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NORWALK, Conn. ? The Norwalk Daily Voice accepts signed, original letters to the editor. We reserve the right to edit submissions, but we respectfully ask that you keep your correspondence under 500 words. Please send letters to norwalk@dailyvoice.com.
To the Editor:
In a recent letter, Scott Kimmich asks if prayer matters. But, there is far more to his inquiry. Prayer matters because God matters.
You see, one can be both committed to social justice and be a person of faith. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. did not abandon prayer while leading the call for sweeping changes in the nation’s laws. Catholic priests who championed labor causes in the 1930’s did not forego prayer while also advocating for workers’ rights. Places of worship of all faiths consistently offer soup kitchens, food banks and clothing drives for families in need, while also praying for them. In each of these circumstances, the fundamental belief in the worthiness of all (and the related principle that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights), inspired the call to social justice – not to the exclusion of prayer, but inspired by prayer. Certainly, individuals like Mr. Kimmich (and other recent letter writers to the local press) can be motivated by entirely earthly concerns to call for social and legal change – but the fact that they may find no comfort in the power of prayer (or in being a part of a faith community) should not motivate them to denigrate prayer (and by extension faith) in pursuit of the political changes they seek.
For those of us of faith, in times of crisis, prayer offers solace – it provides a connection (through our belief in a single Creator) that we are not alone as we struggle to fathom why horrific and senseless acts of violence occur in the world of innocent children. Prayer, and by extension faith, also serve to strengthen our resolve to take those actions needed to protect all. Prayer is not a substitute for earthly action, but is, instead a call for Heavenly grace to guide us in honoring our temporal obligations.
I’m a Christian. I pray. I pray for guidance in my public and private life. I pray not for magical solutions (as the tone of Mr. Kimmich’s letter suggests those who pray would do) but for the moral courage to follow my conscience and promote those actions necessary for the public good. I also offer many a prayer of thanks that the reverend mentioned in Mr. Kimmich’s epistle is a friend of mine who keeps me in his prayers.
Steve Colarossi
Norwalk
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