Give primacy to the spiritual

Good point Rob. Our club often uses the Kiwanis prayer book and I'm not aware it has caused concern for any member. That just means no member has openly presented it as a problem. In groups that are spiritually quite diverse, your suggesion of silence is a reasonable approach. The key is to be respectful of all members beliefs with regard to this issue. I appreciate your courage in bring it up in the forum.

We use the Kiwanis 'prayer book' @ all our meetings, it gives an opportunity for all our members to partipitate in saying a different prayer every week--------for me it would not be right to ignore our

first object of Kiwanis! In the 19 yrs as a Kiwanian, I had only one experience of a gentleman who walked out when the prayer was said-----he was not a member of my club but a Golden k club. I might add he never stayed with the club but he was involved in a 'childrens charity fundraiser in the community!

To give thanks and ask for guidance is a primary source of strength and purpose in the daily lives for the majority of people.

We invite a member from the Interdenominational Faith Council in our town each week to give blessings and invocations at our meetings.  This is a new committee this year that has proven quite successful among our members.  As of yet, we have hosted about 20 different and distinct religions at our meetings.  From Native American, Zen, Bahai, Hindu, Islamic, Vedic Monk,  LDS, Pastors, Ministers, Fathers, Bishops, Captains and even Spanish Speaking.  It has been very positve so far and has given our club a better International understanding of our world.

As for reference to Politics, you can't have one conversation with out the other.  For many nations, there is not a difference between church and state.  So at times we must break the polite rule of not speaking of either and find some common ground rather than differences.  These moments are not of debate but of dialog to better understand the world we live in.  We have found more similarities than differences this last year in our all of our beliefs.  Mostly, helping children and the communities in which we live. Perspective is 20/20.

The Kwanis Club of Federal Way, Washington opens every meeting with a reading from the "Kiwanis Prayer Book" or occaisionally, one of our members will offer a prayer extemporaneously.

The Fairfield, OH Kiwanis club has both an opening and closing prayer. We are honored to have a  Member of Gideon's as a past president. One meeting a year each member of our club invites their pastor to attend the meeting with them. We attend funerals of Kiwanis members and Kiwanis family members as a group. We appreciate the Spiritual values of Kiwanis. Darrell

Spiritual values is the glue that joins us in our service to our community and the world. Our club uses the Kiwanis prayer book for the most part. Each week a different member does the prayer at the opening of our meeting,as well as the Human & Spirtual committee providing the membership with inoframtion about members, be it sad or happy events. Cards are passed around or addresses to send a personal note. Each member is welcome to do extemporaneously annoucements and prayers and there has never been a problem with showing respect for our many blessings. We care and share as a family. Just plain, part of Kiwanis!

I appreciated the comments on this page.  The Kiwanis Club is a new adventure for me, having joined two years ago.  Our club has a chaplain who offerers a prayers during the opening of the Wednesday lunch meeting.  As a law enforcement chaplain for our county the Club Chaplain has asked me to be his backup and he often asked me or another club member to pray.  Recently I was appointed club secretary and will be more involved.

Where do I get a copy of the Kiwanis spiritual book mentioned in the comments?

Rob -

Great blogs!  I too wonder where to get the prayer book - I did a search on the Kiwanis and KiwanisOne sites and came up with nothing.  This prayer book would be a super way to get more members of our club involved in giving primacy to the spiritual.  Our club has always opened with prayer and we are happy that it's something that sets us apart from other groups.

Jan

In my club we have a half dozen members who are comfortable giving the prayer. Many  others including myself will attempt to lead the prayer if we "can't get out of it". I have been a member for 5 years but don't recall hearing about a Kiwanis Prayer Book. Now I learn that it was superseded by "Kiwanis Inspirational Moments" I'll check it out. I assume this would be more ecumenical than the rather fundamentalist prayers that we hear because of the religious traditions of our most devout members.

