Day of Pentecost (Year A): Litany for Holy Spirit Fire

I'll mostly let Frederick Buechner do the commenting this week. Except to say, the Lectionary is never the wrong thing for the moment.  And to say: Rest in peace George Floyd, who was murdered in a racist act of police brutality earlier this week.

“Every morning you should wake up in your bed and ask yourself: "Can I believe it all again today?" No, better still, don't ask it till after you've read The New York Times, till after you've studied that daily record of the world's brokenness and corruption, which should always stand side by side with your Bible. Then ask yourself if you can believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ again for that particular day. If your answer's always Yes, then you probably don't know what believing means. At least five times out of ten the answer should be No because the No is as important as the Yes, maybe more so. The No is what proves you're human in case you should ever doubt it. And then if some morning the answer happens to be really Yes, it should be a Yes that's choked with confession and tears and. . . great laughter.”

― Frederick Buechner

God, our world is rife with violence and evil
With cruelty, injustice, and materialism.
We need Holy Spirit’s fire
To burn away our unjust systems…

Litany for Healthcare Workers During COVID-19

God, we are besieged.
The numbers of ill and dying are mounting up.
The emotional rollercoaster is taking its toll. 
The disruption to every aspect of life is undeniable. 

As a nation, we were unprepared for such a crisis,
And our reserves are limited. 

We lift to you those most affected:
The sick, and their caregivers,
Those doctors, nurses, and support people doing all they can
With what resources they have, to save lives. 

We ask for your mercy to be upon them,
That they may be kept safe from disease,
Filled with professional wisdom,
Given bodily nourishment and rest,
Provided with adequate equipment,
Energized by supernatural means,
Supported by prayers of the people,
Relieved by more hands joining the work,
Resourced by state and federal leadership,
And that this crisis would come to a swift end.

We know many caring professionals are at the end of their strength,
So we pray that your spirit would meet them,
That your strength would become theirs,
That your love would bolster them. 

We pray for the awakening of all people
So that each may do their part to stop the spread.
We pray for our country and our world,
That we may come into a more Christ-like consciousness. 

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Amen. 



Litany for Our Planet

I feel a great deal of urgency combined with hope. People, especially people who claim to follow the Christ - the Peacemaking, violence-ending, death-resurrecting Christ - need to wake up to the understanding that caring for creation = caring for the poor. This is my prayer that Spirit People will not wait to face this, that they will start now, make and push for change now. So that we can leave a legacy of a healthy planet to our children and grandchildren.


God, we ask for your help. 
Our planet, our mother, is suffering
Due to human neglect, apathy, and greed; 
Due to overconsumption, mass production, and pollution.…


Proper 26 (Year C): Litany for Societal Awakening

Hi! As you may have noticed,
I’ve moved much of my work over to Patreon.
This is part of my effort to make 2019 a #yearofwritingsustainably
So thanks for reading and subscribing.
You can find archived litanies here, and purchase my book here.

I write this after returning from a moving and enlightening trip to the border town of El Paso TX / Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Our group was graciously educated on border realities by the staff of Abara Frontiers, an El Paso-based non-profit, and it’s sister organization Ciudad Nueva. I highly recommend this trip. Getting first-hand experience on the realities of the border situation is the best way I’ve found to begin understanding and foster more compassion for these complex systems and those caught in them. I am on a constant journey of awakening, and so are many of the folks I walk alongside. Many of us are awakening from the deep sleep of Whiteness and White Privilege. Many of us are awakening to ways we have been complicit in and propped up systems of evil, injustice, and greed. Collectively, at least among the circles I’m part of, we are doing deep, necessary shadow work. Some of us are uncovering deep emotions we’d buried long ago, and patterns of behavior that are now unhelpful.

This is hard work. We wake groggy and disoriented. But each step takes us closer to a rich, full vision of the Community of God, the Kin-dom That Can Be. Each layer we uncover gets us closer to the soul of it. Here’s a prayer for us, based in passages from this week's Lectionary.



