Kinnew wants new prayer for legislature – Winnipeg Free Press

Manitobans are being invited to help the provincial government choose a new prayer to be recited at the opening of each legislative session.

The call was made by Premier Wab Kinew Thursday at the ninth annual Multifaith Leadership Breakfast hosted by the Multifaith Council of Manitoba.

“It's a very good prayer,” Kineu said of the current opening reflection, which has been in use for at least 15 years.

But, he says, it is like a Christian prayer.

“I ask myself if this prayer applies to all of us today,” he said of the prayer, which uses language similar to the King James Version of the Bible.

“I have a lot of respect for the Christian faith,” Kineu said, noting that he begins each day with two Anishinabe traditional prayers.

According to the Premier, Manitoba is made up of people of different faiths and has no religion.

“What place is there for an atheist?” in that prayer he asked, “Or for someone who puts secularism first?” he asked.

Kinew said he plans to hold a roundtable to gather Manitobans' views on how the legislature should open each session.

“We believe it's time to update this opening, one that reflects who we are as Manitobans today,” he said, adding that it should be something everyone can feel included.

The Prime Minister acknowledged that such a change could be seen as a source of division by some. He said his goal was “not to divide, but to unite us all.”

Kineu said he wanted the roundtable to bring people from different religious traditions together and include “the role of atheists.”

The schedule of the round table is not specified.

Payam Toufig, president of the multi-faith council, praised Kinew's invitation.

“It makes a lot of sense,” said Taufig, a member of Winnipeg's Baha'i community. “Every religion has much in common in its core beliefs… we have more in common than we have in common.”

Creating a new, inclusive prayer for the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba would be “a real initiative to shine a light on our unity in our diversity,” he said.

The council will be willing to work with the prime minister to help the roundtable, Toufig said.

“We have the organization, the connections and the infrastructure to do it,” he said.

Asked about homelessness after the presentation, Kineu reiterated his government's commitment to tackling the problem and praised the religious community “for volunteering so much and feeding people.” He spoke of going to a local mosque for an iftar during Ramadan, where refugees ate “without asking for paper.”

For many people in the province, there's no place they can get the services they need “except in the faith community,” Kinnew said, adding that congregations and other faith-based organizations play an important role “when you see someone struggling.”

The multi-confessional council is an association of religious communities, representatives of religious communities and representatives of various religious traditions. It exists to facilitate respect, understanding and cooperation between different religious groups and to serve the people of Manitoba.

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John Longhurst
Faith reporter

John Longhurst has been writing for the Winnipeg Faith Pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the US and blogs about media, marketing and communications at Making the News.

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