March 22, 2021, 2:45 p.m., 10 dead.
My God, my God! Why have you forsaken us?
Why do you not help us? Why do you not hear our cries?
Is our depravity so unworthy of your intervention?
Holy God, Powerful God, God of Love and Peace! Hear our prayer!
We cannot abide this self-inflicted pain any longer.
We cannot tolerate this self-destruction in the name of “our constitutional rights.”
We cannot bury another child, parent, friend — dead due to this disease of fear.
We cannot find our way out of this pit without you. Help us, Lord. Help us. Help.
You, alone, O Lord, can help. We clearly lack the will and the power to do so.
Help us remember and reclaim the belovedness of each of your children.
Help us end our love of violence and reclaim our love of abundant life.
Help us in our grief. Comfort those who mourn. Give strength to those who despair.
Help us find the courage and stamina to be led by Christ’s example of love.
Forgive us, Lord. Forgive us. Forgive.
Bless those who grieve. Bless those who tend to broken bodies and broken spirits.
Bless those who are first to respond and put themselves in harm’s way.
Bless those who feel forsaken and forgotten.
Blessed be the name of the Lord! Alleluia! Amen.
By Denise D. Pass, executive presbyter of Presbytery of Plains and Peaks
