The Notebook

Before I left Australia, a friend of mine gave me something to take away with me. It’s called James Bird’s Traveling Church, and is a small notebook, filled with a series of prayers. Now, they’re not necessarily prayers of a certain religion or denomination, they’re not particularly written as a traditional prayer may be written, and some of them are not completely appropriate for the younger readers of the world, but as I read through them, cover to cover, the other day, I did realise how special they really are.

The prayers don’t all begin with God, Lord, Jehovah, Vishnu etc. and many of them don’t even finish with an Amen. Some of them rhyme, some of the flow well, and some of them are completely out of left field – which is somewhat to be expected, considering their author! Some prayers are of confession, some of them of thanks and appreciation, and some of them quite clearly set out as a challenge to the reader, and as a challenge to be passed on. Sarcasm in religion is always fun too, and there’s one particular prayer which leaves no question as to its purpose, yet entertains along the way.

However, what I think I like most about this Traveling Church is that it is not perfect. There are spelling and grammatical errors, there are crinkled pages where they got wet, the print inside goes from black, to grey, to light grey, to red with a couple of black stripes, and then to a dull red and eventually an orange as the cartridge in the printer gradually ran out. There’s no method to what order the prayers appear, no pattern to follow through their words, and no index or table of contents in which to catalogue each one into what it is for, when it can be used, and on what page you might find it. There is no ISBN number, no reprint date, and I guarantee that no one else in the whole world has an exact copy of what I have – it’s unique, just like the person who wrote it, and just like each of our experiences with religion – no matter how great or small they may be.

Religion has been a surprisingly large part of my travels to date. I’ve now been to Malaysia, India, Nepal, China, Mongolia, Russia, The Baltics, south through Eastern Europe, Italy and now Ireland, and if there is one thing I have seen for certain on my trip, it is that religion is a huge part of so many lives on this planet. While I come from a country and society where many people consider themselves ‘religious’, and show this religion by attending church twice a year (if the weather’s good, and the turkey is adequately thawed, and the chocolate eggs opened in time), I think it is fair to say religion does not play a huge role in Australian society. If being religious required more than attending two services a year, and there were no biscuits to go with the tea and coffee after the service, I am sure many people would never go at all. Yet in so many societies and communities around the world, peoples beliefs, faith and their chosen place of worship mean so much more than just ideas, and a building in which they meet with fellow believers – and this is very much evident in everyday life.

I am nowhere near getting my head around what role religion plays in our world, and unfortunately it seems the more countries I travel to, and the more societies and religions I am exposed to, the more confusing everything gets! I have come across more Gods than calories on this trip (and that’s saying something!), and can’t even begin to count how many churches, mosques, monasteries, cathedrals, synagogues and temples I’ve seen and visited. I’ve met people with a strong faith, and people who question their faith daily. I’ve met people who speak proudly of their beliefs, and people who remain quiet, yet display their religion everyday through their lives, decisions and actions.

In countries where I was too afraid to even take my backpack off in public for fear of it being stolen, collections bowls and plates sit unsupervised outside churches, temples, monasteries, synagogues and mosques, overflowing with money and gifts – whereas in Australia it’s a good week when there’s the slightest rustle of notes in the collection bowl, rather than the clink of a few coins, and where an online tithe requires a ‘Verified by Visa’ account to stop credit card theft. Around the world, elderly nuns and monks walk the streets in the pitch black of night, unconcerned for their welfare and safety, while a tourist in Russia was mugged in broad daylight for the measly contents of his wallet. Communities around the world build houses of worship far beyond the standard of their own homes, while last Christmas a thief stood just metres from the cross, on the roof of Athelstone Uniting Church, and stole Christmas lights from the community display. Somewhere along the way, something seems to have gone wrong!

I feel incredibly fortunate to come from a community and a home where there is no persecution for having beliefs, for expressing your faith, and for choosing what you believe in, and where attending church is not just for Christmas and Easter, but is something you can do every Sunday morning (or night if you prefer a sleep in!!!). However, there are still so many places around the world where people don’t have the same freedom, rights, opportunity and support that people in my country do, and so many societies where religion and religious beliefs lead to conflict, unrest, war and oppression.

I don’t pretend to be an expert on religion; in fact, I would say I am quite the opposite! There are so many things I don’t understand, so many things I question, and so many times when I sit back and look at the trouble of the world, and think ‘Would we be better off without religion altogether?’ However, as my travels have progressed, and I’ve flicked through my traveling church from time to time, I think I have realised that in fact this book, filled with confusing words, errors, good times, and bad, may in fact be more like true religion to me than an eloquent, well constructed prayer etched into the marble inlay of the local cathedral or synagogue ever will.

My little notebook, with crumpled pages, varying shades of ink, and clumps of clag glue was given with no ulterior motive, no hidden agenda, and no pressure or expectation for me to even open it, let alone read it cover to cover. It’s not valuable in terms of financial worth, yet it is incredibly valuable in the content of its pages, the meaning of its words, and the unconditional love and support in which it was given. Isn’t that what religion should be all about anyway?

“From this point on the book is yours. Do with is what you like.” 

The notebook in which the Traveling Church is written is only half full, and the last page contains a simple message – a message which I think applies not only to the pages of the book, but also to the pages of our lives. While the first section of the book is already filled out, really it’s the remaining section that is most important – the section I get to fill out myself. I think too often we treat religion as ‘the past’, when in fact my travels have proven to me, religion is very much a thing of the present, and most importantly, a thing of the future.

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While I can claim to have the only clag-glue and red-ink copy of James Birds’ Traveling Church, if you are interested in praying for the chicken that did cross the road, the Judas’ of the world, armpit hair, garden gnomes or the sounds of flatulence, you can read these prayers and many more at…

http://letssayanything.tumblr.com/