House of Prayer Youth

Heifer Education Building
Interfaith Invocation
June 5, 2009

Tharwat: “We are representatives from the Arkansas House of Prayer which is an Interfaith haven here in Little Rock. It is a place for prayer, silence and contemplation.

Since people of all faith traditions will benefit from the work of Heifer’s new educational center, representatives of a few faiths are here today to offer prayers to reflect the global nature of Heifer’s work.

Let us pray.”

Tharwat: “Holy and gracious God, Creator of all that is. You are the source of Light and Life. Your Spirit moved over the deep and brought all things into being. We acknowledge Your Presence as we gather here today to dedicate Heifer Village and the Murphy Keller Education Center. On this day our hearts are filled with gratitude for Heifer’s commitment to end hunger and poverty as well as their focus on caring for the Earth. May this new educational facility inspire us and others to take action to build a better world, using sustainable solutions that reduce poverty while caring for our planet.”

Bahai: Soft drumming throughout invocation

Cody H.: “From the Tao tradition: The highest goodness is like water. It benefits all things without struggle, yet it abides in all places. This is the Tao.”

Anna Waren: “From the Bahai tradition: O my God! O my God! Unite the hearts of Thy servants and reveal to them Thy great purpose. May they follow Thy commandments and abide in Thy law. Help them, O God, in their endeavor, and grant them strength to serve Thee. O God! Leave them not to themselves, but guide their steps by the light of Thy knowledge, and cheer their hearts by Thy love. Verily, Thou art their Helper and their Lord.”

Micha: “From the Christian tradition:

Tharwat: “From the Muslim tradition: Bismallah Alrahman Alrahim, In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate. Allah, I covenant with you to carry your compassion forward by helping those of yours in need.”

Micha: “With silence, all faiths can pray together while co-existing in peace. Holding the intention of love in your hearts, please pause for a moment of silence.”

15 seconds of silence…

Cody H.: “In closing, Holy One, we ask your blessing on this new building. Just as this drum beat represents the universal heart of humanity, may that love and compassion be extended from this place to all the corners of the world.

Namaste, Shalom, Salam, Blessed Be, Amen.”

HOUSE OF PRAYER YOUTH RETREAT
May 2, 2009

Susan Sims Smith

Susan will present the concept of the House of Prayer and “’why interfaith?”

Susan Sims Smith is an Episcopal priest for the Diocese of Arkansas in Little Rock, Arkansas. She currently directs the SeedWork project, the focus of which is to offer people practical tools for spiritual and personal growth. She teaches people to pray, to meditate, and to work with their nighttime dreams as ways of listening to the movement of the Holy Spirit in their daily lives. Her work, much of which is rooted in the Sacred Feminine, is connected to the ancient wisdom tradition in Christianity, which is being restored to the modern-day church. Her couples classes integrate spiritual and psychological learning opportunities, using the relationship itself as the container for growth.

Dr. Sunny Anand

Dr. Anand will be speaking on the topic “What is Love?”

Sunny was raised as a Sikh, a religion based on the belief in One God, and recognizing the equality of all human beings. Sunny’s father had been born into a poor farm laborer’s family, and as a self-made man, he and his wife taught their children to respect all persons and all religious faiths. Both educational opportunity and political unrest in his Indian homeland conspired to put Sunny on a path to residence in the United States. He and his wife Iti have three children: daughter Amrit, 19 years old, son Tej, 14 years, and their adopted son Dhiraj who now lives in Nashville. The Anands have lived in Little Rock for 12 years, and Sunny has been recognized internationally for his research on pediatric pain relief. Sunny constantly works at building interfaith understanding and working for those less fortunate. When he and Iti arrived in Little Rock and found there was no temple, they established a prayer room in their own home which is open every Friday for singing and prayer. For the past year he has helped establish the Harmony Health Clinic which is a completely free and full service providing medical care, dental care, a pharmacy, and mental health services.

Steve Evans

Steve will lead a mindful fruit/tea service that focuses on service and being fully present to those around us.

Steve Evans from the Ecumenical Buddhist Society of Little Rock was a prosecuting attorney in Little Rock for six years and is currently working in a hospital lab for better karma. He is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas.

Philip Buck

“I will lead a short hike into the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains with mindful intention to connect with nature. We will visit outdoor skills of trackers and shamans to come to a conscious recognition of our own identity and spirituality.”

Philip grew up in Little Rock and went to Catholic High School. He was active in Boy Scout Troop 7 and Arkansas Episcopal Youth Community. After majoring in German Literature at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee he returned to Little Rock and works in the reference department at the Main Library. He spends his time hiking, gardening, and helping with EYC and the Trinity Cathedral Ringing Society.

Sr. Deborah Troilett

“I will simply be sharing about Centering Prayer and how I believe I was led to this prayer practice at this point in my faith journey. This prayer is special because it is all about being present to the Presence of God and understanding that his Divine Life lives in me and in everyone. It is a prayer of the heart—a prayer of surrender and freedom and has helped me pray more from the heart and less from the head.”

Sr. Deborah attended Mount St. Mary Academy and is currently a Mercy Secondary Education Administration. She was nurtured in the Catholic community of her family, then had a Catholic education at Our Lady of Holy Souls School for grades 1-8, Mount St. Mary Academy, St. Louis University and the University of Dayton. During this time, the Benedictine Sisters and Sisters of Mercy, as well as the pastors, were tremendous role models for her. Her faith in Jesus Christ became more “personal” during her high school years. She was very involved in the Search program and credited her faith development to these experiences. In 1985 she participated in a Youth Seminar on World Religions, traveled the world to various holy sites and made pilgrimages to their places of origin. She was with 150 other pilgrims all college age and representing every major and some “minor” religions. It was a most profound experience and definitely helped me grow in my faith and respect for universal religious truth. She learned how BIG God is having basically grown up as a minority Catholic in the Bible Belt of the US.

