My Diary... Saying Grace... Prayers from around the world with food being the theme... Harvest Service... Sir Nicholas Winton.

                                            

                                                    My Diary...

August

9^th – Falkirk Spiritualist Church (SNU)

12^th – Perth Spiritualist Church (SNU)

13^th – Kilmarnock Spiritualist Church (SNU) The first of four workshops on “Understanding the Basics of your Psychic Abilities”.

16^th – Kilmarnock Spiritualist Church (SNU)

18^th – The Association of Spiritual Knowledge (ASK) Cumbernauld.

20^th - “Understanding the Basics of your Psychic Abilities”. Kilmarnock Spiritualist Church (SNU)

27^th - Understanding the Basics of your Psychic Abilities”. Kilmarnock Spiritualist Church (SNU)

                                                     Saying Grace

In a restaurant recently I saw a family quietly saying Grace before starting their meal.  It took me back to my childhood when one or two older members of the family did say Grace.  When I got home I looked this up on the Internet and found that a poll a few years ago asked if people said Grace before eating.  Most of those who said ‘no’ commented that they were lucky to just have the whole family sit down together to eat, let alone say grace.   So it looks like saying Grace has become a thing of the past.  That may not be surprising as those connected with religion are becoming fewer as each year passes.

But do we need the whole family around the table before we can say Grace?  It need not be of religious content we can take thirty or so seconds contemplation before we eat.  In this day and age most of us are rushing about and those few quiet seconds may let our brain drop down a gear so we can savour the taste of the food more than we would have done. . People who do it tend to eat more slowly, aiding digestion,

 Taking a few seconds to think how the food has reached our plate. From the moment the seed was planted, the minute the animal was born, all through the food chain process so you don’t starve and you enjoy your meal.  Making you appreciate what you are eating and not to take it for granted or waste it.

I have always felt that Spiritualism should have a Harvest Service and the produce donated could be given to local food banks.  I am sure Spirit would be in favour of this.  Many of our grandparents relied on their vegetable plot to supplement their meals.   I am sure our forefathers would think of the Harvest festival as a great idea especially if some of it came from our own gardens.

                                                            Harvest Service

In a restaurant recently I saw a family quietly saying Grace before starting their meal.  It took me back to my childhood when one or two older members of the family did say Grace.  When I got home I looked this up on the Internet and found that a poll a few years ago asked if people said Grace before eating.  Most of those who said ‘no’ commented that they were lucky to just have the whole family sit down together to eat, let alone say grace.   So it looks like saying Grace has become a thing of the past.  That may not be surprising as those connected with religion are becoming fewer as each year passes.

But do we need the whole family around the table before we can say Grace?  It need not be of religious content we can take thirty or so seconds contemplation before we eat.  In this day and age most of us are rushing about and those few quiet seconds may let our brain drop down a gear so we can savour the taste of the food more than we would have done. . People who do it tend to eat more slowly, aiding digestion,

 Taking a few seconds to think how the food has reached our plate. From the moment the seed was planted, the minute the animal was born, all through the food chain process so you don’t starve and you enjoy your meal.  Making you appreciate what you are eating and not to take it for granted or waste it.

I have always felt that Spiritualism should have a Harvest Service and the produce donated could be given to local food banks.  I am sure Spirit would be in favour of this.  Many of our grandparents relied on their vegetable plot to supplement their meals.   I am sure our forefathers would think of the Harvest 

festival as a great idea especially if some of it came from our own gardens.

Here are some prayers from around the world with food being the theme...

Buddhist Tradition--From Thich Nhat Hanh...

“The plate is filled with food. I am aware that each morsel is the fruit of much hard work by those who produced it”.

Native American Tradition...

“Preparing to Eat Now that I am about to eat, O Great Spirit, give my thanks to the beasts and birds whom You have provided for my hunger; and pray deliver my sorrow that living things must make a sacrifice for my comfort and well-being”.

Islamic Tradition... As we sit at table and rejoice in the mercy and goodness of the one God, may the bonds of friendship be strengthened, may our fellowship be a light in the darkness, and—most importantly—may we remember that in opening ourselves to each other we open ourselves to God”...

Jewish Tradition--Adapted from an Haggadah of Liberation...

“We dedicate this meal to our hopes and dreams for the future. We dream of a world not threatened by destruction. We dream of a world in which all people are free to be themselves. We dream of a world at peace”...

From the Native American Iroquois Tradition...

We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters, the beans and squashes, which give us life. We return thanks to the bushes and trees, which provide us with fruit. We return thanks to the Great Spirit, in who is embodied all goodness, and who directs all things for the good of his children.

Buddhist Tradition--From Thich Nhat Hanh

“With the first mouthful, I promise to practice loving kindness. With the second, I promise to help relieve the suffering of others. With the third, I promise to see others’ joy as my own. With the fourth, I promise to learn the way of non-attachment and equanimity”...

Buddhist Tradition--From Thich Nhat Hanh...

 “All living things are struggling for life. May they all have enough food today”.

                                              

                                                   Sir Nicholas Winton.

In today’s a celebratory mad-world we are forgetting the really special people who have lived among us.  Those who have risked or given their lives in trying to help others or their country.  Men and women on many occasions who’s heroic acts will never be made public.

One special gentleman in this category passed on 1^st July this year, Sir Nicholas Winton.  Sir Nickolas organised the rescue of 669 children destined for Nazi concentration camps.  Then a stockbroker, he arranged for trains to carry Jewish children out of occupied Prague.  A no mean feat considering what was going on in the area at that time.  He died on the anniversary of the departure of a train in 1939 carrying the largest number of children - 241.  Sir Nicholas brought the children to Britain, battling bureaucracy at both ends, saving them from almost certain death, and then kept quiet about his exploits for a half-century.  He organised a total of eight trains from Prague, with some other forms of transport also set up from Vienna.

Truly amazing, but one other thing connected with saving the lives of these children is that the world did not know of this for over 40-years.  This ‘Great Escape’ by the ‘Kinder transport trains’ this only came to light in 1988 when Sir Nicholas appeared on BBC’s “This is Your Life”. 

Sir Nickolas Winton a truly amazing and modest man.

As I have said there will be others who have carried out humanitarian tasks, many losing their lives and yet we will never hear about them.  Maybe all of our Spiritual Organizations should meet and decide on a date each year where we can have a commemoration service for “Unknown Heroes – ones  whose deeds will never be known.