Please watch this video first as we express reflections on the present moment we are in together. Beneath this will find the specific text of the prayer of lament, repentance, and commitment to action that we wanted to share.
Our hearts are aching, grieving, crying out. We are a community of Jesus followers, a church family made up of people from all different backgrounds.
We cry with our Black and Brown brothers and sisters. We lament centuries of racism that has not ended yet. We grieve the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and the many who came before them. We repent of the church’s role in racism in this country. We stand in solidarity with you in your grief, fear, anger, and exhaustion. We commit to seeking justice for you. We will work to learn how to better advocate and act to remedy the unjust systems that have supported these losses.
In our lament, we continue to place our hope in the transformative power of Jesus Christ. We believe the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus demonstrates God’s power to change reality and bring new life to each of us. It gives assurance that our world will be transformed and made right. Our hostilities, faulty systems, broken relationships, and evil tendencies can be changed. We long and commit ourselves to this work of the Holy Spirit. All the while we pray for justice. We pray for peace. We look to Jesus Christ as our guide in bearing the pain of our neighbor to bring healing. We look to Jesus Christ to change hatred into forgiveness. We hope in Him.
In the good and powerful name of Jesus,
Amen