    I certainly agree that we need to be inclusive. I hadn't realized that when I would say "in Jesus name we pray, Amen" I was excluding many religions. Ironically that includes my own. As an adult, 40 years ago I became a Unitarian-Universalist. We don't generally pray, but give silent reverence.

The new Kiwanis Inspirational Book does not really hit the mark of the previous publication when it comes to meeting the need of leading our club in a prayer or moment of silence. Our club was somewhat disappointed with the new publication and luckily, we still had the previous publication that we continue to use and we just begin the prayer without using the words Dear Jesus. You can ask everyone gathered to direct the prayer to the higher being of their belief or just start the prayer at the beginning of the prayer, instead of saying Dear God....

While I have no problem with the prayers or moments of silence, I do have a problem when the prayer is concluded in the name of a particular deity.  When I visit Clubs where this is used, I often think that the prayer is designed to exclude the good intentions asked for by those that may not believe in that particular deity.  Its as if there, of course,  can only be one way toward spirituality.

Coming from a Masonic background, I have been in meetings with a variety of faiths.  But they all begin with a prayer.  The name of no diety is mentioned, but the prayer is said.  I believe Kiwanis can have similar prayers.  I do believe having prayers is important.  In our club we are assigned to give the prayer, a diferent person giving the prayer each week.

Myron

For me, the primary test for a spiritual practice in Kiwanis is this: does it contribute to our ability to “serve the children of the world”?

The question is: Does the “Inspirational Moments” booklet serve our first objective with out compromising the objective of providing “…a practical mean to form enduring friendships, to render altruistic service, and to build better communities.” To the extent an invocation interferes with this objective, the inspirational moment would appear to be better spiritual practice.

When we substitute either – or both – for an invocation, omit vital elements of personal prayer. I look at daily personal prayer in terms a “prayer pyramid” – similar to the “food pyramid.” A portion of each is required for continued growth and health. There are five elements in the prayer pyramid: 1) PRAISE AND GRATITUDE for our many gifts and talents, including those of Kiwanis; 2) INSPIRATION so that we can discern, however approximately, God’s will for us for the day; 3) INVOCATION - asking the power to carry that out; 4) BLESSING – invoking a blessing on those in need, whom we will meet today and whom we serve; and 5) REFLECTION – looking back over the day, giving thanks for what went well, asking forgiveness for that which did not and planning to correct anything that needs it.

The “Kiwanis Inspirational Moment” provides one, or at most two, of these elements. It can enhance our ability to serve, thus meeting the primary test. Even so, we give up something real and important when we omit the other three. If we attempt an invocation or blessing in a manner that disturbs the “enduring friendships.” In this case, an invocation or blessing would fail the primary test. (I thought that the booklet of Kiwanis invocations were well done and unlikely to offend anyone because of their interdenominational phrasing. Apparently I was incorrect.)

A solution would be for club to begin it’s meeting with an Inspirational Moment, followed by a minute of silence. This would allow each member to add an invocation, prayer for discernment or blessing, or simply to be silent.

As a lifelong Catholic, I would rather each member offer an invocation in accordance with that member’s faith. I would rather a Rabbi offer a Jewish prayer or a Baptist Minister o a Baptist prayer, etc. For me this is more authentic and may broaden my own vision.

In re-reading my comment, I realize that in the third paragraph I omitted a word. the first sentence should read "When we substitute for an invocation, we omit vital elements of personal prayer. "

I am president of the New Richmond Kiwanis, how can I get acess to the Kiwanis Prayer Book??

Jeff,

I found a paper copy in a file here at Kiwanis International. If you email me your address I will see that you get a copy.

Rex Cheek

Retail Operations

rcheek@kiwanis.org

Would you send me the copy of prayers

Thanks

George

email address: pamorgeorge@yahoo.com

Can someone point me to the original discussions concerning the objects of Kiwanis? It seems to me that the sequence is both logical and important. e.g. I don't know how one can practice the golden rule in all relationships without having given primacy to the spiritual.

email address hely@cstone.net

It is interesting that I came upon this blog just as I was researching information on Kiwanis Prayer Week. I am from Jamaica and at all the meetings of our clubs we start with a prayer. Our membership cuts across all denominations and for members who are not of the christian faith they still remain during the prayers. At the end of my club  meetings we close with an inspirational thought. As a matrer of fact in many clubs committee meetings start with a prayer.

