Dear members and friends:
As your pastors, we reach out to voice our angst at the events unfolding in our country. We share the grief and worry that many are feeling as they watch the news these days. George Floyd’s death was excruciatingly painful to watch. Our country now pulses with a wide range of difficult emotions and fears. The violence and destruction in many cities are deeply concerning. Our faith calls forth a thoughtful and compassionate response.
Our scriptures proclaim: What does the Lord require of us but to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God? (Micah 6:8).
And so, we reaffirm our commitment to work for justice for all of God’s children and more specifically to partner with you in eliminating systemic racial injustice. We stand in solidarity with people of faiths, races, and ethnicities who seek to be the change we all desire. We confess that sometimes, without our own awareness, we participate in a system that is unfair and perpetuates decades-old bias. We pray for peace and safety for all people. We pray for Mayor Lucas and all who are entrusted with caring for the public good.
I John 4 says, “Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us and God’s love is perfected in us.”
Now is the time for us to open our hearts, to let God’s love be perfected in us. In the coming weeks and months, you will hear more about ways that we can learn, speak up, and love one another as God has loved us.
For now, we invite you to pray this prayer every day this week. Pray it at meals, in the morning, as you watch the news, in your time of devotion, on a run, or wherever you feel called.
God of justice and compassion,
 
Your love enfolds every single person on this planet.
 
Forgive us for our failures to create a world of fairness and harmony.
 
Empower us to learn how we can be part of the solution.
 
Grant us the wisdom to walk with Jesus in the ways of peace.
 

In the name of the living Christ, Amen.

 

Rev. Carla Aday, Senior Minister
Dr. Mike Graves, Scholar in Residence and Minister of Spiritual Formation
Rev. Joe Walker, Minister of Congregational Care
Rev. Catherine Stark-Corn, Minister to Children and Families
Rev. Corey Meyer, Director of Mission Partnerships
Rev. Tyler Heston, Minister to Youth