Prayer of Lament & Intercession

Adapted from “Prayers of the People: A Litany Against Racism,”
Church of the Redeemer at New Garden Park, Greensboro, NC
Used during Worship, June 7, 2020

Gracious God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
we thank you for the human family,
filled with all the peoples of the earth,
and for creating such a rich diversity of people and cultures.

We pray that you will enrich our lives with ever-widening
circles of fellowship in which we may discover
your presence in those who differ from us.
Deliver us from the bondage of racism
that denies the humanity of your beloved children
and blinds us to the beauty of your image in others.

For centuries, racism has choked the life
out of black and brown bodies all over the world.
Unjust laws and systems - created, sustained, and enforced
in order to dehumanize and exploit human beings -
have promoted the wrongful suffering, imprisonment, and death
of so many black and brown Americans
and have protected white Americans who are guilty
of acts of discrimination and violence against them.

We confess that we have blinded our eyes to these realities.
We have chosen to look away; we have cared too little.
We have hardened our hearts and kept silent.

We have refused to name the sin of racism in your church,
failed to root it out, and been complicit in its growth.
We have sinned. Have mercy upon us.
Convict us, forgive us, and help us to change.

We declare that white supremacy is an evil lie,
and we have been unaware of its hold on us.
Free us from its grip, and help us to drive it out
of our hearts, your church, and your world.

Help us to long deeply for the justice you promise,
so that we may invest our lives in changing this hate-filled story,
not out of a self-serving desire to be or appear virtuous,
but out of true love for you and for our neighbor.

Open our hearts, our eyes, our ears, and our mouths,
so that we may love, see, listen, and speak
with humility and courage as agents of change
who give sacrificially of ourselves for the sake of our neighbors
in the pursuit of justice, healing, and peace for all,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.