God, so many of us are crying out for justice,
We are witnessing societal wrong-doing,
Awakening to the greed, evil, and injustice among us,
And crying out for change…

Proper 15 (Year C): Litany for Fire

Hi! As you may have noticed,
I’ve moved much of my work over to Patreon.
This is part of my effort to make 2019 a #yearofwritingsustainably
So thanks for reading and subscribing.
You can find archived litanies here, and purchase my book here.

A note to Patrons: I have made this litany widely available to anyone who wishes to read or use it. I occasionally do this when a litany is particularly resonant for a moment in time. Thank you for your support, which allows me to continue this output and contribution to the prayers of the people.

“Is not my word like a fire, says the LORD, like a hammer that breaks rock in pieces?”

I believe that the message of this week’s Lectionary, of the fire and hammer of God, which are mercy and restorative justice, is THE message our society needs in this moment. We are protecting the gun lobby over vulnerable school children. We are protecting agribusiness over the well-being of the planet and over and above human thriving.* We are protecting corporate profits and political interests to the detriment of the poor and powerless. We are protecting white supremacy and status over our God-given duty to regard every human life, every human black and brown body, as beloved and sacred. This is the story of our country right now. This is the legacy we are living. 

And the cure, the antidote, is the mercy and restorative justice of God. The Fire and the Hammer. The holy fire that Christ says he “came to bring ... to the earth,” and he says, “how I wish it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49). 

This is a prayer of confession and contrition. This is where we begin. Opening our eyes to our communal complicity, and changing our minds (repenting) about how we will continue on. This is heart-centered work. This in inconvenient work. This is uncomfortable work. Standing in the midst of holy fire is bound to be difficult. 



God, as a society we have turned blind eyes 
And deaf ears to the poor.
We can hear the cries of the needy,
See the struggle of the lowly and destitute.
How the weak and the orphan long for justice!
How the defenseless are in need of rescue (1)!


We confess that we have centered our policies
On the success of profit-margins.
We confess that we have protected the interests of corporations and the wealthy
Over the well-being of Earth’s most vulnerable inhabitants.**
We confess that we have judged unjustly
And show partiality to the wicked (2).
We confess that much of our economy and material wealth
Is due to exploitation of human and natural resources.

We have not done our God-given duty of creation stewardship.
We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves.
We have not upheld righteous standards.
We have not pursued justice and mercy for all. 

Forgive us, oh God, and lead us on the path of peace.
Restore us to your justice.
Bring us into the community of heaven.
Be merciful to us, oh God. 

For your word is like a fire,
Like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces (3). 
Break our hardened hearts;
Burn down our wicked ways.

Let the fire that Christ brings kindle in our hearts (4),
Igniting flames of justice and peace-making,
Of shifting old, unhelpful paradigms,
Of right-action and reform. 

Let the ethics and policies of heaven come to earth. 
Be merciful to us, oh God. Amen



*watch the documentary “Cowspiracy” for more info on this topic

**inhabitants, both human, animal, and plant-life

  1. Psalm 82:3,4

  2. Psalm 82:2

  3. Jeremiah 23:29

  4. Luke 12:49



Litany for Religious Bigotry

Latest death toll from the Sri Lankan terrorist attacks is at 290, with nearly 500 injured. Many of those victims were attacked while attending Easter Services. And Last month on March 15, 50 people were shot and killed by a white supremacist while praying in their Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. Closer to home here in the US, just a few weeks ago three Black churches in Louisiana were burned down by a white terrorist. And last year in Pittsburgh 11 people were murdered while praying in a gathering at Tree of Life Synagogue. I’m sure there have been other, less publicized incidents of religious violence and bigotry as well that I am unaware of.

We pray for this violence to end. We pray for the root causes of religious and racial bigotry to end. We pray for terrorism and the hate that fuels it to end. I have written many litanies about terrorism and war, and the fallout and grief that follow them. But today I’m offering this prayer and reflection, in hopes that they may find their way out into the world, to soften hearts, to open ears and minds, and to bring us all closer in to Love’s consciousness.

Love has no bounds. Love sees race and religion, admires their precious beauty and diversity, and flows on regardless. Love encounters each human being with an open heart. Love accepts and embraces all.


