God is With Us

Here is the prayer I wrote and prayed this morning in response to the attack on Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC.

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O God of love, God of grace. Once again our hearts are broken. O Lord, death is inevitable for us all. Death, while not easy to accept, is expected. But when it comes in such a violent way, when it comes from such evil actions and beliefs, it is always shocking.

Lord, bless the people of Emanuel AME Church. Be present with them as they gather this morning to worship together. To sing praises to your goodness even as they mourn so great a loss. Bless the people of Charleston as they once again face a community tragedy. Let your presence in the aftermath of such violence draw them together to be a vision of your kingdom – a vision of peace and joy and love and hope.

O Lord, bless our nation, as we mourn this loss together. As we hope and pray together. As we sift through the ashes of hate and violence. Help to us to look honestly and critically at the systems and rhetoric that lead to the oppression of our brothers and sisters. Give us the courage to speak out against the evil we see there.

Help us, O Lord, to look honestly and critically at our own hearts to see our own biases and prejudices. Help us, O Lord, to see the evil in us. Give us the strength to overcome those biases and prejudices that we may truly be a beacon shining the light of your beautiful, colorful kingdom. May your kingdom come – on earth as it is in heaven.
AMEN.