Public Art: Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

 

Give us today our daily bread

 

Praying is an exercise that changes the pray-er. Those of us in this space have prayed the Lord’s Prayer many times.  We have prayed thousands of times, give us this day our daily bread.

 

Daily bread – recently for me when I think about the bread I need to live and survive, it is not so much physical bread, but rather, bread that feeds the spirit, the soul, my creativity, and my hope reserve. I don’t take much time these days to let news sink in; it is too much, it is overwhelming, and I can’t fix it. However, when I pause to ground myself and take time for self-care, there is ‘daily bread’ that always feeds me. The bread comes in two forms: one is creating folk-art pieces myself, usually items to ‘fix’ a problem like the recently built privacy screens to block the noise from the neighbour’s yard. The creative activity is healing and the ‘fixing’ something is satisfying.  The other bread form is public art, like the murals painted on Quinpool Rd. buildings for the recent Festival of Murals. The murals bring about joy, memories, new ideas, colour, expression, life in an otherwise dreary space.

 

This past week I was reminded that sharing daily bread multiplies the loaves. Wednesday’s walking group took in the public art on Quinpool. The conversation, the memories, the enjoyment of the walk was bread for the soul.

We too shared daily bread and multiplied the loaves.

Copying an idea that was seen on social media, the church yard received a new item: there is a little sign that says “Dog library. Take a stick.” Under the sign there is a pile of sticks. The sign was up for less than an hour when passersby started noticing, smiling, and taking pictures. Dogs, children, adult dog-walkers have taken sticks and placed sticks. Neighbours have brought friends over to see the sign. People have stopped to talk about their dogs, the sticks, the idea. Others have responded by social media that they are stealing the idea.

A tiny little sign has been like yeast, growing joy, conversation, and sharing.

From the front porch of the parsonage, I have so enjoyed watching the joy that the sign has brought others, that I too have had bread returned to me – many baskets collected – full of joy back on me.

 

It is perhaps a strange sign to see on a church yard, “Dog library. Take a stick.” What does it have to do with faith, God, or daily bread?  What does it say about the church? It says quite a lot!

·         We love all our neighbours including the four-footed kind.

·         We are aware of the dogwalkers in the neighbourhood.

·         We want to be part of what God is doing in the world.

·         We are about giving and sharing bread for the soul.

·         We share without strings attached – sticks and joy are free gifts.

·         We are engaged and up to date.

 

It doesn’t matter if passersby immediately think that the church is great or if they think of any of the bullet points I mentioned. Somewhere the joy of the moment is implanted into memory for when the person may need ‘daily bread,’ perhaps they will remember the church on the corner who cared for their dog.

 

The sign, the idea, is so simple.

In the Gospel we hear the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray. The prayer seems simple enough – but it is so rich in content- give us this day our daily bread.

As part of the discourse Jesus says:

 

Ask and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. – Lk. 11: 9-10

 

In the 4^th century BCE prayer flags were incorporated into Tibetan Buddhist practice. Flags with prayers printed on them were hung outside for the wind to move through them. The idea is that the prayers of peace, good tidings, and blessing written on the flags would be etched on the wind. The prayers are prayed for the sake of others and for the healing of the world. The wind carries them out and beyond to the consciousness of the universe, the Creator, the Great Spirit. The etchings on the wind are breathed and exhaled, breathed and exhaled the world over– blessings, peace, good tidings inhaled, exhaled as the bread of life.

Prayers change the pray-er… and the breather of the etchings on the wind.

 

Today I am inviting you to enter the prayer give us this day our daily bread. I am inviting you to enter it in a way that also has you giving your prayer as bread to the world. You are invited to be bread-maker as a creative pray-er and also with the community create a piece of public art for the healing of the world.

These strips of fabric are waiting for your intentions and prayers. This strip’s ends have my prayer intentions for the world: compassion, peace, patience. It will go with your strips onto a cord to make a prayer garland. The prayer garland will go outside and festoon the Windsor street entrance with a banner that says, ‘Our Prayer intentions for the healing of the world.’ Publicly displayed prayers. Folk art. Public art – that will etch our prayers on the wind. For those who see the art, they will be changed in the moment – a smile, a happy thought, a recognition that something different is happening here; be blessed by a neighbourhood being filled with wholesome intentions,  a church that embraces creativity, homemade, free gifts, bread for the soul.

For those of you at home, you too can give yourself away as bread for the hungry. Take a strip of any kind of material, write your prayer words, and tie the strip on the branch of a tree. Invite your neighbours to do the same.

 

Wind-blower and Life-giver,

Give us this day our daily bread. So that we might share it by giving ourselves away as bread for the hungry, and in return be blessed to gather many baskets full of joy for the healing of the whole world.  AMEN.