Weekly Thursday Noon Prayers – 24th September 2020

Cornwall Faith Forum is sending love and courage to everyone in Cornwall. There will be a meeting at our Peace Field in Penmount today at 12:00 noon.

On Monday it was World Peace day so our prayers and reflections will focus on Peace.

Eve very kindly send us this prayer. It is the Druid Call to Peace. This is said right at the beginning of every Druid ritual in most Druid traditions, for as it says “without Peace can no work be”.

 

The Call to Peace

Let us begin by giving peace to the quarters,
for without peace no work can be.

Re bo kres yn kledh
May there be Peace in the North

Re bo kres yn deghow
May there be Peace in the South

Re bo kres yn howlsedhes
May there be Peace in the West

Re bo kres yn howldrevel
May there be Peace in the East

Re bo kres dres oll an norvys
May there be Peace throughout the whole world.

Kathy very kindly send us as a prayer written by Peter Millar from the Iona Community:

God of the universe,
whose light shines in every culture and tradition,
hold close to you today the many women, men and children
who give themselves in order to bring
justice and peace on this earth.

The bridge-builders, the artists, the hidden saints,
the risk-takers, the intercessors, the campaigners
and all those who will not lie down to injustice
even at the cost of their lives.

And may we ourselves be in their midst –
alive to the possibilities of your justice-filled Spirit
at the heart of creation
Amen.

Peace be with you
Kathy

Weekly Thursday Noon Prayers – 17th September 2020

Cornwall Faith Forum is sending love and peace to everyone in Cornwall. There will be a meeting at our Peace Field in Penmount on Thursday 24th of September at 12:00 noon. Our group can only have 6 people so please contact Rita on [email protected] if you would like to join in.

Next Monday, 21st September is World Peace Day.

On this day, over the past four years in Truro and Cornwall, choirs, groups, organizations and speakers, have come together to raise awareness about World Peace Day and also to support One Day One Choir, a global choral project for peace. www.onedayonechoir.org Over 40 choirs have taken part, with many groups involved, and over 30 people have spoken about peace and also for some, the work they are involved with to make this world a better place. Due to ‘Covid’ restrictions, here are some suggestions of how everyone can take part, on the day, or near to it, either on your own, or with a small group. Anything, anyone can do, however large or small, can help to bring about a more peaceful world.

We have a Buddhist prayer, kindly send to us by Sophie and a Reflection on Peace by Marshall Rozenberg.

Prayer from The Way of the Bodhisattva by Shantideva’s Bodhicaryavatara, 8th C.

As long as space endures,

as long as sentient being remain,

until then, may I too remain

and dispel the miseries of the world.

Paul kindly send us this Reflection on peace by Marshall B Rosenberg Ph.D who developed non-violent communication as an approach to nonviolent living developed in the beginning in the 1960s:

“Peace requires something far more difficult than revenge or merely turning the other cheek; it requires empathising with the fears and unmet needs that provide the impetus for people to attack each other. Being aware of those feelings and needs, people lose their desires to attack back because they see the human ignorance leading to those attacks. Instead, their goal becomes providing the empathetic connection and education that will enable them to transcend their violence and engage in cooperative relationships.”

Weekly Thursday Noon Prayers & Reflection – 27th August 2020

On Thursday 27th August, we will be meeting at Penmount again for Thursday Noon Prayers at 12:00 noon.

We will be able to be with the Dome of Human Kindness, very kindly donated to Cornwall Faith Forum by Tom Henderson. Please contact Rita on [email protected] 07775 9374865 if you would like to come.

Jeremy form Kehillat Kernow kindly sent us the following very important reflection:

There are currently more than 1,000,000 Uyghurs being detained in Xinjiang, in China. They are a Muslim minority who have had a difficult history in China, with independence being a contentious factor. They have been oppressed with bans on praying, fasting on Ramadan, wearing veils and growing beards, for years. Now,many are being held in brainwashing camps, where the main aim is to ensure adherence to Chinese Communist Party ideology. Families have been separated, mothers and fathers are left in despair with no contact with their children nor no knowledge of where they are.

