I spent this past week in Dallas, Texas with 1400 other
CBF-ers at our annual General Assembly.
We gathered to connect, to worship, to pray together. All of that was heightened Thursday morning
when we all heard the news of the shooting in Charleston. Moments of silences were observed, tears were
shed, prayers were prayed.
Thursday afternoon, during the state and regional meetings,
I met with my South Carolina family. There we cried
even more..and we prayed even more. To
many, these weren’t strangers, but a part of their community, a family of
faith. It’s in these moments where we
have no idea what to say, what to do, or how to react.
In these moments that are forever sacred, may we light
candles, may we speak their names, may we remember:
Cynthia Hurd, Clementa Pinckney, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Tywanza Sanders, Ethel Lance, Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Susie Jackson, Daniel Simmons Sr.
God,
Where do we start? In a world so full of senseless violence,
of unnecessary hatred..of untimely deaths- we ask the questions that doubt
faith. Our hearts are broken- and we do
not know what to do. We don’t know what
to say. We cry. We embrace. We pray. Give us the strength- give us the courage to
get up off the couch, to meet our neighbor, to get to know them, to build
bridges of reconciliation.
Help us to know that you are in the messy places of
life. You are in the everyday..you are
in the ordinary. Help us to recognize
that. You are our parent- our mother and
our father. You are in your servants;
the people we call Dad. For some, we
celebrate. For some, we mourn. For some, we try to forget. We pray for those who wanted to be a Dad, but can’t; who was a dad but have lost that privilege; whose job as a parent went too fast or too slow; who never met their child.
Lord, hear our
prayers.
We remember..or we try to forget our own fathers. For the fathers that have passed on; for the
fathers who were never there or who hurt us too often. For the fathers that we
never met; for the fathers who are our heros. Who love their children
unconditionally and who serve(d) you with everything they have.
Lord, hear our
prayers.
Hear the “I don’t know what to says”
and the “I don’t know what to dos”. Help us remember that you are close by..
help us to celebrate, help us to mourn, help us to take action.
Lord, listen to your children praying. Lord, send your spirit in this place. Lord, listen to your children praying. Send
us love, send us power, send us grace. ((Ken Medema))
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| Photo taken by Melissa Blazek |