God, our hearts break for those killed in the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Louisiana, and Pittsburgh*
The world reels from this violence.
Love has no room for violence and killing.
In fact, Love repudiates violence.

As Christ on the cross has shamed and rebuked death and violence,
So we rebuke these violent attacks,
Instead proclaiming a gospel of peace
And an ethic of reconciling Love.

We pray for the families of the deceased,
That their hearts may draw ever closer to Love.
We pray for the spiritual communities dealing with the aftermath,
That they may be good homes for healing.
And we pray and stand in word and action against religious bigotry,
Offering up Love’s redeeming alternative.

Let us each, in our hearts, cultivate peace,
Each day as we practice prayer,
Engage in service,
Do justice and mercy,
And heed the voices of the suffering oppressed.
Oh God, help us to be Love.

In Love there is no Other.
There is only One.

Amen

*Add other locations of violence as you are aware of them, or God forbid, as they occur.


Litany for Conscious Anger

God, so many of us go around with anger simmering right under the surface of our emotions:
We’ve been wronged.
We’ve been traumatized.
We’ve been duped.
There is injustice.
There are broken systems.
We’re angry with ourselves.
We’re angry with others.

And sometimes we can’t understand what you’re doing so we are angry with you
We feel you’ve forgotten us.
We feel like the world is falling to pieces around us,
And you have failed us.

Our anger can be a useful tool
That propels us toward right action,
Fuels our good works,
And causes us to change.

But sometimes our anger doesn’t find its proper place -
It burrows down and festers;
Causing us more pain than the wound did to begin with,
And its effects seep out sideways.

Oh God, teach us to deal rightly with anger:
To funnel its energy properly,
To release it at the appropriate time and place,
To protect ourselves from anger gone bad.

Teach us how not to fight anger with anger,
But to be peacemakers and lovers;
Reflecting the image of Christ,
And covered in grace. Amen

Litany for Victims of Abuse/Assault

I have also written Litany for Victims of Sexual Violence, on this topic. As I have watched the news lately, and heard from so many of my own friends who have trauma from abuse, assault, and violence, either sexual or otherwise, I feel its necessary to dedicate more time and space to these topics.


Oh God, when will victims cease to receive blame?
How long, O Lord, must we wait for justice?
When will the oppressed and abused be regarded?
How long, O Lord?
When will rulers cease to be tyrants?
How long, O Lord?
When will the poor receive mercy?
How Long, O Lord?

We speak to you of a tragic state of affairs.
We speak to you, Lord, about injustice.
We speak to you of the pain of the oppressed.
We speak to you, Lord, about struggle.

We look to the day when our righteous anger is no longer necessary,
When our vigilance is no longer needed,
When our activism is no longer relevant,
When our search for justice is done;

We look to the day when the warrior may rest,
The children be at peace,
The sword be laid down,
The mourning be comforted.

Our longing is known to you;
Our sighing is not hidden from you (1)
Come quickly to rescue us.
Redeem us.
Make haste to help us (2),
O Lord, our salvation.

Amen

1) Psalm 38:9
2) Psalm 38:22

Litany for Revealing

Last week’s news about large-scale sexual abuse of children by clergy in a Catholic diocese in Pennsylvania has shaken and sickened a lot of people, myself included. It’s another example of the great revealing (apocalypse) that is happening in these days. Hidden things are coming to light. #metoo and #churchtoo are happening. White supremacy and racism are coming to the forefront of the collective consciousness in a new way. Motives and deep-seated sins, what the scriptures call “powers, principalities, and spiritual forces,” are being revealed. Evils that have gone unacknowledged (in a mainstream way) are coming into light.

I believe this is the Community of Heaven breaking in. And our task is not to resist it, but to become contemplative, to listen and examine our complicities, to search our own hearts; to “get our people,” as my Black teachers say - by which they mean we should be speaking to our own tribes and inner circles and helping them get on board and understand.

