Shema

Three characteristics of God:
1) He is all-powerful.
2) He is loving.
3) He is good.

An experience:
There are couple experiences in my life that gave me an idea of who God may be. I do understand, however, that life will formulate more experiences that may add onto or detract from what I know him to be now. Most of my knowledge of God comes from church, but a specific moment that stands out right now was when I lived in Canada without my parents for a year. I lived happily and was content with the situation that I was faced with, but with the absence of my parents, it gave me a lot of time alone and thus a lot of time to think. I wondered, if there was a God (which I now am sure there is), why he created the Earth. Upon further consideration, I saw how intricate and beautiful the world is, and though it may have been created by a big bang, there has to be a mind above us that controlled the making of our world.

A way:
I devote my Sundays to church. And I try to pray as often as I can. It gives me time alone with God and I feel as if I can connect with him more personally.

Shema:

He has given us all the opportunity of endless possibility.

He is capable of anything and yet he chooses to bless us and be with us.

Let us thank the Lord, our savior for he will always be with us

in times of want and need.

 

Talchum - Masks of Korea (Hahoe)

These hahoe masks were used for many diverse purposes. They were used to entertain; each mask attained a certain character and storyline. They were used to reveal; the characters often delineated within their simple storylines issues of corruption and pain around their society. And they were used for a very spiritual purpose. Every time the performers would dance for the audience, they would descend from the mountain. The bride would stand on a man's soldiers praising the Gods and the 'good spirits' to rid their village of the lurking evil spirits. They acted as shamans to purify their village. They would come from a higher place to a lower place to 'dance' with the spirits and bring them down to the town.

Corruption, despair, emptiness.
In our village lurks
the hidden, the invisible,
the evil.

They travel in heaps
inflicting our lives with pain and
misfortune.
The poor
suffer from hunger.
The rich
cannot reach fulfillment.

Oh spirits, oh spirits,
descend from your high place
in the skies to help restore the lives
to that we once had.

Oh spirits, oh spirits,
come dance with us,
come chant with us,
come rid our village of the
powerful evils that run freely amongst
our people.