Dear saints,
God our refuge and strength,
You have bound us together in a common life:
Help us, in the midst of our present conflict
to confront one another without hatred or bitterness
to listen for your voice amid competing claims
and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Page 202 A Prayer Book for Australia, The Anglican Church of Australia Trust Corporation.
As we cherish the mysterious connectivity with all the saints who help us foster greater trust, clearer formation and the blessed privilege of standing with those in the margins, we also confront the horrors of violence. The recent massacre in a Texas church shooting has been just as devastating as every other mass shooting. How will we stay together without turning against each other during this eerily painful and alienating time? Will we be bigger and better than this predicament that confronts us? I pray that we will come out of this stronger, more compassionate, less dependent on violence and weapons, and clearly as peacemakers, because the way of Jesus is more sustainable than the way of violence.
Therefore,
Let us vote.
Let us be kind to ourselves and others.
Let us break bread around comfort food with one another as often as we can.
Let us welcome friends who are “different” to our tables this Thanksgiving.
Let us seek compromise as some of us protest things that others of us protect.
Let us generously seek and serve Christ in each other during this time of heightened suspicion.
These are ways we can overcome the overwhelming grief by claiming resurrection.
The peace of the Lord be always with you!