Whenever I think of what’s been happening the last couple of years*, I get the image in my mind of a glacier moving over a land mass, slowly slowly, leaving behind a mess of rubble and fertile soil and reshaped landscape. Our first step is admitting our landscape needs reshaping, which we can’t see unless we step back far enough to get a good view. The evidence is in every school shooting, every Black life ended by police, every Nazi rally, every sexual abuse scandal, every Latinx child separated from her parents at the border, every executed prisoner, and on and on. Without a doubt, our landscape needs reshaping.

And it’s coming. Millimeter by millimeter. Breath by breath. Prayer by prayer. Awakening by awakening. It’s coming and is happening now. The kingdom of God is at hand. The Community of Heaven has work to do. We shirk and deny and resist and cling to the past at our own risk. Help or get out of the way.

 

God, forces are at work in our world,
Which are at odds with your goals:
Death and destruction,
Injustice and abuse,
Apathy and self-centeredness,
Violence and hatred,
Status quo and inertia,
Distraction and disregard.

Evil is being revealed,
And hidden sins brought to light.
But ahead we can see,
Your kingdom coming,
Your people awakening,
Your glory shining.

We can see how today’s messy revealing
Is tomorrow’s hope,
How the rubble of today’s destroyed systems
Is tomorrow’s fertile soil.

So we trust,
And we follow,
And we stay awake
And we keep watch.
And we don’t shirk our work,
And we don’t deny our complicity,
And we don’t disempower the prophets,
And we don’t silence the marginalized.
And we don’t surround ourselves with so much noise that we can’t hear your voice.
And we don’t allow ourselves to despair.

We beat our swords into ploughshares.
We set our tables and open our doors.
We make way for the Community of God.
We prepare the way of the Lord.

Help us to humbly accept all the change that must happen,
In our society and in our own hearts,
To work together for new life and for good,
And to walk the peaceful way of Christ. Amen

 

*Really, what's been happening has been happening for a couple millenia, with various movements and intensities. I'm taking a micro-within-a-macro view here. With lots of gratitude and appreciation for the saints who have gone before me.
 

Litany for Embracing Race

As I have been getting an education on race, and as injustices and harm continue to happen, and as our society's inherent racism continues to be revealed; I feel compelled to write about race. I write as a white person primarily to white people. I write as a pastor, sometimes preacher, friend, and as an ally of People of Color. If you need a place to start your education, I recommend Austin Channing-Brown's _I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness_.


God, we can get an education in injustice,
If we are open to receiving it.
Soften our hearts, oh God,
That we may be willing to learn.

We acknowledge that the structures that make up our society have advantaged whiteness,
And disadvantaged People of Color.
We acknowledge that our Black and Brown siblings suffer in the same institutions and circumstances
In which whiteness finds comfort.
We acknowledge that privilege has suffering as its underbelly,
And oppression as its hidden cost.

We know that the time has come for our collective blindness to be revoked,
For the comfort of whiteness to lose priority,
For the weight of institutional injustice to be lifted,
For us to confront our pride,
For humility to become our prized virtue,
For listening to characterize our conversations.

Thank you for sending us the Christ
To show us a vision of a New Society
     A New City
     A New Era
     A New Government
     A New Law:
Where humanity is seen and valued;
Where privilege is a thing to be shared;
Where deference and gentleness are our best conventions;
Where institutions care for the disadvantaged;
Where race is not only tolerated, but embraced and admired;
Where diversity is beauty;
Where we are able to look beyond basic equality,
     toward Abundant Life and thriving for all (1).

And we are thankful, Oh God, for that institution begun by Christ -
The Church, the Body of Christ on Earth -
In which we re-imagine human relationships in light of Christ’s priorities;
And for this life you give us, which is love’s proving ground.

Amen

1) John 10:10

*Spanish Translation* Letanía para la Frontera

This is a Spanish translation of Litany for the Border. Many thanks to Ken Hanna for sharing this translation with us.

O Dios, lamentamos el sufrimiento que está ocurriendo a los que buscan asilo en la frontera de los Estado Unidos.
Señor ten misericordia.
Oramos para el termino de la separación de familias, la desesperación de padres e hijos y la degradación de su dignidad.
Señor ten misericordia.

