July 8, 2016

Prayer in the Wake of Violence

Holy God, our hearts are breaking
as we learn of the tragic deaths of your beloved children,
each and every one created in your image—
in Baton Rouge, the Twin Cities, and Dallas,
Bangladesh, Baghdad, and Istanbul,
and all the places we too quickly forget or never even notice.

In your compassion, receive our tears and our anger,
our shock and our frustration that these cycles of violence continue
and even seem to grow worse.

Come to us now with your great strength and your healing power.

Help us to know what to do in our own lives,
in our communities, in our nation, and in our world.

Help us to grieve when we need to grieve,
to confront when we need to confront,
to confess when we need to confess,
and to change when we need to change.

Help us to turn our prayers into action that is
rooted in the power of love and integrity,
so that we may be healed
and that we may help in the healing of the world.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Christ in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Amen.

          By Nanette Sawyer, Minister for Congregational Life