It seems that a cultural genocide is taking place. A new generation will emerge, cut off from their roots, religious beliefs and language.

I think of my family who had to flee Holland, Hungary and Iraq in the last century, just because of their religion.

How is it that in the 21st century our rights are still defined by religion?
…China may seem far and distant, but this is not a reason to stand back and watch human dignity disintegrate. It’s time for the Jewish community to join forces, to do the right thing, to fight against the persecution of the Uyghurs.
I am a practising and proud Jew today thanks to a Christian couple who decided they were not going to look blindly at the horrors of the Holocaust. They bravely hid my grandmother, while risking their own lives. Last year, when I stood at Yad Vashem and proudly witnessed the couple being honoured as The Righteous of The Nations, I made a pledge to myself that when a religion was oppressed I would stand up and make a difference…
… As Edmund Burke famously said:“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Emmanuelle Benjamin (Student)

 

Weekly Thursday Noon Prayers – 6th August 2020

Cornwall Faith Forum is sending love to everyone in Cornwall.

There will be a Zoom meeting for Thursday Noon Prayers on Thursday 6th August at 12:00 noon.  Please contact Rita on [email protected]  if you would like to join in.

 

Eid ul Adha was celebrated on Friday 31st July  and finished on Monday 3rd August.  Qudsia very kindly sent us a prayer from the Holy Quran:

 

“My Lord, grant me that I may be grateful for Thy Favour which Thou hast bestowed on me and my parents, and I may do such righteous deeds as may please Thee.

Establish righteousness among my progeny for me. I do turn to Thee and truly I am one of those who are obedient to Thee”. Ch.46 v.16.

 


 

Also on Thursday 6th August: Hiroshima and Nagasaki commemoration: Peace Wave

The anniversary of the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is commemorated across the world. And this year, an international joint grassroots action will allow people – wherever they are – to join together in one action.

Starting from the moment the first bomb was dropped, 8:15am on August 6th, waves of many creative forms of actions will encircle the globe until 11:02 am on August 9th, when the second bomb was dropped over Nagasaki.

How can you join in?
In Japan, actions will start with silent prayer at 8:15am on August 6th and also end with silent prayer at 11:02am on August 9th. We are asked to mark the moments that the bombs fell (but in UK time), with a silent period of reflection.

Please see the following website for more information: https://cnduk.org/peacewave/

Weekly Thursday Noon Prayers – 23rd July 2020

On Thursday 23rd  July will be meeting at Penmount again for Thursday Noon Prayers. Please note that we will meet at 10:00 – 11.00 am  not at 12:00 noon.

This week’s message and prayer is as follows:

Cornwall Faith Forum is thinking of everyone in Cornwall.   This Thursday (23rd July) is Ras Tafari Earth Day and Katherine kindly sent us an extract of Haile Selassies speech to the League of Nations when he asked for help.

This extract was made famous by Bob Marley who turned this extract into the song “War”.

Extract of the speech of Haile Selassies to the League of Nations in 1963:

“Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned;

that until there are no longer first class and second class citizens of any nation;

that until the colour of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes;

that until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race;

that until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained.

And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique and in South Africa in subhuman bondage have been toppled and destroyed;

until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been replaced by understanding and tolerance and good-will;

until all Africans stand and speak as free beings, equal in the eyes of all men, as they are in the eyes of Heaven”

 

Weekly Thursday Noon Prayers – 2nd July 2020

Cornwall Faith Forum is thinking of everyone in Cornwall in these unsettling times.

This week (first Thursday of each meeting), there will be a virtual Thursday Noon Prayers on zoom. Please contact Rita on [email protected] if you would like to be part of the virtual meeting.

The prayer for this week has been kindly sent to us by Jeremy from Kehillat Kernow (the Jewish Community in Cornwall).

It is short and very supportive.

Teach me always to believe in my power to return to life, to hope, and to You, God,

no matter what pains I have endured, no matter how far I have strayed from You.
Give me the strength to resurrect my weary spirit.
Revive me, God, so I can embrace life once more
in joy, in passion, in peace.
Amen.