During Kiwanis Prayer Week clubs sponsor Prayer Breakfasts. All in keeping with the  first object of Kiwanis.I agree with Joe Testing- All the other objects are directly related to the first.

Re connecting with the spiritual allows for us all to focus on the service we l commiit to doing instead of self agrandisement.

Not sure how active this blog is, but I'm glad I found it. My club needs some help and advice. We have formed a committee at our club to address the issue of non-denominational invocations, and it will be a challenge to come to some sort of consensus. The issues are the same that many clubs face....some invocators invoke the name of a deity that is specific to one religious group. The deity is Jesus Christ and the religious group is Christians. Some members are very adamant that they be allowed to include such a reference, some members don't feel strongly one way or the other (or, don't want to get involved), and some members feel that change is necessary to prevent such references.

We are on the verge of losing one of our several Jewish members over this issue, with his expressed feelings that our club portrays itself as very "christian-centric" more often than not.

How do we get down this road ?

Thanks for any commentary.

Rob -

Thanks for your thoughtful response. I quoted you at that invocation-issue  committee meeting today, and showed the committee a printed copy of this blog.

The make-up of the 5-person committee is interesting, as were the opinions discussed. We have one fundamentalist Christian (not sure if that's 100% accurate), one Jew, two agnostics and another Christian who may be (perhaps) more moderate. We all know each other, have worked together, have all served (or are serving) on the club's board at one time or other and have three past club presidents among us. It was tense. Feelings and opinions flowed somewhat freely, but the stress and the uncomfortable nature of the situation was evident.

We did not arrive at any conclusions, not surprisingly, and have set a date for the next meeting. A few things are clear: The Jewish member is offended by Christian-specific prayers, even thought he understands that mentioning Jesus Christ is not meant to offend. The strong Christian emphasised that he absolutely means no offense, but he cannot give a "valid" prayer without mentioning Jesus. One of the agnostics tried to draw a specific distinction between personal prayer and public prayer, saying that Kiwanis was the venue for public prayer, and there are other more appropriate venues for personal prayer. Also, we debated whether an invocation is a personal prayer versus a prayer on behalf of all in the room. No conclusions were drawn on either of those points.

One other thing became clear: This issue began because of another Jewish member expressing a desire to leave the club because of its Christian-Centric nature at times. The strong Christian on the committee remarked today that if we restrict "Jesus Christ" from invocations, there may be 2 or 3 (or more) other members who would leave the club for that reason.

We did also find a local resource for information from our local "branch" of the NCCJ (National Council for Community Justice - formerly the National Council of Christians and Jews) that may be helpful. If you're interested, the website page I'm talking about is:

www.communitytampabay.org/.../interfaith.htm

Stay tuned.

Is there any record of the discussions leading to the approval of the objects of Kiwanis in 1924? They are non-denominational, yet are profound statements of spirituality. If I can, I'd like to read them.

Joe,

Last night I dug through the archives and found the speech that Kiwanis President, Edmund Arras, gave to the House of Delegates at the 1924 convention.

His speech is built around the Objects and sheds light on what they were thinking when they adopted them 84 years ago.

I would be happy to send you a pdf copy of the speech if you can give me an email address.

Jeff, Please send me a copy of Arras's speech.

