Prayer and Rain down in the Bible Belt

So in case you live under a rock, there’s a drought in Georgia. A bad one in the Atlanta area. Warnings of 70 days of drinkable water left are thrown out daily. Local news spends entire segments on drought news. Lake levels are now a staple to the weather report.

Governor Purdue had a good, old fashioned, prayer for rain vigil 2 weeks ago at the Georgia capitol. Something I think we’ve been made fun of for a bit, something I’ve certainly made fun of for the past few weeks, especially when they claimed success as it rained the next day. The former meteorologist in me knew it was going to rain then, as it had been in the forecast for ages, whether the prayer vigil was going on or not.

I had practically forgotten until tonight when the local NBC station did a news station about a prayer vigil for rain in Snellville, a suburb of Atlanta, today. And it rained, and they claimed success. “It rained even before the start.” Once again, it was going to rain despite of any prayer vigils going on.

The news put up a graphic saying that from Nov. 1-14th, no rain. Then the vigil, and then its rained an inch since then. This irked me. Besides the obvious selection basis (It rained in July. That was prior to the prayer vigil as well.) they were leading us to the conclusion that the prayer vigil worked. Especially when the reporter practically said so, and then the newscasters talked about it amongst themselves, and the power of prayer. This offended the former fundamentalist atheist in me, and I was pretty annoyed by it and obviously still am or I wouldn’t be writing about it, two hours after the fact.

But now I’m wondering why I’m so angry. I certainly wish that instead of praying Governor Sonny would be working on a comprehensive statewide water plan. I wish people were working out how they were going to conserve water instead of praying. And I wish people would stop expecting divine intervention when we ought to be working out how we can help ourselves.

But does that mean I should be filled with righteous indignation over the mere mention of prayer vigils for rain, especially when they try to take credit for rain?

Prayer vigils shouldn’t about expecting divine intervention- they should be about providing comfort. There’s a fair amount of fear, media driven or not, down here about the water situation. (What can we do? We’re powerless! What happens if we run out of water? etc.) I think, as an outside looking in when it comes to prayer, that it cheapens the whole notion of prayer to be praying for rain.  Prayer should be used as a comfort, and not as public policy for curing the drought.

Big Day in the life of Kinsi

This is a big day in the life of Kinsi.  After normally scheduled work, I’m going out to dinner with the big shots in the company for my first ever salary review/conference where I will be getting a raise (I’m, like, 99% sure of that.  Q is how much, etc.)

I have a love/hate relationship with my company.  I really do like my tutoring job, even though most of the time I’m tutoring the rich kids who can pay to get ahead (and that conflicts with me morally often.)  Most of my company’s policies could be a lot better (thats an understatement) and the hours wreak havoc on my life, but in reality this is a fantastic one-year-post-graduation job, making a lot more than what I was expecting at this point in my life.  I do vent a lot to my friends about my job, and some are indeed valid vents.  But I’ll think to what I could be doing for a job right now, and then realize that maybe I’m not that bad off at my current spot.  I don’t know if I want to make a career out of this or not, but I am only 24 – I don’t have to have a career set in stone yet…I’m biding my time till Grad School, for what I haven’t a clue.

So who knows what will come out of this meeting I’ve got in 10 hours.  But send some of your positive thoughts and well wishes this way

And also to the way of Gene Royer, father of my Affinity Group member and pal Noel, who’s in the hospital for as-of-yet-undetermined-liver-problems.

Let me…A Prayer

Let me make sense when it can seem so senseless,

Let me find strength despite my defenselessness.

Let me find harmony within all the division.

Let me see clearly when there is no vision.

Let me find silence when it can seem so loud,

Let me be humble despite being proud.

Let me find beauty when the world can seem so bad,

Let me find happiness when it can seem so sad.

Let me stand strong despite being small,

Let me find hope despite it all.

Prayer – Do i pray?

Do I pray now?

Well, depending on the definition, I just might pray now.

Or as I type this I might even be engaging in prayer.

If the definition is taking time out to consider what’s more in life, then yes, I pray.

If the definition is taking a quite moment to reflect, then yes I pray.

If the definition is expressing gratitude for all that I have, then yes I pray.

If prayer is asking for special treatment, then no, I don’t pray.

If prayer is asking for a supernatural being to change my life or anyone else’s life, then no, I don’t pray.

If prayer is thinking about those in need, and hoping them well, then yes, I pray.

If prayer is all about sports teams, then no, I don’t pray.

If prayer is spirituality in action, not obtuse thought, then yes, I pray.

If prayer is spending time teach day just thinking about life, then yes, I blog, and I pray.

Prayer – Reclaiming

There’s a big movement in UUism that deals with reclaiming words lost to the fundamentalists.  One of those words is prayer.  But I just can’t get into the whole reclaiming business.  I just don’t know if I can change my definition of prayer from what I talked about last nite.

Tom over at Kermit is my Copilot is all about meditation as prayer, but I just don’t know if I can get behind that or not.  Chutney is reclaiming the Morning Prayer liturgy, and is coming up with some pretty darn good stuff.

Is it possible for me to get over my hang-ups about the P-word and, gah, have an open mind?  I HATE it when I find myself totally close-minded about some subjects.  It burns me right in my liberal fundamentalist heart.  But can I open my mind up to something that I feel so jaded with.

I have got to open my mind more to these religious concepts.  Now, granted, the bottle of wine I’m about halfway through will certainly make it easier.  But, will I be able to do it sober, and most importantly, be able to do this with religion?

Prayer – My Definition

To start this discussion yesterday, I introduced my negative experiences with the word prayer.  Well, its time for my definition, which will be short since my thoughts are over at Kennestone hospital tonight.  I see prayer as people asking the big guy up sitting on a cloud otherwise known as God to intervene in their life and make it better.  I see it as people asking for direct intervention.

I used to see it as extremely self-indulgent and self-righteous.  Now…I’m not so sure.  Anyone out there reading it, feel free to leave your definition of prayer in the comments.  Which will certainly help me out.

Prayer in a week.

Prayer.

P r a y e r.

One word.  Six letters.  Extreme paranoia.

I touched on this last nite, and this was the discussion of the covenant group (small group ministry for the non-UU folk) session tonight.  Prayer.  Why does this word make me feel so uncomfortable, and make me want to run away screaming in terror?

Lets flash back to high school.  I got told all of the time that people were praying for me.  Probably because I was the mascot of all heathens in my high school.  It felt just so derogatory.  You’re going to hell is what they are thinking, but say “I’m going to pray for you.”  I think you are beneath me, and are inferior, but “I’m praying for you.”  It was a way of insulting someone with sweetness, and I could see through it.  And they knew I saw through it.  And that might have encouraged them for all I know, but it was almost an epidemic in my high school.  And it seriously pissed me off, and probably turned me off Christianity for, well, ever.

I asked politely for people not to pray for me, and then I asked not so politely to stop, and then not so politely encouraged them to stop wasting their breath and thoughts, and then not so politely told them I would see them in hell.

So, I think I’m going to do another week of installments, because that format really worked for me last week.  And instead of getting all of my thoughts out tonight like I was originally going to do, this will force me to think about the concept long and hard for the next week, which is something I really, really need to do.

This time, the topic is prayer.