O God of raging fires
O Jesus, who looted the Temple
O Spirit found amongst grief and protest
We come before you in anguish
We remember this weekend the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit roared into that upper room and breathed new languages on the tongues of the apostles. It’s a time of celebration for the church, but most of us don’t feel like a party.
Recently, another one of your children, George Floyd, had his breath forcefully removed, O Lord.
We are tired and frustrated and angry. How long O Lord will you continue to do nothing?
We understand that the Spirit breathes into the Church life and love, but we’re hyperventilating and can’t focus. George Floyd is only one of the many Black people the State and white supremacists have killed this year including Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. May we be the Church who shows up to protest and in vigil.
O God, on Pentecost Sunday, we also remember that after the new converts were baptized, they immediately joined the work of mutual aid. Help us to continue this tradition: mutual aid as the means of intentionally sharing resources so that all may benefit. With what we have, may we donate to bail funds and other organizations who support People of Color.
As the world has been quiet because of quarantine, racism and state violence continue to wreak havoc on the oppressed. But you, O God, shout Black Lives Matter alongside protestors. And you, O Christ, understand the suffering of People of Color and stand in solidarity with them. And you, O Spirit, sit with the grieving families of Floyd, Arbery, and Taylor.
Continue to remind us: the Church is not a building, but a gathering of people demanding and living out another world. A world without violence. A world where mutual aid is our economy, not capitalism. And a world where everyone and everything is loved unconditionally.
May this prayer, and every prayer, not be the end of our work, but the beginning.
We pray this in the name of Christ, who walks alongside us in the struggle, Amen.
