Day to day happenings at the Prayer Vigil March 9, 2009
The day began with Andrea Budgey, Chaplain at Trinity College, leading us in a series of prayers, reflection, and singing. We shared our understanding of poverty and how our faith compels us to action.
At noon, Anglican Bishop Colin Johnson (Diocese of Toronto), Archdeacon Michael Patterson (Diocese of Niagara), and The Rt. Rev. Linda Nicholls, Bishop of Trent-Durham Area & Suffragan Bishop (Diocese of Toronto) led noon time prayers for a large contingent. MMPs that we were praying for that day were named and remembered, Bishop Johnson led in prayer, a meditation on the Blind Bartemias from the gospel of Mark, and invited response and reflection. People shared why their faith inspires them to treat people with dignity and respect they deserve as human beings and also compelled them to call on government to do the same.
One of the highlights of the day was later in the afternoon, when a class from the Coppard Glen Public School in Markham, who had been visiting the Legislature, came with their teacher to the Prayer Vigil Tent to learn more about what ISARC was doing there. Paul Hansen and Bruce Voogd explained to the students why we were praying for the poor and our MPPs. The students asked lots of questions and before they left their teacher asked all the students to silently offer their own prayers.
