Sacred Spaces, Safe Places

This Week's Quotation:

Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.”

~ Psalm 127:1

Sacred Spaces, Safe Places

Rev. Berry Behr, Interfaith Minister

South Africa in the 1980’s and 90’s was a place of division, conflict, and politically inspired violence. Bombs in public places were a constant threat. Nowhere was safe, but perhaps the most shocking incident of all was an attack on a church in the quiet, leafy suburb of Kenilworth, Cape Town, one Sunday morning in 1993. Some worshippers were maimed, others killed, and all survivors were deeply traumatized. Though the context has changed since the early 1990s, the threat to places of worship has only intensified—both here and abroad.

Such attacks may be criminally or politically motivated. In 2019, 51 Muslims were killed in mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. A month later, 250 Christians in Sri Lanka died in violent bomb explosions on Easter Sunday. This year, a visiting American preacher was kidnapped from his pulpit during a prayer session in the South African city of Gqeberga, while cell phones, jewelry, and money were taken from his congregants. Police action days later led to his release from his kidnappers in a wild shoot out which left most of his kidnappers dead. Such incidents remind us that safety in sacred spaces cannot be taken for granted, but must be intentionally safeguarded.

In Cape Town, the Disaster Risk Management team of the City of Cape Town led by veteran emergency services first responder Rashied Isaacs noted the need for proactive measures to safeguard vulnerable places. With the support of the City of Cape Town, as well as police and other role players, Rashied initiated the Safer Places of Worship project. Faith leaders receive free training over a three-week period, meeting weekly for lectures in first aid, explosives identification and disaster scene management as well as safety protocols.  It’s not enough to think we are inviolable because we are at worship. We have to take action to protect our space, and make that message clear to others.

Restoring God’s garden, looking after “our patch” sets up a vibrational beacon that says we care for each other and for our environment because that’s how we show our devotion to God and all Creation. It’s how we keep God visibly central to our lives. When we work with each other to tend and protect our patches of garden, our sacred places of worship, and our communities – beyond our differences – we create nations in which the sacred is central to all our endeavours.

The Divine Design begins with a clear message: God is here. This is our sacred space. It is a land we will protect with all our hearts.

About Open Windows

We, the authors of this blog, dedicate it to the transparent exploration of the world's sacred scripture and enlightened spiritual thought. We believe that the original inspiration of all faiths comes from a common source, named and revered in a myriad of ways. With that understanding, the innumerable symbols, beliefs, and practices of faith cease to divide. They become open windows to a common reality that inspires and unifies us. We find deeper insight and nourishment in our own faith and from the expression of faith from others.

We hope these weekly quotations and meditations speak to your heart and soul.