Lamentamos la violencia y corrupción que están forzando estos inmigrantes de sus países.
Señor ten misericordia.
Oramos por el término de gobiernos corruptos, organizaciones violentas y las vidas desamparadas en Centro America.
Señor ten misericordia.

Lamentamos la póliza hecho por nuestro liderazgo Americano que ha causado la trauma de niños y bebés.
Señor ten misericordia.
Oramos que el congreso inmediatamente haga legislación justa y humana.
Señor ten misericordia.

Lamentamos la indiferencia de nuestra sociedad, nuestra tendencia de ser insensibles y ciegos hacia las extranjeros, refugiados, huérfanos y viudas.
Señor ten misericordia.
Oramos por la reformación de nuestros corazones y que tengamos la compasión y sabiduría de Cristo.
Señor ten misericordia.

Por La Paz en Centro America.
Oramos al Señor.
Por la practicas humanas en nuestras fronteras.
Oramos al Señor.
Por un gobierno misericordioso y justo en nuestra tierra.
Oramos al Señor.
Por corazones quebrantadas hacia todos los que buscan seguridad.
Oramos al Señor.
Que el amor de Cristo nos obliga y nos una, desde los más humildes e impotentes hasta lis más privilegiados y poderosos.
Que La Luz de Cristo brille sobre todos nosotros. Amen.

Litany for the Border

If you're unaware of what's happening currently at the US Border, please read up on it. And pray.
 

Oh God, we lament the trauma that is happening to asylum seekers at the U.S. Border
Lord, have mercy.
We pray for an end to separation of families, the desperation of parents and children, and the degradation of their dignity.
Lord, have mercy.

We lament the violence and corruption that is forcing these immigrants to leave their home countries.
Lord, have mercy.
We pray for an end to corrupt government, violent power structures, and poor living conditions in Central America.
Lord, have mercy.

We lament the policy decisions enacted by our own U.S. leadership that have led to the traumatizing of children and infants.
Lord, have mercy.
We pray for humane and just legislation to be passed by congress immediately.
Lord, have mercy.

We lament our own societal apathy, our tendency to be blind and uncaring toward the alien, the refugee, the orphan, the widow.
Lord, have mercy.
We pray for the reformation of our own hearts, that we may have the compassion and wisdom of Christ.
Lord, have mercy.

For peace in Central America,
We pray to the Lord.
For humane practices at our borders,
We pray to the Lord.
For just and compassionate government here at home,
We pray to the Lord.
For loving hearts toward all seeking safety,
We pray to the Lord.  

May the love of Christ compel and bind us, from the poorest and most powerless to the most privileged and powerful.
May the light of Christ shine upon us all. Amen

Litany for God Our Father

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This is a companion litany to Litany for God Our Mother.


God, who created fathers
And invented fathering,
Help us to see you more completely,
In your wholeness.

For those of us who don’t have fathers
Be our good father.
For those of us who have painful relationships with our fathers,
Be our good father.
For those of us who are fathers of children,
Be our good father.
For those of us who are spiritual fathers,
Be our good father.
For those of us whose ideas about fathering need reinventing,
Be our good father.

We know that for you, being a good father does not mean toxic masculinity,
Or domination,
But that you care for us with exceeding kindness,
     With attentiveness (1),
     With celebration (2),
     With generosity (3),
     With surrounding (4),
     With provision (5),
     With emotion (6),
     With love (7).

We know that you are father, mother, friend, helper
Lover of our souls;
Your love is constantly exceeding our expectations,
And redefining our terms.

May we reflect your fathering love,
Living in light of your example. Amen

1)Isaiah 65:24
2) Luke 15:22-23
3) Timothy 6:17
4) Psalm 32:7
5) Luke 11:11
6) Psalm 86:15, Zephaniah 3:17

Litany for God Our Mother

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I came across this hymn “Mothering God, You Gave Me Birth” written by Jean Janzen (1991) and based on text from the 14th Century mystic Julian of Norwich.

