Meeting for Worship, Diversity and Participation in . . .

I agreed to represent Friends in the Community Interfaith Thanksgiving and to speak on Gratitude for Diversity


Gratitude for Diversity
Judy Brutz


This morning the Quakers sat in silent worship as we considered the query, “What is gratitude for diversity? Why is it important?”

One Friend told us, “When I think of diversity, I think of colors and shapes found in Nature, among the animals, the plant life, the minerals and the people, all people – all of life. If we moved away from the diversity of color and shapes towards a monochromatic palette, life would be so boring. The survival of the planet depends on diversity.”

Another message shared, “I no longer think of community as my local community, nor as our national community, but as the world community. If we are to live peace we must embrace the diversity of all people, cultures, and spirituality, as well as the health of the planet.

I meditate on the question, “Who is my neighbor?” To walk the earth as a Peacemaker means to consider every human being, throughout the world as my neighbor. I must also embrace the life of the planet and do all that I can to bring about health for our Mother Earth. We must reach out to the poor, the starving, the disposed, those imprisoned, those enslaved, those forced into sexual slavery, those in military and violent conflict. The list seems to have no end. The question comes to what does the Divine Healer ask of me?

I commit to:
Journey with an open mind and gentle heart
Accept with grace and gratitude the diversity I encounter
Revere and protect the natural environment, which sustains all life
Appreciate all cultures I discover
Respect and thank my hosts for their welcome
Offer my hand in friendship to everyone I meet

I believe that we must offer hospitality to those who come to our homes and our borders. Quakers have a saying which is we must answer that of God in every person.

Beloved Creator, we offer thanks for the diversity found in the world. Bless us that we might love with your heart all of life. Bless us that we might embrace those who are different than ourselves. Bless us that we might end the wars and conflicts in which we take part. Bless us that we might bless those who shoot at us. Bless us that we might become attuned to the world and the planet, not in monochromatic shades but as a full rich palette of colors.
AMEN.


Pocatello Community Thanksgiving Service, November 18, 2007
First Presbyterian Church, Pocatello, Idaho