One of my favorite holiday traditions is our annual national battle about the character of the nation. Are we the Christian nation of the “first settlers” or the secular nation of the barely theistic founding fathers? Since 20% of Americans do not identify as Christian, how do we find common ground with the rest of America?
One way is through holiday hymns/song. Let’s face it, many traditional hymns and carols are as catchy as Puritan cuisine is tasty. I went to an elementary school where our annual assembly had both Christian and Jewish songs; the nation’s capital goes one step further with the annual interfaith concert at Washington National Cathedral
:
Hindu and Sikh hymns echoed through the Washington National Cathedral as nine world religions filled the building, a usual venue for Presidential prayers … Led by Washington’s Guru Gobind Singh Foundation (GGSF) executive director Rajwant Singh, 35 Sikh men and women in spotless white with saffron satin scarves around their necks said opening prayers at the 26th Interfaith Concert held by the Interfaith Conference.
The Kuchipudi Dance Academy represented the Hindu faith as its troupe presented a recital in honour of Lord Shiva.
The Buddhists also took part in the event for the first time, with three Sri Lankan monks from Washington’s Buddhist Vihara joining the annual celebrations recently.
More than 1,400 members in the audience also enjoyed interludes of tabla maestro Rajinder Pal Singh, a student of Alla Rakha and Zakir Hussain.
The annual concert aims at bringing together Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Sikh communities on a common platform. [Link]
I’m waiting for William A. Donohue to protest against this invasion of a Christian space. After all, if this guy finds the White House insufficiently Christian, what will he think of Hindu dancers in the National Cathedral?
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*of Orient? 🙂
Sorry, pressed enter before I’d finished. Very interesting that this was actually inside the cathedral. Is it a very major cathedral? Well it must be if that’s where Presidential Prayers are. BUT! I think some hymns are…well maybe not catchy, but they’re great pieces of music. I used to like Thine Be The Glory at school.
The picture I saw of the whole Sikh jatha looked amazing.
The National Cathedral is definitely a “major cathedral.” For example, the state funeral for President Reagan and the national 9/11 memorial service were held there.
Thanks to an invitation from Dr Rajwant Singh, I attended the “National Day of Prayer” for victims of Hurricance Katrina. I can say that the cathedral is, in a word, baller.
Minor point, but I like the way the author refers to “The Buddhists,” as if Buddhists were one big unified club. Nice homogenisation there, eh?
yea for a truly interfaith gathering! i’m impressed that so many faiths were represented… wish i could’ve seen it.
hee! Especially since these monks were from Sri Lanka, therefore theravada, therefore the smallest little buddhist group of all.
and if they were from that new SL buddhist saddhu political party..well then! that’ll take the generalization to a whole new level…
(i have no idea why i find this amusing. i’m tired.)
The Washington National Cathedral is indeed a major Cathedral — it was chartered by congress in 1893 as a great church for national purposes. Though designated as an Episcopal organization, the Cathedral serves as a house of prayer for all people (and actually does a lot of work in the community, including hosting interfaith events and providing secular educational opportunities to DC youth). Also worth noting, the Cathedral receives no financial support from the federal government or any national church.
Sincerely,
Your Brown Source at the Cathedral
BB – Thanks for the correction. You can see how well I know the lyrics 😉
Sonia – I looked around but couldn’t find a picture, could you direct me?
Thx
— E
Kiran: >>the Cathedral receives no financial support from the federal government or any national church.
Just for that, I’ll make it a point to pray there next time I’m in town.
M. Nam
what is the difference between a church and a cathedral? Is it religiously different, or is it more an architectural term?
DD (JSHTFM) I think a cathedral is the main church of a diocese. I’m not sure if it’s still used, but the definition of a city as opposed to a town (here at least) was having a cathedral.
DD, in mainline Churches with a leadership hierarchy (RC, Anglican etc), the cathedral is the seat of the Bishop for the region.
OMG – there were at least two people playing an AUTOHARP as part of the kirtan jatha. (shudder ) That brings back memories of xmas concerts galore …
a nit pick, it was not the census that surveyed american religious identification, it was barry kosmin at CUNY.
Razib – thanks, link changed.
ah, i see someone beat me to it. well, you have mail anyway =)
I noticed the same thing, and thought of my mother referring to (whisper) “the gays.”
Beautiful post…its always so nice to learn about other relgions. Thank you.
i wish many christains i know could be so open minded!