Dr. Lo Sprague
Those familiar with The Guibord Center’s Annual Dinner Celebration were in for a surprise. This year, instead of focusing on a program filled with the beautiful rituals and sacred music that weave through the rich diversity of our partnerships, instead of showing off in the work we’ve done throughout the year, we chose to focus on the theme: “We Are The Light”, especially as it impacted every person in the room and all of us in this time of growing darkness. Our choice was prayerful and deliberate.
The question we have been asking ourselves at The Guibord Center for well over a year now is: “How do we help people to stay strong? How do we find ways to get centered and connected to our compassion in the face of the normalizing of cruelty and oppression all around us?
The Guibord Center’s mission is to bring people together in ways that acknowledge the power of our hearts and the transformative spirituality within ourselves and our midst. This year, we knew that the dinner needed to be all about “We Are The Light”.
The majestic iconography of St. Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral, directly across from our dinner venue, literally pulls one heavenward from the moment they enter until long after they step away. The breathtaking majesty of the domed ceiling, paired with the haunting voice of Cantor Mario Lazaridis, awed those who ventured there and set the tone for the night.
Across the short distance to the entrance of the Huffington Center, friends were checked in easily as they gathered and greeted one another. Introductions were made. Colleagues waved at one another between tables.
Soon, leaders of five different faith traditions stood on the stage. A gong sounded, and a young Native American teen sang out a response as she drummed through and around the room.
For weeks on end, I had searched for an authentic Indigenous voice. Summer’s a hard time to find people. But then, Shyla Hummingbird’s name came forth from a colleague. Finally, everything seemed right! Shyla, indeed, set the tone with the clear power of her youth and her vision.
A Hindu voice followed Shyla’s, then a Brahma Kumaris, a Sikh, a Jewish, and a Christian voice, each reading a passage from their faith tradition about Sacred Light.
We all share a common instinct, a deeply intuitive understanding of Light. It is Light that is the sign that we’re alive. A living body gives off Light that is a signature of the multitude of miracles happening inside every one of us every second of our existence. A body with Light is a miracle.
We are filled with Light. Sacred Light. Life.
It is not about our egos. It’s about our souls.
We need to acknowledge and claim the Light because we are entering a time of Darkness and Cruelty. We have the antidote. Our hearts connected in our experience of something greater than ourselves that is purposeful and good. The Light.
We have spiritual solidarity, the mighty strength of our deep and enduring friendships, our partnerships.
We are all in this together.
We are not alone in this struggle. There is strength and support everywhere. Sometimes, as my dear friend Mary Kirchen says, it comes from the natural world around us, a sunrise, a fellow creature rescued from abuse, a colleague, a stranger. The Huffington Center was alive with deepening friendships and new partnerships as we shared a meal that served as a symbol of spiritual solidarity.
While we have never singled out someone to honor at a Guibord Center Dinner before, I chose to do so this time as the Episcopal Bishop of Los Angeles, John Harvey Taylor, is beginning his final lap in that capacity this year. I want to acknowledge his powerful, creative example of interfaith collegiality, especially at a time when we need the strength of one another by our side as we take on the challenges that surround us.
Over the past few years, Bishop Taylor has brought together various faith communities under the roof of St. Paul’s Commons. The Immaculate Heart Community now resides there, along with Nefesh, a Jewish community, and many diverse groups meet there, including the Indigenous Women’s Drumming Circle, NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change’s programs, and The Guibord Center’s Advisory Council Meetings, among others.
Bishop John has been a model of how to build spiritual solidarity. The Guibord Center acknowledges his work with a new special partnership with Bloy House Episcopal Seminary in a project that will raise the voices of our youth by showcasing some of the best contributions they offer, expressing their spiritual concerns and values. The first Award, named for Bishop Taylor, will be presented at next Spring’s Guibord Center Dinner Celebration.
No spiritual event would be complete without music, and no music can be more fitting for today’s struggles and strategies than the spirituals that enabled enslaved Black people to hold onto their spirituality, hope, and courageous creativity by transmitting directions to the Underground Railroad through songs sung in front of their captors. The Charles Lane Ensemble offered music of resistance and joy to rock the room and give everyone a taste of their full concert, which The Guibord Center will present in September at St. John’s Cathedral.
Chaplain Lt. Col. Brenda Threatt of the California National Guard, a long-standing board member, offered our closing prayer, and we concluded with everyone picking up the Take Heart Project’s beautiful little carved hearts along with a candle to take home to the tune of “This Little Light of Mine” with the Charles Lane Ensemble.
The room was abuzz with friendship and laughter, marked by sharing and hugs, as well as packaging up leftovers and treasures, and exchanging email addresses and phone numbers. May the Light continue to spread and grow as we meet the moment ahead with solidarity and strength.
I am filled with gratitude for the work of the many team members who made this evening such a success. Your support and devotion to The Guibord Center both humbles and inspires me.