Hallowed be thy name

As my DH and I wandered through the ruins of Coventry Cathedral we noticed a number of plaques survived and it would seem a few were added at various places throughout the ruins.  I went to find what I figured would be the beginning of the Lord's Prayer.  I thought that it would be a prayer walk of some sort using the familiar words.  Much to my surprise it was a focus for prayer but using only one line from the prayer.  Six stones in total on the walls, relatively high up and were not necessarily seen at first glance.  But each one a unique call to prayer.

The Lord's Prayer was offered in the gospels by Jesus when he received the request to "teach us to pray."  The prayer began with a line of intimacy followed by an acknowledgment of the sacred reverence of calling upon God.  I sometimes get asked why I use different forms of the prayer.  The answer is simple I don't like it to be done by rote so that we do not have to stop and think about the words or what they mean.  The prayer holds powerful meaning.  It begins with intimacy, has reverence for the creator and hope for the coming of the kingdom, a call to provide for our needs, forgiveness given and received, a call to help us avoid the things that draw us from God's presence.

Here, however, we are going to hallow God's name as we take a short walk around the ruins and call to the fore where we will praise God.

Our focus at the first stop is the home.

The second focus is the Arts and creating

 The third focus is on education and a growing mind

The fourth is a focus to pray for government members and leaders

Fifth is the suffering, personal or corporate

At the Sixth spot the focus was on commerce

In what seems like the strangest of places to revere God's Holy name, a bombed out church, is the reminder that this too is a sacred space.  It reminds us of what was lost but more importantly that the building, as important as it was, did not end our relationship with the holy.  Here we are reminded that God can be praised, prayers can be raised in all places.

A stone that survived in the tower wall.  Hallowed is the one that reminds us of the importance of finding a place of peace.

Reconcilation

And finally we finish at the sculpture of reconcilation.  Placed here near the walk to Hallow God's name as a reminder that in the face of destruction human dignity and love will triumph over disaster and bring nations together in respect and peace.

May we Hallow God's holy name and presence.