Pay to Pray

For the past year I have been very involved with the Lakota Indians. I love the purity of the ceremonies and the honest spirituality. However, it comes up again and again that when we ask for donations when there is a ceremony we are asking people to pay to pray! We have discussed this around the kitchen table late into the night. For those of us who sponsor ceremonies it can be a really harsh burden as the whole cost of a ceremony can fall on our shoulders. This can run from $200 all the way to $2000 depending on who is coming in, how far away they are coming from, who they are bringing, what they need to make the ceremony work and how long they are staying. We sponsors have been falling deeper and deeper into debt and the because of the times, the money we used to donate without thinking twice has dried up! And then there is the question of should we have assumed the burden in the first place?

The answer came to the women as we sat and chatted after a ceremony. A ceremony is done for the community. We are attached to each other in mind and spirit. When a member of the community is sick or has family problems we all have problems. When they are well and happy we all share in the joy. So ceremony is a way for all of us to stay in harmony and the cost of ceremony is the cost of community. This does not mean that you meed to come up with a hefty donation each time you attend a ceremony but it does mean you need to be a part of the community. It is the community's job to do things to raise money throughout the year. Even a person from the most humble of circumstances can help to cook, stack firewood, or bake cookies for a bake sale. The community fund is ongoing and is used to pay for ceremonies throughout the year. Any monies collected at a ceremony go right to the fund. This way there is no "pay to pray" and if the fund is dry and you want a ceremony it is up to you or your family to provide the necessary monies.

The most important thing, and the thing that I have been hearing from the spirits and angels is that we absolutely must come together in community in order to evolve spiritually!