Posted on 4/27/2007, 1:10:44 AM by Caleb1411
Once I accepted an invitation to give the benediction at the graduation of the Medical University of South Carolina. I was delighted that a school like MUSC was still willing to invoke the Name of God and ask his blessings on those who are to be sent out into the world to practice the work that the school has trained them to do.
Having driven past the university’s beautiful St. Luke’s Chapel (named after St. Luke, the evangelist and physician) hundreds of times, I began to consider what words might be fitting for these medical students. I sat at my desk, reviewing ancient books of Christian prayers, to write the most appropriate one for those commencing the next step of their professional medical lives.
Parochial Names
Two days later, I received by mail a delightful letter, thanking me for agreeing to deliver the benediction and inviting me to a number of related festivities. Included with the letter, though, was a memorandum from the Office of the President of the Medical University: “Guidelines for Invocation and Benediction at Public Functions,” guidelines to which I would be required to conform in order to bless the graduates.
< snip >
The third was a problem. Here is the text (the boldface appears in the original):
Steer clear of parochial, exclusively defining religious names, concepts, practices, and metaphors. A good rule of thumb to remember is that you come representing the entire faith community, not just your own group. The prayer should therefore not be offensive to anyone, whether Catholic, Baptist, Jewish, Muslim, etc. For example, when opening or closing, an inclusive choice would be “Holy God, Holy One, Creator, Sustainer,” rather than “Allah, Jesus, Holy Trinity,” etc.
(Excerpt) Read more at touchstonemag.com ...
Just get a “straight man” in the audience nearby to sneeze loudly, and then say “BLESS YOU”.
It is only in the mode of asking in the name of Jesus Christ that a Christian can presume to approach the throne of God and petition for His favor. We pray through and in the name of Jesus, for He alone is our Advocate.
In that case, I don't come. There is no such thing as "the entire faith community," since you're talking about entirely different faiths.
The prayer should therefore not be offensive to anyone, whether Catholic, Baptist, Jewish, Muslim, etc.
By seeking to be offensive to no one, it would therefore BE offensive to anyone who takes seriously what his or her religion actually teaches.
This is not true diversity but rather mushy PC conformity.
As I recall, at the VT convocation shortly after the massacre, the only religious figure who did NOT invoke the specifics of his or her religious faith was the ELCA pastor who was apparently asked to be the token Christian. I expect he had learned to be generic and inoffensive, the sort of thing that ELCA’s partner-church, the Episcopalians, have made their trademark.
I hope the school learned their lesson about asking an Orthodox Christian priest to babble that sort of pap on cue.
Now for a REAL Christian prayer for a medical commencment, here is one from Fr. John Parker, posted on some thread on FR in July of 2005:
O Lord Jesus Christ our God, Lover of Mankind, Physician of our souls and bodies, who didst bear the pain of our infirmities, and by whose wounds we are healed,
Who gave sight to the man born blind,
Who straightened the woman who was bent over for 18 years,
Who gave speech and sight to the mute demoniac,
Who not only forgave the paralytic his sins, but healed him to walk,
Who restored the withered hand of a troubled man,
Who stopped the flow of blood of her who bled for 12 years
Who raised Jairus’ daughter to life
And brought the 4-day-dead Lazarus to life
And who heals every infirmity under the sun,
Do now, O Lord, give your grace to all those here gathered who have labored and studied hour upon hour, to go into all the world, and also to heal by the talent You have given to each of them.
Strengthen them, by your strength, to fear no evil or disease,
Enlighten them to do no evil by the works of their hands,
And preserve them and those they serve in peace,
For You are our God, and we know no other,
And to you we send up glory together with your Father who is from everlasting, and your most Holy, Good, and Life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Fr. John Parker
Someone needs to hand this to the muslim clerics who pray at government functions and keep offering prayers of conversion that all of us non-muslims see the false paths that we follow, et al...
Amen (in Jesus name) to that !
You are so very correct. I kept waiting for the ELCA pastor to invoke God’s Holy Name or to ask for the Grace of Jesus Christ to comfort and succor those who were broken and suffering but nary a word to this effect.
Far, far too many so called clergy no longer endure sound doctrine and instead have sought out teachers who tickle their itching ears, so they turn away from the truth and wander into myth (2d Timothy 4:3,4). Their flocks and countless others will suffer because of this.
What...no serial prayer?
Wait, you could do it, Charles. It isn’t a “service”, just a simple “convocation”.
Benkeism = The New PC Christianity!
The prayer that needed to be prayed:
May all the rotting, sin-infected brains of the liberals who force this nonsense on true men of God, be forever blessed with the truth of their downfall carefully and precisely enscribed above them on their grave stones: here lies a liberal who had the chance, saw the chance and walked away.
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