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There may have been a wind chill temperature of ten below zero outside but inside St. Joan of Arc Church’s warm and beautiful atmosphere, not a cold heart could be seen, heard or felt. The intergenerational group attending this prayer service was given an opportunity to recall celebrations of their past Valentine days.
As all strolled into the warmth of the church, one could not help but notice the beautifully decorated altar covered with a simple white cloth with red hearts, and placed on it was a vase filled with a large red carnations and baby’s breath.
On the polished floor in front of the altar was a large copper oval tub holding sand. In front of the tub lay a line of about a dozen tiny heart shaped candleholders of varying colors. This bright line made a bridge of light from the copper tub to a small table holding unlit candles in a box next to a large lit candle.
The vision of this arrangement was a precursor to the unique and creative ritual that would be the central focus of this prayer service.
Prayer Partner, Theresa Healy, read this quotation by Ursula R. LeGuin as the opening welcome. Theresa and Molly Morton were the designers of this exquisite prayer service consisting of prayers, music, ritual and scripture.
Carin Vagle, vocalist, and Joe Chouinard, pianist(right), supplied the music; well chosen to fit the occasion and performed with these two artists’ usual high competence. The opening song, “The Rose”, appropriately told of the theme of the service in its haunting closing words: “The Soul afraid of dying that never learns to live, … In the Spring, becomes the Rose”. One of the Beatle’s songs “Oh My Love” whose love song lyrics joyously claim …”Oh my love, for the first time in my life my heart can see.”
The familiar Biblical quote from Paul’s Corinthians reading stated “… Love is patient, Love is kind..” and continues to tell us about “Faith, Hope and Love, and the greatest of these is Love.”
The prayer service then focused on the ritual of the candles. Anyone who wished could take a candle from the box and light it from the large candle and walk the path of lights to place their lighted candle in the tub of sand to join the other lighted candles. Then they could state their individual answer to one of the posed questions:
Many of those present took part in this creative ritual of love. Some spoke meaningful words as they answered one of the questions above. Some related wonderful memories or tales of who had affected their lives and in what way. Many of these moving accounts described the true meaning of love. The inspiration given at this point in this ritual was the main focus of the prayer service. There were statements of great depth and wisdom and memorable sharing of personal experiences telling the “how” “who” and “what” made their love new.
Then this Valentine service ended with a prayer and a song that said, “Come on people now, smile on each other, everybody get together, time to love one another right now.’
Oh, if we only would!
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