‘Child shall lead them’

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/12/2024 (298 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of Premier Wab Kinew’s first acts was to announce that the daily prayer which opens the sitting of the legislature would be changed.

During the past winter, he asked a group of faith leaders to convene and consider what could be done. Little has been heard since then.

Considering the multitude of faiths and beliefs we benefit from having in Manitoba, this is a daunting task.

What makes it far more daunting is that many of our faith groups themselves are not of one mind. There are wide variances among Christian denominations, including Lutherans, Mennonites, Anglicans, Pentecostals and even Roman Catholics. The same is true among Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist communities.

Even assuming that some consensus could be arrived at, it seems highly likely that the result would be some bland expression, calling for goodwill and cooperation for the good of all etc, etc.

Such a “prayer” would do little to challenge the daily diatribes in the House, especially during question period, which follows immediately after the prayer with the Speaker’s voice announcing, “Question period, I recognize the leader of the opposition.”

Then off we go, prayer forgotten, swords drawn.

Let’s look at another quite radical possibility.

What would happen if a child led the opening? The idea came from a member of our “Bible Study”, (also known as our BS group) at our local church, St. Paul’s Fort Garry Anglican.

While we certainly study scripture, we also find ourselves looking at a very wide range of subjects concerning local and world issues. When the question of the Legislative opening prayer came up, one member said; “What about a child offering an opening for the day?”

As we discussed his idea, we quickly saw what a wonderful opportunity this could be for schools across Manitoba. The presence of a young person also might call members to a higher standard of behaviour.

Here’s how it could work.

Each year, the legislature normally sits about 70-80 days. Sitting days can vary widely but let’s use 70 days. Each year, using a revolving roster of schools by name, the Speaker’s Office could contact enough schools to provide a young person to open the sitting, adding schools as the sitting progresses through the year. Schools could accept or decline the invitation.

Should a school accept, school leaders would discuss how to choose a student to represent the school and how to develop the opening remarks to be offered at an upcoming sitting.

As a society, we worry about the decline in engagement of our communities in the process of democratic government.

This new approach could be a wonderful opportunity for a school to have a great civics lesson in real time.

Here is a chance for students to think about what they might want to say to their elected officials, and to deliver that statement in person, supported by a cable TV broadcast across the province.

Creative principals and teachers will grab this chance to showcase their students and school. Parents will surely be keen to hear and see what their child’s school might offer the legislature.

Conditions permitting, the home room of the student could be in the gallery and then spend some time with the Speaker, and their own representative. Transportation costs could be borne or shared by the Speaker’s Office to make the experience easily accessible by rural and northern schools.

When we discussed this possibility, we hoped that the content of whatever is offered each day could be as broad as possible.

It could be a prayer, a wish for the future, a call to members to behave better or anything a student and teacher might feel that the legislature needed to hear.

In the end, we recalled that Muslims, Jews and Christians all share the “old testament” books, in one of which, the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 11:6 there is a wonderful wish and hope that, “A little child shall lead them…”.

Wouldn’t that be just fine?

Tim Sale is a former member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly.