Praying for Change: Daily Prayers for Anti-Racism (January-March 2021)

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January 2021

JANUARY 1, 2021

WESLEY COVENANT PRAYER

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

United Methodist Hymnal, 607

JANUARY 4, 2021

Oneness of the world, our maker, our lover and our keeper. You are more important than anything. Because of you, everything is important.

We are forgetful and fickle people. We mean well, but we don't take the time to see or listen as we should. We often know that prejudice and racism are in our systems, but we don't focus on a way out of those systems.

Thank you for being present inside of each of us and for never giving up on us.

Please strengthen our vision, our awareness and our courage that we might search to find you in each other and to bend our systems toward justice.

Affirmation for all persons, namaste and shalom.

Marian Straight, participant in the Mountain Sky Conference (UMC) virtual journey of daily prayer, organized by Rev. Bich Thy (Betty) Nguyen, Multicultural and Advocacy Ministries Developer, Mountain Sky Conference, https://www.mtnskyumc.org/pilgrimage-week-9.

JANUARY 5, 2021

Great Fashioner of Existence

I
Subject, actor
Starlight, stardust
Beginning and returning
Ocean depth, mountain height
Universal mystery, peculiar delight

Woke Up
From racial rejection and misunderstanding
Affirmed again
Resurrected anew
Like the first morning
Dawning freely
Unchained, no tomb
Singing within
In rendezvous
Oxygen and carbon dioxide
Photosynthesis in charge
Breath continued
Nurturing and expanding
Resisting confinement
Awakened to possibilities unending
And responsibilities unbending
Opportunities affording
To alert
Unfold
Brave and bold
Landscapes of a New Beginning

Oh, I woke up
I woke up
I woke up this morning
Hallelu
Hallelu
Hallelujah!

Dorsey O. Blake, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 128-129.

JANUARY 6, 2021

Did they know, God of surprising presence, did they? Lying face down on the rough wood floor, tears flowing unbidden from their tired eyes, muscles aching from a journey that covered too many miles and too many worlds, hearts pounding from a longing too deep to define. Did they know? As they gazed into the brown-faced infant, inexpertly wrapped in a threadbare blanket by a mother way too young for this responsibility, this gift; did they know. Or did they only hope?

It is another Epiphany, but what have we learned? What has been revealed to us? Is it something about the flesh we inhabit, the flesh of so many colors and shades? Is it something about the preciousness of this flesh, the embodiment of something divine, something holy, even in the least holy of us? As we kneel on our own floors, as our own tears flow and muscles ache from carrying a hope that is too big for us, what can we know? What can we claim? What can we love, if not this flesh and spirit, this life – this terrifying, fragile, too often broken life?

We may not claim wisdom, but we can hope, and we can love, and we can seek you in each face. We can fall down and beg a child to show us your face. Any child. Every child. We can hope. Amen.

Derek C. Weber, December 2020

JANUARY 7, 2021

Our Lord. Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, and Comforter.
The Great I Am. One and All as I am One with Thee.
You are but Love and Your Love leads to Good.
You move in our lives and make a way.
You knew us before we were born; You know our needs before we ask.
You Give fully and openly.
Your children are fighting. Your children are angry.
Your children are in fear.
Bring us together again – Bind us fully as You bind the wounded.
We know but do not understand.
We ask to be as You. To be with You as You are with us.
To be in Your Heart and You are in our heart.
We are confident in Your guidance. We are brave in Your arms.
We will move in this world as You move in the world beyond.
We know Your Power for Good and we are grateful for your Love.
Amen.

Brad Brown, participant in the Mountain Sky Conference (UMC) virtual journey of daily prayer, organized by Rev. Bich Thy (Betty) Nguyen, Multicultural and Advocacy Ministries Developer, Mountain Sky Conference, https://www.mtnskyumc.org/pilgrimage-week-6.

JANUARY 8, 2021

A Prayer for One Flesh in Christ

My Lord and my God, I see you being torn apart on the cross still, as we persist in tearing the body from the spirit. You dared to penetrate the flesh of humankind with the presence of God. You took on the flesh of every human being.

Help us now, after all these years of denial, to finally embrace your incarnation, to feel, in the depths of our beings, that we are part of each other’s bodies in your body, may we clasp to ourselves the flesh of all persons, especially those whose flesh looks different from ours, whose language is strange to our ears, whose music sounds dissonant, whose sexuality offends our sensibilities. May we have the courage to hold the sick and the old to our health and our youth. Thus may we behold the glory of the Word become flesh as he dwells among us. Amen.

Paul Moore, Jr., from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 141.

JANUARY 11, 2021

Zion’s hope, Jerusalem’s good news,
Abraham and Mohamed’s praise,
You manifested your star-shine presence to the magi of old.
So, fix in us the vision of the new creation that,
with our sisters and brothers in faith,
we may become its embodiment
in this year’s deeds and in this world’s struggles.
Cause us to delight in our planet earth with fresh care.
In us, cast your eyes on the hurting and discouraged.
Open the doors and hearts of church, mosque, and synagogue
to the poor and excluded.
Gather the nations into the peaceable kin-dom.
All this for your love’s sake, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Daniel Benedict, Order of Saint Luke
Inspired by a short segment of the Commentary on Isaiah by Eusebius of Caesarea.
Adapted from A Lukan Book of Feasts (c) 2018 The Order of Saint Luke. Used with permission.

JANUARY 12, 2021

Oh Mysterious and Steadfast God,
Help me to be as fond of diversity as you are.
Help all people everywhere to see diversity as strength and opportunity.
Open our eyes to value different skin tones as beautiful expressions of your creation.
Forgive us for the ways we exclude and stereotype.
Lead each of us into a deeper awareness of the strengths of community,
Until we all become as fond of diversity as you are,
And rest in your unlimited love. Amen.

Sharon McCormick, participant in the Mountain Sky Conference (UMC) virtual journey of daily prayer, organized by Rev. Bich Thy (Betty) Nguyen, Multicultural and Advocacy Ministries Developer, Mountain Sky Conference.

JANUARY 13, 2021

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. - John 1:1 NRSV

How do we begin, Lord of all things new?

How do we begin to build a new world,
new relationships,
new understandings?
How do we start over and build a community of acceptance,
a world of diversity,
a family of trust?

Shall we begin with confession, with lament and sorrow?
Of course, we have, and we will continue to confess our deepest sin of hatred and division. Until all among us realize how divided we are, how unjust we are, how broken we all are.

But surely there are beginnings to be made,
words to be spoken,
work to be done.
Surely there are ways to see with new eyes,
brothers and sisters,
who are different and yet the same.

How do we begin, God of second chances?

Let it begin with me. Amen.

Derek C. Weber, January 2021

JANUARY 14, 2021

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . .

You dwelt among us with skin, brown skin.
You dwelt among us with a Middle Eastern accent.
You dwelt among us as part of a working-class family.

Forgive us, for assigning babies at birth to a culture of systemic racism because of the color of their skin.
This Epiphany and beyond, may we celebrate and embrace your image enfleshed in all skin tones.

Amen.

Phyllis Terwilliger, a member of United Methodist Women, December 2020

JANUARY 15, 2021

God, creator of all peoples.
Help us to demonstrate your loving kindness to all people
through our thoughts, our words, and our actions,
so that we may reduce the oppression
and heal the divisions
which our culture inflicts on your people.
We pray in the name of Jesus who showed us
how the actions of one can improve the lives of many.

Rick Butler, participant in the Mountain Sky Conference (UMC) virtual journey of daily prayer, organized by Rev. Bich Thy (Betty) Nguyen, Multicultural and Advocacy Ministries Developer, Mountain Sky Conference.

JANUARY 18, 2021

God of infinite compassion,
we live in times of turmoil.
Out of fear we seek to target and to blame the innocent.
Out of our ignorance we tolerate racist systems that oppress
and demean
our brothers and sisters.
God of justice,
help us to resist all forms of racial profiling.
Confront our prejudices.
Expand our understanding.
Strengthen our resistance.
Help us to resist the urge to protect ourselves
at the expense of others.
Remind us that all people are ultimately yours.
This we pray, in the name of the Christ. Amen.

Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 17.

JANUARY 19, 2021

Heavenly Father,
Please give us the discernment to:
Recognize the truth,
Acknowledge injustice where we see it.
Courage to stand against racism and hatred.
Help us to know when to speak up and when to calmly listen.
We pray this in your son's Holy name.

Celeste Wilson, participant in the Mountain Sky Conference (UMC) virtual journey of daily prayer, organized by Rev. Bich Thy (Betty) Nguyen, Multicultural and Advocacy Ministries Developer, Mountain Sky Conference.

JANUARY 20, 2021

For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.
Hosea 8:7a NRSV

The winds are blowing fiercely, God of justice and of peace.
We all bow to their fury and their force,
and fear we –
and all we hold dear in our nation –
will fly away like the ashes from the fire.

We watched as the mob,
stoked by lies and by fear,
encouraged by empty promises and vain rewards,
tore into the foundations of our nation,
like drunken party goers,
taking selfies on the seats of government.

And we can’t help but notice what they exposed in so doing,
what sin they confessed, what brokenness they revealed.
Because the question arose as we watched the angry faces shouting their slogans,
What if those faces had been black?
What if the faces were brown?

We know the answer; we see the privilege; we confess the deepest sin.
And we reap the whirlwind.
Christ have mercy. Amen.

Derek C. Weber, January 2021

JANUARY 21, 2021

Lord Jesus,

I know that your skin was dark. I know that you had long hair and a beard. I know that you had such compassion and love that you saw people healed and whole before you even prayed. You commanded us to love God, love our neighbor and indeed love ourselves. May the peoples of the world hear and heed this command.

I pray, Lord Jesus, that you heal the rifts between the nations, colors, and peoples of the world. Lift the fears and concerns that lead to the pain of race concerns. Lord, I pray deeply that you stand as a filter between those who dislike or even hate each other. Teach us to love again, Lord Jesus. This I beseech from the bottom of my heart. In the love of Christ. Amen.

Nigel W.D. Mumford, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 60.

JANUARY 22, 2021

God you are full of love and compassion for all your people.

I’m sorry I have been so disengaged with the pain and suffering that has been inflicted on so many for so long.

God I thank you for the ways you are just and merciful. I thank you for stirring up your righteousness in my heart.

Gracious Lord, please help me continue to listen and learn. Show me Lord where to step up and be engaged. Amen

Becky Clark, participant in the Mountain Sky Conference (UMC) virtual journey of daily prayer, organized by Rev. Bich Thy (Betty) Nguyen, Multicultural and Advocacy Ministries Developer, Mountain Sky Conference.

JANUARY 25, 2021

God of all, we observe small children of varied races embrace each other warmly and joyfully;

Help us recognize our own adult sad lack of innocence making us draw back unthinkingly from your people of other races, even to see them threaten in our dreams!

Help us know ourselves to be tarnished from ignorant assumption when we were young ourselves; help us to acknowledge the old, deep flaw and overcome it willingly, out of love of you, who love all ages and races as your children, even, mercifully, us.

Sharon K. Dunn, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 183.

JANUARY 26, 2021

Loving God, you are the most holy Redeemer.

I confess my complicity in White Supremacy by my silence and my blindness to the truth about the church oppressing people in the name of saving them so that they could be exploited through slavery, stealing their land, imprisoning them, taking of their children and other inhumane treatment.

God, thank you for the Black Lives Matter Movement providing the opportunity for the church now to learn about and understand the harm that we have caused by what we wrongly had believed from our White Supremacy perspective to be for their good.

God, give us courage and strength to journey and to struggle together to repent of our transgressions towards people of color and to interrupt racism in all of its ungodly manifestations.

Amen.

Chesie Lee, participant in the Mountain Sky Conference (UMC) virtual journey of daily prayer, organized by Rev. Bich Thy (Betty) Nguyen, Multicultural and Advocacy Ministries Developer, Mountain Sky Conference.

JANUARY 27, 2021

"These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also” - Acts 17:6 NRSV

The world doesn’t like change, God of transformation and growth.
Never has, from the very beginning. We want things to stay the way they are,
Or at least the way we imagine them to be.
Peel back the changes until we get back to . . . what?
Some imagined “greatness” that was built on oppression?
Some “innocent” time when we didn’t worry about the suffering of those not like us?
The world doesn’t like change, God of justice and emancipation.
Never has.

Which is why you came among us to turn the world upside down.
Which is why your church, from the very beginning was proclaiming a new reality
that turned all our hatreds on their heads.
Which is why the gospel was a threat, from its very inception,
to the status quo,
to the powers that be,
to the way things are.
And that gospel is still at work turning the world upside down.

Lord of upside-down and right-side up,
Let me be a part of that which turns the world
Upside-down.
Let me be one of those
who don’t fear
kin-dom change.
Amen.

Derek C. Weber, January 2021

JANUARY 28, 2021

Almighty God,
How many are the stars
That fill the eternal night?
Yet you walk among them,
Knowing them each from time to time
When you created them.

O Fullness of Wisdom,
How many worlds have you counted?
Each race, lifting its voice
To magnify your greatness,
Lives age to age in you.

Eternal Spirit,
How great is your creation!
In the fullness of time,
Bring all to that place
Where all are one
And no shadows fall.

Douglas R. Briggs, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 191.

JANUARY 29, 2021

God, you have blessed us with so much diversity in this world: diversity of people, of environments, of ways to be and interact with one another.

And yet, we so often turn away from that diversity. We hurt each other for being different and close ourselves off from new ideas and experiences.

God, we thank you for bringing us together to learn and share and for giving us the tools to fight for racial justice.

Please show us to be open to the diversity around us. Help us examine our prejudices and our privilege. Help us show compassion and love to all of your people.

Melissa Trujillo, participant in the Mountain Sky Conference (UMC) virtual journey of daily prayer, organized by Rev. Bich Thy (Betty) Nguyen, Multicultural and Advocacy Ministries Developer, Mountain Sky Conference.

February 2021

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

Oh Lord, let me love my brother,
let me love my sister
always and everywhere
as your mirrored Self
here among us, beside us,
and where I need to lift up,
let me bend my knees,
put my hands to the plough,
and do just that.
And where I need lifted up,
let pride never refuse
the rainbow touch of another.
Bless him, bless her, bless us
and weave us together within that covenant comfort
that stretches from here to there
till it reaches everywhere,
warm and strong
within the shelter of your loving arms.

Amen.

Marc Harshman, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 136.

FEBRUARY 2, 2021

Creator God,

Give us eyes to see all people as you see them - not a mirror to see only ourselves but a loving vision that truly sees others and knows their worth - that all your people may see themselves represented in the work, play, mission and ministry of your Church; we pray this in the name of Christ Jesus, who lived and died for all. Amen.

Rev. Linda Cheek, participant in the Mountain Sky Conference (UMC) virtual journey of daily prayer, organized by Rev. Bich Thy (Betty) Nguyen, Multicultural and Advocacy Ministries Developer, Mountain Sky Conference.

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

Over the Shoulder

Forgive us, Lord of all time, for spending so much time looking over our shoulders.

Forgive us for looking back to a “better time” when there weren’t so many questions and we could think about us and about them and do our best to keep apart, even when it wounded all of us.

Forgive us for looking over our shoulders as our hearts began to pound when we found ourselves in a “bad” part of town, living in fear of the very neighbors you sent us to love as we love ourselves.

Forgive us for the mess we made of the world you built for us and the family you enfolded us into; forgive us for the divisions and hatred and the oppression and growing gap in the ability to live and to thrive. Forgive us. Forgive us. Forgive us. Christ, have mercy.

And yet,

Even in the mess, there are signs of hope. Signs that you haven’t given up on us. Signs that the kin-dom might be within our reach, despite us. Suggestions of joy and unity and peace lurk in the edges of our vision.

As we embrace the possibilities of a new start, may we resist looking over our shoulder, looking to what was and what never was, and embrace the new thing you are doing in our midst. May it spring forth in the wilderness of our world and bring water to the desert of division. May the people that you have formed and are forming come together to give praise. May we continue to hold on to hope and move forward into your new kin-dom. In Christ’s name. Amen.

Derek C. Weber, January 2021

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

For Building Bridges

Almighty God, through your Holy Spirit you created unity in the midst of diversity; we acknowledge that human diversity is an expression of your manifold love for your creation; we confess that in our brokenness as human beings we turn diversity into a source of alienation, injustice, oppression and wounding; empower us to build bridges between races, ethnic groups and religious communities; enable us to be the architects of peace, friendship and understanding between people; through Jesus Christ our Lord, the basis of all unity, now and forever. Amen.

Brian Cox, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 138

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

God, you demand such hard things. How can you expect me to love those who abuse me? I’m not your Son. I’ve got a little of his grace, but what you’re talking about is too much for an ordinary person like me. What are you going to do about me? What are you going to do with me? Lord, have mercy on old hardened me.

It’s only been through your grace and mercy that I have found you. It was only when I put down my “dukes” and let you in that you showed me the power of what love could do. You sent Jesus into my life; Oh what a Wonderful Savior!

Must Jesus bear the cross alone and all the world go free? No, there’s a cross for everyone, and there’s a cross for me. Help me to pick up my cross and walk on by grace. Amen.

Sherrie Boyens-Dobbs, The Africana Worship Book, Year A, Valerie Bridgeman Davis, PhD and Safiyah Fosua, eds., Discipleship Resources,2006, p.143.

FEBRUARY 8, 2021

God of all peoples of the earth: we pray for an end to racism in all forms, and for an end to the denial that perpetuates white privilege, and for your support for all those who bear the struggle of internalized racism, and for wisdom to recognize and eradicate the institutional racism in the church, and for the strength to stand against the bigotry and suffering that inhabits the world; for all these and all your blessings we pray, O God, Christ Jesus, Holy spirit. Amen.

Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 50.

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

One voice: God of justice and mercy, hear us now as we pray.
Many voices: We hear the voices of those crying in the streets. “No justice, no peace” and we remember that your prophets asked how we can say peace when there is no justice. Still today your children cry out for justice.

One voice: Forgive us, O God, for not examining the sinful systems in which we were raised.
Many voices: Grant us your Spirit that all may have abundant life.

One voice: We, although many, are one in Christ Jesus. We trust in his grace and his challenge to love our neighbors.
Many voices: We celebrate our diversity, given to us by God. Where our community is fractured, we pledge to work for reconciliation. We pledge to work in cooperation with others, listening and speaking with caring. We celebrate the wholeness of all persons, given by God.

All voices: O God, equip us now for the work of liberation and compassion. Send us forth to be ambassadors of justice, kindness and mercy, as we walk humbly with you. Amen.

From Knitted Together for God’s Good Work: United Methodist Women Program Book 2020-2021, Communications Department of the United Methodist Women, 2020, p. 43.

FEBRUARY 10, 2021

An' I could hear nobody pray
O Lord
I couldn't hear nobody pray
O Lord O way down yonder by myself
An' I couldn't hear nobody pray

-Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray, African American Spiritual

Lord,

I can’t help but ask, “Is anybody praying? Is anybody listening??”

Months ago, we woke to a brokenness at the heart of us. A truth our brothers and sisters of color knew only too well. But the nation woke up and discovered this is who we are, this taint, this sin, this hate and division. Is anybody praying? Is anybody listening?

When the lies boiled over into violence, we recoiled in horror at the act. “This isn’t who we are,” some claimed. But those who sang that they “couldn’t hear nobody pray” knew it was. And know it is . . . who we are. That isn’t really the questions, is it, God of yesterday, today, and tomorrow?

The question must be, “Is it who we will continue to be?” Or as the poet Amanda Gorman told us:

If we’re to live up to our own time,
then victory won’t lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we’ve made.
That is the promise to glade, the hill we climb, if only we dare.
It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit.
It’s the past we step into and how we repair it.

(Amanda Gorman, “The Hill We Climb,” Presidential Inaugural Poem, January 20, 2021.)

Is anybody praying? Is anybody listening? Are we? Am I?

Derek C. Weber, February 2021

FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Lord,
The other day
I went to the theology
department. The door
was locked. A white student
sat on the inside. He did not
know me and so he refused
to open the door. I kept
knocking. Finally, a professor
who knew me came passing
by; he opened the door. Lord,
you know me, please open
the door. Lord, you hear
me knocking, please open
the door. Lord you are
passing by, please open the door.

Mark F. Bozzuti-Jones, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 58.

FEBRUARY 12, 2021

Spirit of God among us, you have chased us. And far too often we have run from you. We have resisted the call to be blameless in your sight. We have rejected your mandate to eradicate racism and sexism. We have ignored your plea to care for the children and to bless the elderly. Forgive us, we pray, and renew in us a clean heart. Help us to speak continuously a new Holy-Spirit-created language of unity and peace. Amen.

B. Kevin Smalls, The Africana Worship Book, For Year B, Valerie Bridgeman Davis, PhD and Safiyah Fosua, eds., (Discipleship Resources, 2007), 155.

FEBRUARY 15, 2021

O God, who has made us in thine own likeness and who dost love all whom thou hast made, suffer us not, because of difference in race and color or condition, to separate ourselves from others and thereby from thee; but teach us the unity of the family and the universality of thy love. As thy Son, our Savior, was born of a Hebrew mother and ministered first to his brothers of the House of Israel, but rejoices in the faith of a Sryo-Phoenician woman and the faith of a Roman soldier, and suffered his cross to be carried by a man from Africa, teach us also, while loving and serving our own, to enter into community of the whole human family. And forbid that from pride of birth or hardness of hearts we should despise any for whom Christ died or injure any in whom Christ lives. Amen.

Anonymous (contributed by Walter D. Dennis), from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 188.

FEBRUARY 16, 2021

Who Knows?

Who knows what signal,
what internal sentry,
prodded Rosa to sit when the bus driver said: “Get up and move.”

Was it her aching feet, as some have said?

Was it her pounding head that could not wrap itself around the concept of such inequality?

Or was it her aching heart, bruised from years of injury compounded with interest?

Perhaps, it was just impossible for her to walk any longer with the spiny pebble of injustice in her shoe, in her life, in her spirit.

Only God knows the signal,
the sentry,
the prod required for each of us.

Oh God, let there be enough feeling left in me to feel your nudging when it comes.

Amen.

Safiyah Fosua, Africana Liturgical Resources for Black History Month, Safiyah Fosua, ed.

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

I’m so glad trouble won't last always.
I’m so glad trouble won't last always.
Oh, I’m so glad trouble won't last always.
O my Lord, O my Lord, what shall I do?
What shall I do?

-Hush, Hush, Somebody’s Callin’ My Name, African American Spiritual

Are you still calling my name, O Lord?
Are you still wanting me to rise up and hope?
You’ve been calling so long,
You’ve been sending so long,
What shall I do, O my Lord, what shall I do?

It is one thing to have faith
That trouble won’t last always.
It is one thing to hope for an end
To the ills that beset us
The divisions that decrease us
The hate that defines us.

But it is another thing all together
To be part of the change,
To say no more to racism,
To change my heart and my world.
What shall I do, O my Lord, what shall I do?

Are you still calling my name, O Lord?
Are you still wanting me to rise up and hope,
With hands and words as well as heart?
You’ve been calling so long.
What shall I do?

Derek C. Weber, February 2021

FEBRUARY 18, 2021

God first

I find myself searching
I find myself yearning
I find myself empty
A vessel seeking to be filled

God first

Bless me with companions for the journey
Gift me with companions with whom to share
Grant me a sense of wholeness
A vessel to serve

God first

Amen.

Ernesto R. Medina, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 195.

Rev. Medina writes: “I serve as pastor to a Latino community. “Primero Dios” (God first) is a common refrain. This prayer articulates hope and journey from almost every pastoral encounter. I believe the key to dealing with racism is to be open to the profound gifts given by God to any community. Here is a gift of how to deal with life.”

FEBRUARY 19, 2021

Just in Case
(Based on Psalm 26)

Gracious God, we gather today like the psalmist declaring that we believe that we have walked in integrity. We also believe that we have walked in faithfulness, avoided hypocrites and shunned the company of evildoers. We declare to you all of the good things that we remember doing and saying and believe all week. But, just in case our level of integrity is not the same as yours, we, like the psalmist, say, prove us. Place your steadfast love before us again and again and again until we walk in faithfulness to you. Allow us to sit in your presence, until we soak up your character and reflect your glory to the world. Prove us. Try us. Test our hearts and minds until our faith is able to stand surefooted on solid ground. Then, prove us again and again until you’re satisfied.

Kwasi I. Kena, The Africana Worship Book, For Year B, Valerie Bridgeman Davis, PhD, and Safiyah Fosua, eds., Discipleship Resources, 2007, p. 139.

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

Older than the morning stars that twinkled in the blackness of night’s first birth, the rotation of the axis of time, bring us into the freshness of your mercy and the newness of your presence. We come to you today with heartfelt gratitude, not with mixing Judas paint with Judas praise in order to cover our hypocrisy. Some of us come to you with triumph over tragedy. Others of us come with enduring pain suffered from shameful defeat in an inescapable battle of life. Some of us feel like going on and others of us feel like giving up. But to you we come just as we are. Whether we are winners or losers, we know that you love us one and all. Greatest of the Greatest, you know just how much we can bear. We all come to commune with you:

The tireless champion;
The tired loser;
The retired forgotten ones;
We all come to be consistently corrected and comforted by you.
We come counting our lost.
We come confronting our crises.
We come as citizens of cities controlled by crime.
We come chilled by the cold of cowardice.
Great God Almighty:
Commune with us conscience clean.
Caress us with the cradle of compassion.
Consecrate us with outrageous convictions.
Control us with Christlike concerns.
Great Physician Powerful:
Pardon us with the conscience of peace.
Place us in paths of productivity.

Practice the perfection of healing upon those who are physically, emotionally, or spiritually sick.

This is our humble plea, we present in the precious Name of the prince of peace, Jesus Christ, our priceless priest. Amen.

J. Alfred Smith, Sr., “A Plea for Divine Presence (1989),” in Conversations with God: Two Centuries of Prayers by African Americans, ed. James Melvin Washington (HarperCollins: 1994), 257.

FEBRUARY 23, 2021

Protect My Boys
A Prayer, Inspired by Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, John 17

Dear Father,

I’m about to go away, and I need to get this off my chest. I have done my best to follow your request and to bring fame to your name. Now I just have one favor to ask . . .

Please protect my boys.

They have kept your word. They know about our family and understand our truth. They actually believe. I’ll be home soon, and I’m leaving them behind.

I just have one favor to ask . . . Please protect my boys.

Like Grandma used to sing, “I’m going home on the morning train.” I really don’t want to stay around because “the evening train may be too late.” I’m on the first cloud out of here. I’m leaving this world behind. I did my best to protect them while I was here in this mean, cruel, world where social injustices, public lynchings, and poverty are the name of the game.*

I just have one favor to ask . . . Please protect my boys.

This world doesn’t like them. It hated me! Wrap them in your truth so that they may be sheltered from the manipulation and the bullets of the enemy.

Did I mention . . . I just have one favor to ask . . .

Please protect my boys.

Sincerely,

Your Son, Jesus

Curry F. Butler, Africana Liturgical Resources for Black History Month, Safiyah Fosua, ed.
*Note: The author’s original version included lyrics from Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?”

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

Aubade

(/ōˈbäd/ noun
a poem or piece of music appropriate to the dawn or early morning.)

Make us one as we kneel before your throne, and make us one as we rise to face the daily tasks of life.

Samuel M. Tickle, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 92.

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Aint gonna let nobody
Turn me 'round
Turn me 'round
Aint gonna let nobody
Turn me 'round
I'm gonna keep on walkin'
Keep on talkin'
Marchin' into freedom land

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPuBGcng6Tw

“It’s time to move on.”

In our attention-deficit society, God of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, we want to move on from the crises of the past – even if that past is counted in weeks or even hours, it seems. “Aren’t you done with that, yet?” some wonder.

Yet how can we move on when there hasn’t been real change in the hearts and minds of our nation? How can we move on when our structures and systems still oppress and demean, when divide and conquer is still the modus operandi of many of those who wield power in government and the marketplace?

It’s not time to move on, God of all people, but it is time to move forward. It’s time to not let our discomfort turn us around from bringing justice and reshaping the soul of a nation. It’s time, past time, still time, to keep on walking, keep on talking, marching into freedom land.

Amen and Amen.

Derek C. Weber. February 2021

FEBRUARY 26, 2021

O God, there is so much misunderstanding and fear about the changing cultural landscape in our country. Help those who are afraid that their schools are being ruined by other cultures to see the rich new educational opportunities available as a result of the diversity. Guide those who find themselves in positions of power to embrace the diversity and differences found among their constituencies and create new and dynamic forms of power-sharing. Open the hearts of those who feel that their communities are being invaded and destroyed by the “other” so that they will find new ways of being in community. Help those who feel resentment because they think that the immigrants are taking all the job opportunities away from them, that they may trust in God’s abundance. Amen.

Norman Hull, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 184.

March 2021

MARCH 1, 2021

Prayer for Racial Justice

Save us, O God, from ourselves,
from racism often cloaked in pious words,
from the machinations of white supremacy hidden in calls for civility,
from micro aggressions thinly veiled in arrogance,
from apologies when they don’t give way to action,
from forgiveness without facing the truth,
from reconciliation without reparation.

Deliver us, O God, from expecting siblings of color to continue to bear this emotional work, which is not theirs to do.

Grateful for the long arc that bends toward justice, we pray: Grant us wisdom, give us courage for the facing of these days, by the power of the Spirit, all for the sake of the kin-dom that we share in Christ Jesus. Amen.

This prayer found at ”Prayers, Litanies, and Laments for the Commemoration of the Emanuel Nine,” Prayers_Litanies_Laments_Emanuel_Nine_Commemoration.pdf (elca.org), page 7. Submitted by Br. Dan Benedict, OSL

MARCH 2, 2021

Creator God, before human life began, you reached around the globe to gather rich red clay, fertile black soil, white sand, tan and brown earth and created humanity; people of every hue, every culture and of every nation and called them good. Through all of us, you ran red blood in our veins and breathed into us the same breath, the same Spirit. We praise you as our creator and for the gift of diversity.

Redeemer God, forgive us when we allow color and culture to divide us; where privilege and unjust systems breed racism. In the midst of racism and injustice, let us become the innovators, partners in dismantling racism to create a more just church and world, working every day to end the sin of racism.

Sustainer God, sustain and strengthen us for the journey ahead. As leaders in the church and community, give us courage and humility to lead people toward your beloved community, a creation where Black and Brown people experience dignity, opportunity, and no more racism. Amen.

Bishop John Schol, Bishop of The United Methodist Church of Greater New Jersey

MARCH 3, 2021

What can words do, O Word made flesh to dwell among us? What can words do in the face of such hatred, in the face of injustice, in the face of oppression? What can words do when it seems so much more is needed?

What can prayers do, O Lord who went to a lonely place to pray? What can prayers do to change the plight of those who are being killed, pushed down, feared and hated in our society of imagined equality? What can prayers do when it seems so much more is needed?

What can one heart or mind or soul do, O God of whosoever will believe? What can any one do to change a tidal wave of contempt of neglect? What can one person do when it seems so much more is needed?

Remind us, Lord of life and of hope, that words can change a mind over time. Remind us that prayers can set feet to moving and hands to working. Remind us that one and find another and another and begin to build community, a beloved community that lives and speaks and prays differently. Remind us that change begins within and it begins now. Remind us.

Derek Weber, February 2021

MARCH 4, 2021

Lord, we ask that you create in us a clean heart and a sustaining spirit that we may go throughout this day and the rest of our lives with peace, regardless of all that is going on around us. Lord, we know that you are our protection, our comfort, and our peace. We pray that we will be reminded of your presence when:
We watch the news and learn that one of our friends has been gunned down.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

We are talked about just because of the wonderful brown you have placed in our skin.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

We are refused service, not because of what we know, but because of what is assumed we know.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Parents lose their jobs and can’t hear a good reason why.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Schools won’t effectively teach us.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Lawmakers seem to be against us at every turn.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

We are told we have rights, but we can’t find them.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

We want to be proud of who we are and how you created us, but we are told we are not good enough.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Prisons are built with our names on them.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Lord, we know you created us good, perfect, and in your image, though sometimes we seem to forget. So, Lord, we ask daily, that you re-create in us a pure heart and a right spirit, so we may face this world with hope, peace, and joy.

Amen.

Taylor Marie James, Africana Liturgical Resources for Lent, Safiyah Fosua, ed.

