So often in our country’s history, have “thoughts and prayers” been utilized as tools of deflection. Prayers have been offered up as bandages for racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, homophobia and bigotry in all of it’s forms.
Let me be everclear, we can not forge thoughts and prayers into bullet proof vests for our children as they walk the streets of this town and for the young students as they sit in classrooms across America. Prayers are meant to lift up voices of the oppressed, of the harmed, and of the silenced. It is time that we stop offering our condolences and start demanding action.
O Source of Light, may you illuminate the quiet bigotry and loud hatred that resides in our community, across our country and around the globe.
May you, Oh Holy One, call the privileged to stand up and to fight back against the injustices of today. May you call out police brutality for what it is. May you shine a light upon the institutionalized racism that is so often disguised as public policy.
May you, Oh Divine One, dwell in the hearts of those who protest and march for the rights of others.
May you, Oh Divine Voice, whisper words of power to those who have their lost loved ones, their hope, and their sense of voice.
May you, Source of Love, be present in our community as we support those who fear for their lives every day.
May you, Source of Justice, be with us as we demand more from our elected officials, as we call for reform, and as we call for change within our systems of perpetual harm.
May you, Source of Light, be with the young leaders of today as they fight to fix a world that is pitted against them.
And may you, the protestors, the marchers, the attorneys, the ministers, the teachers, the students, the people: may you be empowered to speak up, to seize microphones, and to lift up the lives of those lost, silenced, and ignored.
Amen.