While this particular prayer offering is prompted six separate mass shootings this past weekend, there is little to show that this epidemic of violence will be seriously addressed any time soon. It's going to take so much effort and so much time to reverse the death trend, and it just does not seem that there is the political or cultural will to do anything. It is heartbreaking that this prayer will be appropriate many times in the future.
But we must keep trying. Keep speaking out, keep pushing our public leaders, keep showing up, and yes, keep being the beloved community in the ways we hope the world to be, — and yes, we keep praying. With that in mind, I offer one more prayer from the unedited Gun Violence Prayers resource, which should be out sometime soon.
3) Another Mass Shooting
Let us pray —
God of the Body of Christ, another mass shooting is not Your will.
With the sounds of gunfire all around
With people running for cover
With screams echoing in the air
With the fragility of flesh exposed
We cannot imagine the terror experienced by our siblings at [name the place].
For those who died, we lift their spirits to you. Loved by others and loved by you. May they rest in peace and rise in power.
For the wounded, we lift their bodies to you. Tended to by many, held by you. May they know healing and wholeness in body, mind, and spirit.
For the community of [name community] we lift their spirit to you.
Associated by geography.
Now bonded by tragedy.
May they experience a sense of belonging like never before.
In the face of this mass shooting,
Give this community the heart to receive the world’s thoughts and prayers
Give this community the tenderness to allow one another to heal
Give this community the courage to address why this may have happened
Give this community the wisdom to make decisions to prevent this from happening again.
A whole and healed future of [Name community] and ours depends on it.
For when the world forgets and the cameras turn away, only community remains.
AMEN.
And I leave you with the same words that I left you with the last prayer, "hold your loved one a little tighter today," but with the weight of the world feeling a little weightier each day, if we are going to become the beloved community, we will need every ounce of our spiritual, emotional, and physical energy to get there. Do what you need to do.
Peace,
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