Special Prayers

After lunch we were asked to take about 15 minutes for a special time of prayer for “for our  LBGTQI+ siblings” in the auditorium and around the world. Special prayers because they feel the full weight of the matters before this General Conference and excluded by a church leaving them out.

Delegates were invited to move to the center of the room where a cluster of folk had already circled-up around a rainbow flag. Some did, but the circle remained rather small.

 

People were also encouraged to pray with the “LBGTQI+ siblings” who were at the tables, and there were some table prayers, I am sure, and more than I could discern, but I could almost feel a spirit of “whataboutism” that seems to bow-up every time anything is mentioned.

"Whatabout" is a subtext of almost every conversation here: "But what about the Bible?" "What about Love." Every statement or request seems to raise a “but what about…?”

At this moment I could almost sense a “But what about the delegates who feel their church is leaving them? Are we going to have special prayers for them?”

The whole while the praise team was singing the Hezekiah Walker song that most of us have heard. I Need You to Survive:

I need you, you need me.
We're all a part of God's body.
Stand with me, agree with me.
We're all a part of God's body.

It is his will, that every need be supplied.
You are important to me, I need you to survive.

I pray for you, you pray for me.
I love you, I need you to survive.
I won't harm you with words from my mouth.
I love you, I need you to survive.

It is his will, that every need be supplied.
You are important to me, I need you to survive.

The line that most jumped out at me were these: I won’t harm you with words from my mouth.

Certainly that is wonderful intent, but unless no words are said at all this week (and even that is a kind of hurt to those who need to hear blessing), I am not sure how the words that are being and will be said this weekend can not hurt someone. Such is our dilemma.