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When the world was sent into lockdown because of Covid-19, our religious gatherings and prayer gatherings were brought to an abrupt halt. Synagogues, mosques, churches and temples, the broadcaster of fervent prayer and the silence of meditation, had their inner sanctuaries silenced. An eerie silence.
No more children running the corridors, the absence of sermons and the invisibility of seeing friends at prayer times. The places of worship have traditionally been the heartbeat of the community, the soul glue to bind the community together.
As the months have passed, levels of lockdown have changed and currently, if only by limited presence, worship is now allowed and prayer with strict lockdown regulations was can refill the sanctuaries of worship.
This reawakening presented a beautiful portrayal of people at prayer. Through my lens, I realized that no matter what religion you are, each has a mask and each is at prayer as one. We are all the same. Mask or not.
The socially-distanced solitude of prayer portrayed peace, and in so many ways, seems more meaningful. No distractions. More direct prayer without interference. As through the millennia, prayer is the tool to reach for help, to better the world, to save a soul from Corona death. To pray for an unseen enemy of the earth to go away and never come back.
In the end, no matter what religion we believe in, “We Are One” on this delicate earth.
Ilan Ossendryver, Sept 2020
All photographs are copyrighted to Ilan Ossendryver. They may not be used or downloaded without permission.