Circle Opportunities

[Judi Richardson]

Possibilities of circles and prayer??


An Extraordinary Discussion -- Jean Bethke Elshtain
>
> On Thursday, September 20, only hours before his speech before
> Congress,
> President George W. Bush spent over an hour talking and praying with a
> group
> of twenty some leaders of America's diverse religious communities.  I
> was
> surprised and honored to be included in the meeting--this despite the
> fact
> that I can by no means be described as a leader of a particular
> religious
> community.  I would like to give readers of Sightings a sense of how the
> event unfolded.
> My hunch is that someone on the White House staff decided that they
> needed
> a representative from one of America's leading divinity schools, and
> chose
> me because I have in the past addressed the ethics of war and
> war-making.  I
> did not know most of those included.  I recognized Franklin Graham, son
> of
> Billy Graham, from media sightings.  I greeted Cardinal Bernard Law of
> Boston by name because he was, in fact, the one person I had met in the
> past.
> We gathered, as requested, at 12:15 p.m. at the northwest appointments
> gate
> of the White House.  We cleared security, and were then ushered into the
> Eisenhower Executive Office Building across from the White House.  There
> we
> gathered together, greeted one another, and shared expressions of peace
> and
> concern.  I found it rather extraordinary that the single most
> ecumenical
> event I have ever attended had been put together by the White House.
> All
> Christian orientations were represented, as were members from the
> Orthodox,
> Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim communities.
> We discussed a proposed statement--put together by a member of our
> group,
> not by the White House--for around forty minutes.  A few of us made
> proposals for additions and corrections.  These were accepted and the
> statement was signed by all of us.  We offered up our prayers for the
> bereaved.  We lifted up those who "selflessly gave their lives in an
> attempt
> to rescue others."  We expressed our gratitude that "the President has
> spoken out early and clearly to denounce acts of bigotry and racism
> directed
> against Arabs, Muslims, and others in our midst.  To yield to hate is to
> give victory to the terrorists."  We called the attacks of September 11
> acts
> against all of humanity--over sixty other countries lost citizens in the
> attacks-- and we argued that there was a "grave obligation to do all we
> can
> to protect innocent human life" because "the common good has been
> threatened
> by these attacks...."  We called for a response that was just and
> peaceful---understanding, as many of us do, that the claims of justice
> and
> of peace must guide any reaction.
> After our deliberations concluded, we were ushered to the Roosevelt
> Room of
> the White House.  Chairs were arranged in a circle.  There was no table.
> When the President entered the room, he greeted people he knew by name
> and
> asked us to be seated.  When he noticed that the chairs on either side
> of
> him were empty--people giving the President some room--he gestured and
> said,
> "Come on in here.  I feel lonely down here."  People scooted in.  The
> President then offered twenty to twenty-five minutes of reflection on
> the
> situation, indicating the need to steer a careful course between calling
> for
> Americans to be attentive but doing so in a way that doesn't instill
> fear in
> hearts already bestirred and stunned by what had happened.  He indicated
> that he would oppose anyone who singled out those of the Muslim faith or
> Arab background for acts of vigilantism and bigotry as Islam, he stated,
> is
> a "religion that preaches peace" and those who had hijacked Islam to
> murder
> nearly seven thousand people did not represent Islam.
> The President discussed the terrible day, going over some of the events
> as
> he experienced them, doing what so many Americans are doing in trying to
> come to grips with what happened.  He told us that it is clear the White
> House was a target; that it was an "old building made of plaster and
> brick"
> and that had it been struck it would have been demolished and many
> people
> killed, "including my wife." (He paused and choked up at that thought.)
> The
> overall sense the President conveyed was that of a man who is horrified,
> saddened, clear about his Constitutional responsibility to protect the
> country and her citizens, determined to build an international coalition
> and
> not to go it alone, equally determined to respond in a way that is
> measured
> and not unlimited.
> Following this gripping presentation, the President asked us to share
> concerns and thoughts.  Some among the group lifted up particular
> Scriptural
> passages they found apt for our tragic circumstance.  Others--the
> representatives of the Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim
> communities---brought their support and thanked the President for his
> words
> against bigotry.
> Deciding this might be my only opportunity to offer advice to a
> President
> of the United States face-to-face, I indicated that I taught "political
> ethics," to which the President responded jocularly (as do most people
> when
> I tell them this), "Is there such a thing?"  I replied that "I like to
> think
> so and I believe you are attempting to exemplify such in operation
> through
> this crisis."  I then said that a President's role as "civic educator"
> has
> never been more important.  That he must explain things to the American
> people; teach patience to an impatient people; the need to sacrifice to
> a
> people unused to sacrifice.  The President indicated he was aware of
> this
> important responsibility and it was clear that he had already given the
> civic education role some thought.
> The entire meeting was unhurried, casual, thoughtful.  As the
> President's
> aides began to gather in the room, it was clear the meeting--now well
> into
> its second hour--was about to end.  One of our group asked, "Mr.
> President,
> what can we do for you?"  He indicated that we could "pray for me, for
> our
> country, for my family."  He believes in the efficacy of prayer and
> needs
> wisdom and guidance and grace, he said.  A Greek orthodox Archbishop was
> invited to lead us in prayer.  We all joined hands in a prayer circle,
> including the president. It was a powerful and moving moment.  As the
> prayer
> ended and we began to rise, one among us began, haltingly, to sing "God
> Bless America," a distinctly unchauvinistic song that Americans have
> turned
> to over the past few weeks.  We all began to join in, including the
> President.  He then mingled, shook hands, and thanked us as we left.
> All of us were aware we had participated in an extraordinary event.
> People
> shared addresses and business cards.  We departed the White House to
> face a
> bank of cameras--always set up on the lawn.  It began to rain softly. I
> stood next to my Sikh colleague and found myself gently patting him on
> the
> shoulder.  I said, "I hope you don't mind my doing that."  He said, "No,
> of
> course not. Please. I find it reassuring, very reassuring."
> As I got into a taxi for the long ride to Baltimore-Washington
> International Airport, I realized that I had no desire to "spin" the
> event;
> to analyze it to bits; to engage in some sort of tight exegesis.
> Sometimes
> events just stand.  They are what they are. If the President had simply
> wanted a public relations event, he would have done a quick photo-op
> (preferably the prayer circle scene, no doubt); cameras would have been
> whirring; we would have had a few well-timed and choreographed minutes.
> None of that happened.  It was clear that the President wanted counsel;
> that
> he sought prayer; that he also hoped to reassure us that he understood
> the
> issues involved.
> It was an afternoon I will not soon forget.  I am grateful that I was
> able
> to join a group of my fellow citizens and members of our diverse
> religious
> communities, for an extraordinary discussion with the President of the
> United States.
>
> Jean Bethke Elsthain is the Laura Spellman Rockefeller Professor of
> Social
> and Political Ethics at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
>

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