My email address is hely@cstone.net. thanks, I'm glad someone kept good records. Herb

i think this group needs to stick with just helping and doing charitable work for others and stay away from spreading 'spirituality', obviously a group with so many different spiritual beliefs cannot do so unless you put restrictions on people.  like telling people they cant end their prayer in Jesus name or saying dont address specifically.. well um excuse me... then aren't you siding with those who aren't christian?  for a christian to just simply pray to 'a higher being' and be forced to not end their prayer in Jesus name then you are making them deny their God and their faith and in the end to not give credit to their Lord for being who the Lord that they know he is.  How can you be ok with that but then be ok with someone praying to the 'univeral god' which would obviously offend any devout christian because they know that God is one who 'spits out' the luke warm in faith.  He is a God that is a jealous god and who has the right to be!  He demands that you be specific as to give Him the honnor that He wants and DESERVES.  this group would better off avoiding every aspect of sprituality and leave that to the missionary's and evangelicals.... or to those that who spread false religion.  why does spirituality have to be a part of this anyways?  no matter what any of you do to 'not offend' someone during prayer or moments of silent you offending someone, it could be someone next to you and i know that specifically someone is God.  So why not just take out the spirituality out of an obviously spiritually confused group and just make it a volunteer charitable group that helps those in need?  i dont know anyone who against what the red cross does and they have many people involved of different beliefs and yet they are able to help and assist those in need and help in rebuilding lives WITHOUT spreading 'spirituality' nonsense from false religions that will only get you to hell isntead of an eternal life with the Father.

Herb,  I have sent the copy you requested.  Let me know if you need anymore assistance.

It's interesting to (finally) get some more dialogue going with this thread. On a few points (but not most), I agree with Cara (above) and wish that we could just get on with helping folks without having spiritual differences muddy up the waters.

The fact remains, however, that our club (and, probably yours) has a long-standing tradition of saying an invocation before a regular meeting. It's also true that Kiwanis membership is more diverse than it was when those traditions began, and there are folks who are either offended, or may not even consider joining a club because of the impression they get at times when faith-specific invocations or programs are given. It's a fact that this happens.

If one is willing to try, one can learn how to give an invocation that is appropriate on behalf of the diverse group in attendance without compromising or sacrificing any personal beliefs. It's difficult for me to understand or believe that this is not possible. But you have to be willing to try.

Jeff Oatess: Please send me a copy of that 1924 speech, if you would: alkay@bayprintonline.com

Looking for ideas to complement the Human and Spiritual Values committee activities.  Any ideas?  We have been doing a monthly birthday party at a local nursing home but the home changed its direction so that doesn't work anymore.

I am president elect of the Watertown, SD Kiwanis Club.  I have been trying to find a copy of the Kiwanis Prayer Book.  If it is in an electronic form, I would appreciate someone sending by email to me.  I have set up a Human & Spiritual  Values committee which is new to this club.  A previous club conducted great activites and speakers for special times of the year.  The spiritual part of our world needs to stay alive.  As club leaders we can be sensitive to each of our members and benefit all in our clubs.  My email address is:  karyl.somers@greatwesternbank.com

Would it be advisable to offer the Kiwanis Invocation and Prayer publication CS#21 in a pdf document? As it is no longer in print,  I believe many clubs would find this a very useful resource.

Karyl Somers - I understand that the publication "Invocations for Kiwanis Occasions" CS#21 is no longer available through our Kiwanis Store.  I have one copy and I'm sure there are others who have this as well.  I've asked Rex Cheek at KI if he would make this available in a pdf document so that we could download this.  I am waiting for his answer.

I apologize if this message seems redundant.  However, I noted that Rex Cheek commented that "Invocations for Kiwanis Occasions" CS#21 has been out of print for several years now.  I have a copy and have shared this with our club many times.  I've asked Rex to make this available online as a resource under Spiritual Aims in a pdf file.  That way, anyone who desires this resource could simply download it.

Karyl,  I'll contact you for a physical address and we'll mail you a copy today.

Lon,  We will get a pdf copy of, "Invocations for Kiwanis Occasions" , posted in the download section of our web site very soon.  I will post a link in this forum when it is up.

A pdf copy of, "Invocations for Kiwanis Occasions" is out on the web site now available for download.  It can be found at, community.kiwanisone.org/.../5723.aspx

I apologize upfront for the formating.  This was originally a very small booklet, so to produce the pdf without retyping the entire thing created quite a bit of "white space".

