of the Earth, burns continuously within the circle for the duration of
the forty-eight hour event. This sacred circle, this Earth Peace
Village, provides the structure where people can celebrate the richness
of their diverse heritages and traditions together.
Sacred Circle
In addition to these reasons, the sacred circle, a feminine power symbol, providesbalance for the masculine obelisk and energetically invites feminine values such as home, family,
relationships, and community to be active and present. It is the
organizing committee's deepest prayer that this annual joining of
masculine and feminine energy within the context of many spiritual
metaphors and teachings will (1) produce a healthy seed for generations
to come and (2) consecrate the land, the Earth, upon which this event
is held as sacred once more.
The Social-Spiritual Architecture
With
the setting and sacred structure established, attention was focused on
the social-spiritual architecture required to grow today's participants
and to provide maximum nourishment for tomorrow's seed. In addition,
the Prayer Vigil for the Earth, which strives to make peace among
religious traditions, was held the same weekend as the 1995 and 1996
Middle East Peace Accord, a fact which was made abundantly clear by the
siren sounds of official cars whizzing back and forth from the White
House by our Mall site. Following that synchronicity, in 1997 a Shayk from the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem made
a surprise visit to the Vigil and, while there, prayed with members of
the Jewish faith and exchanged teachings with Indigenous Wisdom
Keepers.
In 1999, another synchronicity: The organizers learned that the ground breaking ceremony of the National Museum of the American Indian was one day after the Indigenous Wisdom Keepers usually return home from the Vigil. This made it possible for them to attend the event. And in 2001 the Vigil was held just a week and a half after the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. None of these latter events could be planned for, but their proximity in time to the Prayer Vigil for the Earth invites the influence of the sacred circle, the Earth Peace Village, to be present in other communities. In 2004, the Vigil was held the weekend before the grand opening of the National Museum of the American Indian and many of our Native Elders were able to stay and participate in that extraordinary event.
Summary
The organizers continue to strive to honor the setting, the sacred
structure, and the social-spiritual architecture necessary to create a
powerful Prayer Vigil for the Earth experience for all participants.
Goals for the event include: inviting more people to join us in DC;
inviting more people to join us in prayer wherever they are; inviting
more cultures and faiths to come together and create their own Prayer
Vigil for the Earth wherever they are; and getting internet coverage so
that the Prayer Vigil can be broadcast throughout the Earth. See
wonderful images in a photographic tour of the history of the Prayer Vigil since its inception in 1993.
We believe that now is the time. Now is the time for the collective power of prayer and diverse, ancient spiritual ceremonies to join forces in bringing about positive changes for all life. Many, many people who have participated in the Prayer Vigil report that the opportunity to practice spiritual oneness, to pray with others of all faiths, and to join in each other's ceremonies leads them to new or deeper spiritual insights which make positive contributions to all aspects of their lives.
For those of you who cannot join us in person, please see our Join Us page on our website, www.oneprayer.org. If you have had an experience at the Prayer Vigil that you would like to share with others, just email us at oneprayer4@aol.com.
Om shanti shanti shanti, peace peace peace (Hindu)
Shalom (Jewish)
Salaam (Islamic)
Peace