MARCH 5, 2021

O Gracious God, source and substance of light and liberty, in whom no dungeon-darkness dwells, you made yourself known to Hagar, a slave, when she was rejected by human hearts and redeemed by your hand, you showered the succor of your mercy and grace upon her. For that she called you El-roi, God of seeing. By your Self-same Spirit, O God, pour upon us that gift of sight that we may be liberated from our darkness of ignorance and fear through which we reject others who appear and are other than we. In your sight, may we see better and brighter horizons of hope, of reconciliation, and of peace among all people. This we ask in faithfulness by the favor of Jesus Christ, another rejected by human hearts and redeemed by your hand, who is our Liberator. Amen.

Paul Abernathy, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 150.

MARCH 8, 2021

Forgive Us for Not Speaking Up for the Least

O God of justice, miracles, and mighty deeds,

We lift up to you those who have been silenced by hardship, affliction, and injustice. Forgive us for not speaking up for the least among us. We confess that we have not exercised our influence and position to change things. Grant us the courage to be agents of change and instruments of justice. Empower us with the will and the desire to see your kingdom manifest on earth as it is already done in heaven. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.

Junius Dotson, The Africana Worship Book, For Year B, Valerie Bridgeman Davis, PhD and Safiyah Fosua, eds., (Discipleship Resources, 2007), 156.

MARCH 9, 2021

O God, Savior
Of all colors of the one human race,
Save us from abject racial prejudice.
Save us from the unholy horror of hatred.
Save us from ungodly fantasies of fear.
Save us from sin, for Heaven.
Save us – all human beings –
For the journey toward the justice, the joys and the jubilation of eternal life with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saver. Amen.

Keith Mason, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 62.

MARCH 10, 2021

My children don’t look like me, Divine Parent of us all. They weren’t born in a hospital, of my flesh and blood. We met them at an airport, after an exhausting transatlantic flight. But when I took them in my arms, they were my children, and I was their father. It didn’t matter that their beautiful faces were of a different race, that they were from a faraway land. All that mattered was that I loved them. We were bound together from the moment I set eyes on each of them.

We’re told we are destined to be claimed by you because of love—that you don’t have to think about it, don’t have to decide to do it, don’t have to work your way into it. You just love us enough to claim us as family, as yours. I am amazed by that. Even though it happened to me twice, I can’t seem to sustain it. I need to learn to love like that.

Help me, Adoptive Parent of one such as I; help me love like that. Help me to see in every face, in every shape of eye and tint of skin, in every member of my family to love and to welcome and to claim. Help me to love like that. Help me to love like you.

In the name of our dark-skinned, Aramaic-speaking brother and Savior, Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Derek Weber, March 2021

MARCH 11, 2021

Confessing Racism: A Lament for the Church

As church, we confess the sin of racism and condemn racist rhetoric and the ideology of white supremacy. God, have mercy.
God, have mercy.

As church, we confess, repent, and repudiate the times when this church has been silent in the face of racial injustice. God, have mercy.
God, have mercy.

Racism is deeply ingrained within the predominantly white church. It is deeply embedded within the individual congregations whose members continue to foster stereotypes and support polices that actively hurt people of color. God, have mercy.
God, have mercy.

As church, we declare that the enslavement of black bodies and the removal of indigenous peoples established racism in the United States, a truth this nation and this church have yet to fully embrace. God, have mercy.
God, have mercy.

Rooted in slavery, racism is manifested through the history of Jim Crow policies, racial segregation, the terror of lynching, extrajudicial killings by law enforcement, and the disproportionate incarceration of people of color. God, have mercy.
God, have mercy.

As church we lament the institutional racism of discriminatory treatment within the pastoral assignment system, inequitable compensation of clergy of color; racial segregation; divestment from black communities and congregations; systemic policies and organizational practices; and a failure to fully include the gifts of leadership and worship styles of black people, indigenous people, and people of color. God, have mercy.
God, have mercy.

Confessions are empty promises without meaningful actions—actions that are grounded in prayer, education, and soul-searching repentance. The sin of racism separates us from one another. Though we trust that we are reconciled to God through Christ’s death and resurrection, we seek such life-giving reconciliation with one another. As we repent, let us not turn back to ideologies that promote white supremacy. We trust that God can make all things new.
Amen.

Adapted from “Prayers, Litanies, and Laments, from the Commemoration of the Emanuel Nine,” Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Prayers_Litanies_Laments_Emanuel_Nine_Commemoration.pdf (elca.org), 3-4.

MARCH 12, 2021

Psalm 151

Praise to the Spirit
That colorful third person of the trinity
who dances and sings and looks like me.

Praise to the Father
For a human family so fine, made in his image,
we are a shadow of the divine.

Praise to the Mother
Who bore a son so dark and lovely
we’re still overwhelmed by the warmth of his golden love.

Thanks be to God
For the children of the Spirit,
both male and female, Jew and Greek, of kinky and stringy hair,
of bodies tall and short, of eyes round and slanted,
of mouths full and thin,
and for hearts born from above.

Anthony Glenn Miller, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 163.