Mothering God, you gave me birth
in the bright morning of this world.
Creator, source of every breath,
you are my rain, my wind, my sun.

Mothering Christ, you took my form,
offering me your food of light,
grain of new life, and grape of love,
your very body for my peace.

Mothering Spirit, nurturing one,
in arms of patience hold me close,
so that in faith I root and grow
until I flow’r, until I know.

The beauty and simplicity of Janzen's lyrics were part of the inspiration for this week’s Mother’s Day litany. I know that there are many for whom motherhood is a painful subject. I wanted to create space here for those who are not mothers but wish they were, for those for whom motherhood has caused pain, for those whose mothers were unhealthy or hurtful, for those who have lost mothers or children, and for those who don't aspire to motherhood.

There are also those of us women who grew up in churchy contexts who were taught that motherhood was the pinnacle of our aspirations in life. That woman = husband + child. That somehow, on our own we were unworthy of existence. So I also want to create space for those who have had to do battle against those ideas. You are worthy of the loving nurture of God; God's eye is on mothers and non-mothers and non-traditional mothers alike.


Great Mother God
Who created mothers
And invented mothering,
Mother us now:
    Into your peace and comfort,
    Into your nurturing love,
    Into the kindness of your presence,
    Into the shadow of your wings.

We know that mothering takes many forms,
And is done by many kinds of people
In different ways and situations;
Give us the wisdom of your mother-heart.

We know that love is risky:
There’s always the possibility of pain,
The risk of disappointment or loss.
Give us the courage of your mother-heart.

We bring to you the cares of the brokenhearted.
We bring to you the pain of the disappointed.
We bring to you the hardship of the overwhelmed.
We bring to you the ache of the separated.

Teach us the worth of our own souls,
And the value of our existence.

Give us your mother-love:
To heal us,
To nourish us,
To share freely with the world.
Amen

 

 


 

Litany for Earth Day

Earth Day is April 22.


God, on this day we celebrate the gift of this planet, Earth,
Which you created for us as a home:
     A home for humanity
     A home for creatures
     A home for plants
     A good gift of creation.

We are truly sorry for the ways we have corrupted it.
Forgive us.
We are truly sorry for the ways we have disregarded its well-being.
Forgive us.
We are truly sorry for the ways we’ve been complicit in systems that degrade it.
Forgive us.

Help us, Oh God,
To be good stewards of your gifts to us.
Help us, Oh God,
To realize our connectedness to creation.
Help us, Oh God,
To understand our reliance upon the Earth.
Help us, Oh God,
To bring healing to the planet.
Help us, Oh God,
To make changes that benefit all creatures.

As all creation praises and glorifies you,
So we praise you.
As all creation reflects your character and beauty,
So we seek to reflect your beauty.
As all creation supports and sustains us,
So we seek to support one another.

For the gracious gift and vast beauty of creation,
We give thanks.
Amen

Litany for Three Mary’s

I wrote this litany to accompany my sermon entitled "Beautiful Heretics: Three Mary's." The texts are from the Gospel of Luke: 1:45-55; 10:38-42: 16:9-11.

God, you’ve shown us that you work in ways we don’t expect
Ways we don’t imagine.
You use the least
To show us your best.
You use the weak
To teach us about strength.

In scripture you used women
Whom the world considered powerless
To redeem the narrative
And re-imagine power.

Help us to be like Mary of Bethany
Listening at your feet.
Help us to be like Mary the mother of Christ
Consenting to your work.
Help us to be like Mary Magdalene,
Present for whatever you’re doing.

These were friends of Christ
Whom he loved and regarded.
Through these relationships, Christ taught the world
What friendship looks like,
What equality looks like,
What respect looks like,
What reciprocity looks like,
What cooperation looks like.

Because they cooperated with Christ,
We see a wider, brighter future for all people.
May we live to see that future alive on earth,
Alive in our community.
Amen

An Interfaith Litany for the United States (January 2018)

God* we ask for help and intervention in this moment.
Give us ears to hear, eyes to see, and hands to work for good.
Hear now our requests for aid and wisdom.
Lord*, hear our prayer.

