Justice Prayers
May. 5th, 2023 01:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yrieithyddAs well as being Sacristan at On Fire Mission this year I was also asked to lead Morning Prayer on Tuesday with a theme of justice. I started with Common Worship Daily Prayer for St Mark's Day but varied the readings to passages with a strong justice theme and based the prayers around quotes from Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail. A couple of days beforehand I decided to add images to the slides for the prayers.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. ”
We pray for situations of injustice, for the legacy of slavery and colonialism, for those disproportionately affected by climate change,
God of Justice
hear our Cry
“In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action.”
“We began a series of workshops on nonviolence, and we repeatedly asked ourselves: “Are you able to accept blows without retaliating?” “Are you able to endure the ordeal of jail?”
We pray for those campaigning and acting to challenge injustice. For climate protestors recently sentenced for their protests against climate change
God of Justice
hear our Cry
“Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.”
We pray for institutions with power and privilege, especially our churches, that we may renounce that privilege for the sake of justice
God of Justice
hear our Cry
“I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.””
We pray for all lawmakers and those who apply the law, that they will make just laws. We cry out against unjust laws that seek to stop protest or to limit the rights and freedoms of LGBTQIA+ people around the world
God of Justice
hear our Cry
“First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate.”
“but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; ”
We pray for ourselves when we are tempted to love order more than justice or to prefer an absence of tension to the presence of justice. When we say “be patient” or “wait” to those seeking an end to their oppression because we don’t want to upset others
God of Justice,
hear our Cry
“But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Was not Amos an extremist for justice: “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.” Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.””
May we be extremists for love
God of Justice
hear our Cry
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. ”
We pray for situations of injustice, for the legacy of slavery and colonialism, for those disproportionately affected by climate change,
God of Justice
hear our Cry
“In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action.”
“We began a series of workshops on nonviolence, and we repeatedly asked ourselves: “Are you able to accept blows without retaliating?” “Are you able to endure the ordeal of jail?”
We pray for those campaigning and acting to challenge injustice. For climate protestors recently sentenced for their protests against climate change
God of Justice
hear our Cry
“Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.”
We pray for institutions with power and privilege, especially our churches, that we may renounce that privilege for the sake of justice
God of Justice
hear our Cry
“I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.””
We pray for all lawmakers and those who apply the law, that they will make just laws. We cry out against unjust laws that seek to stop protest or to limit the rights and freedoms of LGBTQIA+ people around the world
God of Justice
hear our Cry
“First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate.”
“but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; ”
We pray for ourselves when we are tempted to love order more than justice or to prefer an absence of tension to the presence of justice. When we say “be patient” or “wait” to those seeking an end to their oppression because we don’t want to upset others
God of Justice,
hear our Cry
“But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Was not Amos an extremist for justice: “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.” Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.””
May we be extremists for love
God of Justice
hear our Cry
no subject
Date: 2023-05-05 05:29 pm (UTC)