36th IARF Congress, Day 2: Morning Devotion

Description

This youth-led morning devotion brings several IARF traditions together in prayer, ritual and song. Sean and Laura, Unitarians from South Wales, open with a Welsh and English prayer for community, healing and peace, followed by a simple embodied prayer of openness, acceptance and presence. Young participants from India then offer Jain prayers and devotional recitation, while members of Rissho Kosei-kai introduce their Buddhist movement and sing “Hana wa Saku” (“Flowers Will Bloom”), a song associated with the recovery from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and offered here for people affected by war and climate-related disaster.

The devotion closes with an Indian Raksha Bandhan ceremony in which participants tie handmade rakhi threads as symbols of protection, mutual responsibility and enduring relationship. Taken together, the contributions illustrate the Congress in miniature: distinct traditions retain their own language and practices while sharing a common space of care, reconciliation and solidarity across generations.