For the sick and infirm
We pray to the Lord*.
For the homeless and hungry
We pray to the Lord.
For the poor and destitute
We pray to the Lord.
For the children of low-income families without health insurance
We pray to the Lord.
For the Dreamers, brought to the US as children and now facing possible deportation
We pray to the Lord.
For those affected by the ongoing epidemic of gun violence
We pray to the Lord.
For those unjustly imprisoned
We pray to the Lord.
For all who experience societal injustice
We pray to the Lord.

For Republicans in congress
We pray to the Lord.
For Democrats in congress
We pray to the Lord.
For Donald Trump
We pray to the Lord.
For Mike Pence
We pray to the Lord.
For justices, judges, and members of the judicial system
We pray to the Lord.
For people employed by government agencies
We pray to the Lord.
For those facing danger in the military
We pray to the Lord.
For those working for justice and aid organizations
We pray to the Lord.
For those working for law enforcement and security agencies
We pray to the Lord.
For Robert Mueller and his team
We pray to the Lord.
For journalists working to disseminate truth
We pray to the Lord.
For those who are speaking truth to power
We pray to the Lord.
That all these people, ourselves included, might have the eyes of their hearts enlightened
We pray to the Lord.

Give us compassion, oh God
To see beyond our own safety and comfort,
To work to heal and help the people of our land,
And find unity in our shared humanity.
May truth and justice win the day
And love and mercy win the hearts of all.

Amen

*I intend for this prayer to be ecumenical and interfaith. Please feel free to substitute whatever address for God (Spirit, Universe, Allah, etc) is your preference.

Litany for Dark Days

The prophet Amos says the  “Day of the Lord is darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it.” This week's Lectionary reading includes that passage from Amos 5, as well as others referenced in this prayer.



God, we are weary, weary.
The days are dark.
All day long we contend with evildoers.
We wake to discover more death.

We know that when the days seem dark
We must persevere;
That discipleship is costly,
And the risks of faith are great.

We may be outcast.*
We may be silenced.
We may be slandered.
We may be killed unmercifully. *
But we know that, despite the shame and chaos of the hour,
You are still our help and deliverer (1).

Help us, as we go along, to keep our lamps filled and trimmed (2)
That we may wait with hope
In a circle of light -
Awake and ready for action (3).
We are poor and needy,
Yet still in your care (1).

These are days of darkness and change,
The Day of the Lord, unfolding; (4)
So. Let justice roll down like waters,
And righteousness like an everflowing stream (5).

Amen


1)Psalm 70:5
2)Matthew 25:4-7
3)Matthew 25:13
4)Amos 5:20
5)Amos 5:24

*as the pastor and prophet Jonathan Martin was last week cast out of Liberty University for speaking against the actions of its administration and calling for a prayer vigil
*as were the 26 people (plus 20 more injured) mowed down with an assault rifle as they gathered for worship this past Sunday. And the 58 (plus 489 wounded) the month prior in Las Vegas.

Litany for Las Vegas

I was awake at 4 am, reading the grim news from Las Vegas. Grabbed my phone to check the time, and there was the headline. Why did I wake up? Did some part of me know that the worst mass shooting in US History had just occurred? I don't know, but I know we're all connected and when one part hurts the other parts feel it. If you want to keep praying, you can pray Litany for a Terrorized City,  Litany for Gun Violence , and Litany for Grief also.


God, we are at a loss.
The violence that has happened
And continues to happen
Does not compute.

How many of our citizens must die
Before things change?
How many of our children must we lose
Before justice is done?
How many lives and bodies must be broken
Before we are saved from ourselves?

We know that sometimes your justice
Looks like letting us reap what we sow.
We know that sometimes your love
Looks like allowing us to make choices.
We know that sometimes your wisdom,
Looks like giving us dominion.

We made a mess
With weapons and war
With grudges and judgment
With violence and bad choices

We give dominion back to you
Asking for your mercy.
We give our hearts and souls back to you
Asking for your help.
We give our mess back to you,
Asking you to save us.

Forgive us, Oh God,
And care for those we've lost.

Amen