Our club uses both an invocation and an inspirational reading to start our luncheon meetings. I find that the  "Inspirational Moments for Kiwanis Occaisions" is a very good source on inspiration.  Several great Kiwanis invocations can be found if you search. I also use Rotary which has available  non-denominational invocations.

This is great information and feedback from everyone. This has been helpful to me and It's what makes Kiwanis great.

Could we get a link for everyone to go to to download a copy of Edmund Arras speech at the house of delegates in 1924?

jeff.

please send me a copy of "Invocations for Kiwanis Occassions"

I am reminded of some recommendations given me by a past governor of our district for when I went to KI for our meetings. "When called upon for prayer don't invoke the name of Jesus". I am also reminded of a few words I read many years ago from a very famous book. "If you would deny me on this earth then I will deny you in my Father's presence." In our club we allow all members of any faith who wish to offer prayer to pray in their own manner without any one being offended. Finally, I am also reminded of when I was running for Governor -Elect a Lt. Governor told me he would give me his support if I would not invoke the name of Jesus. I told him  I did not want or need his support if those were the conditions. (BTW--he was a minister of a Christian church)When it comes to my saviour Jesus and any other organization or person I will always recognize my Jesus. The day Kiwanis denys me this freedom  that is the day Kiwanis left me--I did not leave Kiwanis.

Mary,  You can download a copy at community.kiwanisone.org/.../5723.aspx

Below are examples 20 potential spiritual aims projects for consideration by your club's Human and

Spiritual Aims Committee. Choose one or two to implement this year or next club year. They were published in two issues of the Minnesota, North and South Dakota issues of our KIwanis "Minnekotan" newsletter.

1. Schedule prayers by assigned members at regular club meetings.

2. Sponsor or co-sponsor a community prayer breakfast/lunch.

3. Spiritual-themed club programs before major religious holidays (include all major local religious holidays)

4. A speaker comparing the common themes in major world religions (e.g. Christianity & Judiasm & Islam & others)

5. A poster for all lodging facilities with local church service days/times.

6. A "pastor of the year" award to a pastor making a difference in the community.

7. A club handout for families on developing daily or weekly family prayer times.

8. A club handout on different types of prayers that are commonly used.

9. Sponsoring a mini-spiritual retreat for club members and partners (e.g. Sat. am)

10. Sponsor a scholarship for one seminarian each year.

SECOND LIST OF 10:

1. Pray at club meetings specifically for current ill members.

2. Send cards, signed at club meetings, to hospitalized or ill members

3. Assign a club member as an official club visitor to hospitalized members

4. Attend funerals for club members as a group.

5. Sponsor a seasonal, Lenten or Advent Breakfast series, with a variety of pastors as speakers.

6. Sponsor seasonal prayer sessions at local facilities for elderly or disabled persons.

7. Sponsor a Pastor Appreciation breakfast or luncheon.

8. Provide a service project for current hospice patients.

9. Provide books of common prayers or spiritual reflections for waiting rooms.

10. Offer to ring Salvation Army bells as a club, or another service project for them.

This is a lively and fascinating discussion! In my opinion, we in Kiwanis must make every effort to be inclusive.

To Al in St. Petersburg, the disagreement between members should be a great opportunity for dialogue - why not arrange for a debate at one of your meetings and invite a rabbi and minister for their input?

Although I am a Christian and I believe the majority of our Club members would be Christian also, we do have members of other faiths.As some of the other writers have expressed, an invocation can be said in such a way as not to offend others.

Al from St. Petersburg expressed a thoughtful point of view: "If one is willing to try, one can learn how to give an invocation that is appropriate on behalf of the diverse group in attendance without compromising or sacrificing any personal beliefs. It's difficult for me to understand or believe that this is not possible. But you have to be willing to try." I agree completely.

I would be interested in aquiring a pdf copy of the original Kiwanis Prayer Book mentioned in several of the posts above. please e-mail to darwingarton@hotmail.com Thank you

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