Centering Prayer has become her primary daily practice. She practices it daily, and as she said “usually alone with God.”

Tharwat Fahoum

Tharwat will be offering her own poetic meditations written while on her spiritual journey and will guide participants to write as a meditative practice.

Tharwat Fahoum Lovett grew up primarily in Arkansas. Her mother is from Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and her father is from Nazareth, Israel. Her upbringing was somewhat atypical from her peers due to the bicultural and bireligious dynamic that existed within her family. She was exposed to both Arab tradition and American culture as well as Islam and Christianity. She reports throughout her youth those spectrums having created some emotional confusion and upheaval. But as she’s grown older, she recognizes those experiences as having proven to be invaluable to her development and understanding of herself and the world around her. Currently, she is married and the mother of four children. She has a Masters in Applied Psychology from UALR and completed one year of post grad work in Applied Developmental Psychology at the University of New Orleans. For the past 7 years she has been teaching adjunct psychology. And recently, she has become the Director of Lifespan Religious Education at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Little Rock.

Ana Waren

Unity Drum Circle: Practicing Unity in Diversity

This activity focuses on unity in diversity, a pivotal principal of the Baha’I Faith. Participants are invited to join in a drum circle with different percussion instruments. We each bring different sounds and rhythms to make music together. The drumming will provide a musical backdrop for short excerpts on unity from the holy books of the Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and Baha’I Faiths. Sense of fun required, but no musical talent necessary.

Anna Waren grew up as a member of the Baha’I faith. Her mom was Catholic and her dad was Church of Christ. Both were looking for a religion where they could bring up their children in unity but neither had to deny the fundamental truth of the religion in which they were raised. She is originally from Texas but has lived in Arkansas for a total of about nine years. She is a 3rd year medical student at UAMS.

Planning Committee

Lizzie Alvarez

Lizzie is Catholic, and she goes to Mount St. Mary’s. She enjoys learning about other religions and cultures. Lizzie is a big fan of meditation, and she is excited about the retreat.

Joanie Simmermaker

Joanie is a junior at Mount Saint Mary. She was born and raised in Little Rock. She chose to be on this retreat committee because she loves mindfulness and meditation. She is very involved in Catholic youth ministry and loves to learn about other faiths. She hopes that everyone grows in mind and in spirit through this retreat.

Michaelene Miller

Michaelene is a senior at Episcopal Collegiate and a member of Trinity Cathedral Episcopal Church. She attends Project Dreamland, an Episcopal youth group, where she learns about many different religions and cultures. She is especially interested in the Buddhist way of life, yoga, and meditation.

Susan Phillips

A child of God and a true frient of the youth who is passionate about bringing young people into a closer relationship with Christ. Susan is blessed enough to be the Campus Minister of Mt. St. Mary Academy, where she has worked for 11 years.

Sarah Catherine Phillips

Sarah Catherine is a Research Associate at Stephens, Inc. and is committed to Interfaith dialogue and exchange. She participated in a Habitat for Humanity project in Jordan that brought together 10 women from the U.S. and 10 women from Saudi Arabia, and despite their vastly different backgrounds and faiths, they found commonalities in their faith traditions and deep passion for social justice.

Patricia Simmons

Patricia Simmons is Canon for Children and Youth Formation at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. She has eighteen years experience in dream work, centering prayer, and yoga practice and has been working with youth in the Episcopal Church for twelve.

Special Thanks to:

Susan Sims Smith whose vision and determination to create the House of Prayer are the reason we can gather today.

Helen Porter who embraced the House of Prayer Youth Retreat at its early stages and generously supported it.

Iti and Amrit, thank you for your presence and contributions to the planning of this retreat.

Susan Phillips who lent her resources, retreat planning expertise and time to making the retreat happen.

John Willis who will be teaching a yoga session during the retreat.

House of Prayer Youth Retreat

The rainy day of May 2nd marked a very important moment in the inter-religious world of co-existence. It was the first inter-faith youth retreat in the state of Arkansas. A group of curious “youth,” aging from sophomores to thirty year olds, enthusiastically met at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church and the House of Prayer for a wonderful day of understanding.

The retreat opened with an introduction to the House of Prayer by Susan Sims Smith. In her own words, she described it as “an inter-faith haven, set apart in nature, for prayer, meditation, and contemplation.” With a quick lesson in meditation, the group experienced the profound peace created by the silence of the building. For many, it was their first time to see the House of Prayer or meditate. The informal discussion following the moment of silence weighed heavily with revelations about the power of silent prayer on the mind, body, and spirit.

The day continued with guest speakers representing various religions including Sikhism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and the B’hai faith. Each guest led the group in an activity from their practice. We partook in yoga, meditation, a dream interpretation workshop, centering prayer, a mindful fruit break, mindful poetry writing, and a drum circle. The openly accepting atmosphere was tangible by all the senses upon entering the room. Peace was found within the silence, light was discovered through understanding, and love was created through acceptance. The day was incredibly enlightening for all who attended.

Michaelene Miller is a graduate of Episcopal Collegiate School and is a freshman at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas.

House of Prayer Youth Retreat

The House of Prayer recently hosted the first annual House of Prayer
Youth Retreat, planned by a youth committee, for High School students to
gather and practice their own prayer/meditation/centering techniques
alongside each other. Presenters from the Christian, Sikh, Buddhist,
Unitarian Universalist and B'hai faiths introduced unique practices,
including meditation, centering prayer, mindfulness, poetry, drumming
and much more.