Memorial Pastoral Prayer
This Memorial weekend has many markers. This is the prayer I offered from the pulpit of First Christian Church in Bartlesville, OK, on Sunday morning, May 30th, 2021.
Hear our prayers, O Lord, as we pause to remember:
The voice of the Lord . . .
is over the waters
is powerful
is full of majesty
breaks
flashes
shakes
causes.(1)
Hear our prayers, O Lord, as we pause to remember:
Memorials to family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers whose lives were taken from them in their drafted or volunteer duty serving the idea and ideals of this Nation when managed peace breaks into the violence of war. Forgive us for our lack of imagination about peace and our over active imagination about how to create violence.
Hear our prayers, O Lord, as we pause to remember:
The descendants of the many murdered in the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa this weekend 100 years ago. May your spirit, O Lord, move in our lives and our Nation so that commemoration is confession; and confession is a step to restoration; and restoration is a recognition of a promissory note upon which interest is still owed. Give us the will and the ears to hear the marginalized of our time, like Jesus listened in his time, so that within our best efforts, we participate in making persons whole and continue the process of creating a culture based on character instead of skin color or by what name we call you Lord.
Hear our prayers, O Lord, as we pause to remember:
The many on this congregation’s prayer list, those named, and unnamed, but held deep in our hearts. Where it is within our power to act on behalf of another, give us the wisdom to ask, seek, and knock on our path to action that your will be done and the kinship of all humanity is revealed.
May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us and all who dwell on earth.
May the One who creates harmony on high, bring peace to us and to all who dwell on earth.(2)
Hear our prayers, O Lord, whose voice confronts us and comforts us.
Amen.
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Notes
1. Ref Psalm 29
2. Snippet ref of Kaddish Prayer, Reformed Judaism.