Oh my God,

When we come upon the
morning in a world
covered in fear and blood and
harsh words and pain
real pain –

When we hesitate to open our
eyes or our ears or
our minds or our hearts
because we don’t know what will happen –

When we face sorrow and meanness and
uncertainty all around us
When we witness so much hurting
When we are so hurt
When we cause so much hurt –

Oh my God,
we turn to you for
love
wisdom
a quiet moment

we turn to you to remember
who we were created to be

we turn to you to remember
the holy is all around us.

Oh my God,
for this day,

may we be so full of
your love that it overflows into
a world that so desperately needs it

so full of your love
that we
speak words of both
mercy and
justice

may we be solace to those
who need it.

may we witness the
indwelling of your Spirit
in all those around us and in
the whole of creation

may we know your peace
in our hearts
for this day before us.

Amen.