This is my prayer tonight…
God of peace, mercy and justice. The suffering on this day is inconsolable, the tears overflowing, and the fear palpable. The slaying of your LGBTQ people in Orlando cries out for healing, hope and Justice.. Hear the cries of grief and the anguish of loss. Have mercy and compassion for all who have been murdered, for those injured, and for those clinging to life. We pray for the traumatized and all who live in fear and who are now once again hyper vigilant for danger in ordinary places. We pray for renewed action and perseverance in reforming our American gun laws, especially the sale of automatic weapons.
We pray that as this is reported out the American Islamic community will not also be targets for hate and violence.
We thank you for the courage and selfless actions of the First Responders; the police, the fire dept, EMT’s, ambulance and hospital staff, for those ordinary bystanders who risked their lives also to help, and for the law enforcement teams including the FBI that will be investigating this horror.
We pray that terrorism may be overcome and violent hearts turned to paths of peace.
We pray that you oh Christ, will comfort all the families and friends who grieve as well as the injured and fearful.
We pray for the courage to act when our faith summons us to be counted among the change agents and peace makers.
And we pray for the grace and confidence that nothing will separate us from the eternal love of God in Christ… Believing we are more than conquerors through the One who loves us. No exceptions
Amen