Weekly Thursday Noon Prayers – 25th June 2020

Cornwall Faith Forum sends love and strength to everyone in Cornwall.  Today, we will be at our Peace Field at Penmount for the first time since early March with a small group. It will be wonderful to be back at our Field by the Dome of Human Kindness.

(We will be gathering for Thursday Noon Prayers on the fourth Thursday of each month. Please contact Rita on [email protected] if you
would like to come).

This Thursday the 25th June is the International Day of Prayer for the Emergency Services and Windrush Day (22nd of June) was on Tuesday this week:

Windrush Prayer:

Barrier- breaking God,
You embrace all cultures and lands,
but you keep a special place in your heart
for the stranger, the widow and the orphan.
Grant us the gift of your Spirit
that we may become as You are,
Welcoming all as brothers and sisters,
your cherished children,
Citizens together in God’s kingdom
of justice and peace.
Amen.

Windrush Prayer from USPG News (The Anglican Mission Agency: United Society Partners in the Gospel)

Here is a prayer for the Emergency Services:

God of compassion,
hear our prayers for those who work in the Emergency Services
strengthen them in their hour of need, and
grant them courage to face the future,
Amen

Sarah Jefferies from Devon and Cornwall Police kindly sent us the following information:
There are two ways to get involved with the International Day of Prayer for the Emergency Services:
– Watch the Christian Police Association (CPA) YouTube channel “International Day of Prayer 2020” playlist at any time on the day.
Join one of our Zoom meetings held at 1200hrs and 1900hrs (UK BST). Please email us at [email protected] for details..

 

Thursday Prayers at Noon during Covid 19 Pandemic

Every Thursday at 12 noon Rita Stephen our Inter Faith Development Worker prays for the people of Cornwall in her home with a model of our Dome of Human Kindness. She uses prayers that have been sent in by members of our various Communities and ends with the Peace Prayer. You can find the prayers on our News web site page https://dorkemmyn.org.uk/latest-news/ and Face Book pages. Initially the prayers were said at the Dor Kemmyn Peace Field but this had to cease following further movement restrictions. Please join Rita in prayer every Thursday at 12 noon.

If you would like a prayer read please contact Rita [email protected]

Journeys for Peace – Thursday, 27th February at 7.00 pm at Cafe Chaos, Truro

Journeys for Peace – in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand
The Cornwall Faith Forum are delighted that Paul Haines will be talking about his recent trip to South East Asia on Thursday, 27th February at Cafe Chaos, Truro http://cafechaoscornwall.co.uk/contact-us/   Refreshments will be served from 6.30 pm onwards with the talk commencing at 7.00 pm.
Paul writes:
“I have recently returned from six weeks travelling around the main cities of these four countries researching for my developing website www.linkstopeace.org
It was revealing to find out about the effects of recent war and genocide and to see how these countries are now being governed and what part faith plays in their development.
I met a number of people from different groups and organisations that are working for peace, but also local and international organisations that are dealing with the after effects of their recent history.
In addition I visited Hue in Central Vietnam where the number of Buddhist Monasteries are thriving, and where Thich Nhat Hanh now lives, and in Cambodia I visited Angkor Wat, the largest religious building in the world.”
For further information contact Paul Haines [email protected]

Readings from Holocaust Memorial Event – Sunday 2nd February

The Cornwall Faith Forum marked Holocaust Memorial Day at the Dor Kemmyn Peace Field.  Each faith contributed a reading.

The Baha’i reading:

“Be thou a summoner to love, and be thou kind to all the human race. Love thou the  children of men and share in their sorrows. Be thou of those who foster peace ;……… for ye are all but the drops from but one ocean, the foliage of one tree, the pearls from a single shell, the flowers and sweet herbs  from the same one garden.

Call none a stranger. Be ye as if all men were your close kin and honoured friends. Walk ye in such wise that this fleeting world will change into  splendour….”  Abdul Baha

 

The Christian reading:

“May we be bearers of comfort

May we be strong in our soul to cry at the wrongs of nations, to weep with the bleeding earth, to mourn with those who mourn in the loss of life and lands, in the loss of dreams and hope.

May we be strong in our soul this day.”