On Wednesday, January 31, 2018, the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill were thrilled to share the monthly Peace Prayer service with the members of the St. Charles AME Zion Church of Sparkill, NY. A collaboration between St. Charles’ Rev. Brandon McLauchlin and Sparkill Sisters Bridget Kiniry and Stephen Gerard, this gathering of nearly 150 people praying for peace in the world left everyone uplifted and joyful.
In the words of Sr. Bridget Kiniry, who envisioned the collaboration:
“My Congregation has been studying racism recently and one idea that has stuck with me is that while the larger issue seems beyond me, there are small things I can do to dismantle racism. I began to think about the African American church right here in Sparkill. What about having a common prayer service? We could collaborate in planning the January Peace Prayer! And that’s exactly what we did.
A lunch invitation to the pastor, Rev. Brandon McLauchlin, who is new to Sparkill, new to his ministry, and very new to nuns and convents, was met with excitement and an immediate “yes” to participate in planning the prayer service. Amidst the planning, Sr. Stephen and I attended a Sunday Service at St. Charles. What a joy that was to pray with the parishioners there and to feel so at home. I was able to personally invite them to the Peace Prayer at the convent and shared, “we are all here on this earth, in this close proximity, at the same time. We all long for the Peace of God in our hearts, in our families, and in our world.” And the people said AMEN.
On the day of the Peace Prayer, so many people came… we prayed and sang and hugged and God smiled. We shared our love of God and neighbor. In the closing blessing, Rev. Brandon prayed that the peace so alive in us would spill out into our community and into our world. And again, the people said AMEN!
We are so looking forward to keeping this connection alive to see where God directs us, together.”