MONDAY, MARCH 15

God of goodness and grace,
Your world, your children cry out to you
Heal our broken bodies, minds, and spirits;
Restore our hope, our joy, and our trust;
Show us your ways of justice and mercy;
Help us to live lives in a way that leads to peace and unity;
Keep us surrounded by your love
Centered in prayer
Focused in holy living
Dedicated to righteousness
Hope-filled for a better tomorrow for all.
We pray in the name of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Rev. Gina Yeske, Northern Region Resource Director, United Methodists of Greater New Jersey

TUESDAY, MARCH 16

Prayer for the One Human Race

Lord God Almighty, Creator of all that exists,
Give us compassion to know the power of your rainbow-love for all.
Give us your blessings of anxious rain and willing sun.
Give us a loving peace from biting bitterness and family feuds.
Provide, O Lord, a kindly abundance of the fruits of the earth for all your people, and a gentle care for all your animals, pedestrian and winged, in the field, on the farm, in the forest, and in the air.
Allow, O Lord, a merciful and gracious providence for your one race of many-colored people on earth.
Help us to be the Noahs of today, to build safe, emotional arks of caring and quietness for those we love and those who love us, even as you love all, O Lord God. Amen.

Keith W. Mason, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 197.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17

“There must always be a remedy for wrong and injustice if we only know how to find it.” – Ida B. Wells

If Only

What a simple phrase, God of possibility and opportunity,
“if only.”

Two words that might betray the condition of our hearts if we listen to the tune by which we sing them.
“If only.”

Too often we strain under the burden of these words, believing it is too hard, too complex, too rooted in our history to bring any meaningful change. We sigh these words with despair and resignation,
“If only.”

But what if we let them become a banner of hope? What if these words are the beginning of a vision of a kin-dom? What if they drive us onward to work with your Spirit to bring wholeness and justice and peace? What if we claim the possibility and resolve to strive until the walls come down and the hatred ceases?
“If only.”

“There must always be a remedy for wrong and injustice,” said Ida B. Wells, who never quit hoping, never quit working, never quit declaring, “if only.” “Must always be,” she said; we say, “if only we choose to believe in hope.”
“If only.”

In the name of the one who is the way, the truth, the life. Amen.

Derek C. Weber, March 2021

THURSDAY, MARCH 18

Now Is the Acceptable Time

One: There is Good News for those beaten down by systems of oppression.
Many: Now is the acceptable time. This is the day of salvation.

One: There is a Word for those who face discrimination, racial profiling, and neighborhood redlining.
Many: Now is the acceptable time. This is the day of salvation.

One: There is hope for those who are unemployed or underemployed.
Many: Now is the acceptable time. This is the day of salvation.

All: Holy Spirit, Come! Let justice roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream!

Junius Dotson, The Africana Worship Book, For Year B, Valerie Bridgeman Davis, PhD, and Safiyah Fosua, eds., (Discipleship Resources, 2007), 64.

FRIDAY, MARCH 19

A Prayer for Africa’s Children (1808)

Oh God! We thank thee, that thou didst condescend to listen to the cries of Africa’s wretched sons; and that thou didst interfere in their behalf. At thy call humanity sprang forth, and espoused the cause of the oppressed: one hand she employed in drawing from their vitals the deadly arrows of injustice; and the other in holding a shield to defend them from fresh assaults: and at that illustrious moment, when the sons of ’76 pronounced these United States free and independent; when the spirit of patriotism erected a temple sacred to liberty; when the inspired voice of Americans first uttered those noble sentiments, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”; and when the bleeding African, lifting his fetters, exclaimed, “am I not a man and a brother”; then with redoubled efforts, the angel of humanity strove to restore to the African race the inherent rights of man.

Peter Williams, Jr., “A Prayer for Africa’s Children (1808),” in Conversations with God: Two Centuries of Prayers by African Americans, ed. James Melvin Washington (HarperCollins: 1994), 16.

MARCH 22, 2021

Dear God, if you please, let me be paranoid.
I know this sounds like the strangest request.
But it’s the only thing can fill this void.
And until it is fulfilled, I’ll find no rest.

It seems that today the world is against me,
The only reason being that my skin is black.
I try to convince myself this just isn’t true,
Yet all of the evidence shows it as fact.

I see poor education and unequal chances.
I see people mistreated – their skin like mine,
I am told these things don’t really exist,
But I just don’t think they are all in my mind.

Why then would I still not believe?
Because I’d lose all my hope, I’d lose all faith.
If I accepted my suspicions simply as truth,
Then wouldn’t this world be an evil place?

So God, you must see the need for me to be paranoid,
Then this world really wouldn’t be so bad.
Then all that I see is not a true picture.
Lord, let me be paranoid so I know I’m not mad.

Matthew L. Watley, “Dear God, If You Please (1992),” in Conversations with God: Two Centuries of Prayers by African Americans, ed. James Melvin Washington (HarperCollins: 1994), 262.

MARCH 23, 2021

Merciful God,

Your people ache at the escalation of racial inequity, economic consequences, racial discrimination, religious persecution, culture confusion and the emotional and spiritual damage done by hatred.

Our spirits grieve. It sometimes seems that there is more to separate, than unite, us as your people. Hear, O God, our prayer this day … that we may focus on the Good that unites us and not that which divides … that we may feel your love for us in the midst of our pain … and that we may be filled with hope for the future.

Each time we receive the holy bread and wine, may we be encouraged by the reality that at the Lord’s Table, we are united in our differences, equal in your sight, and unconditionally loved by you. Though they may feel they walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we steadfastly hold to the promise that “surely goodness and mercy shall follow” and we are grateful. We thank you for your Presence in our lives and in this church and for your never-ceasing Love, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

June Maffin, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 64.

MARCH 24, 2021

“We’re hiding right now.”

That’s what she said, Lord who sees and cares, on that 911 call from Gold Spa in Atlanta: “We’re hiding right now.” Because yet another man with a gun was seeking to rid himself of temptation, to remove objects that were causing him to sin, or so he said. Pluck it out, he might have quoted, cast it away.

But this wasn’t an eye, Jesus, this was a person. These “temptations,” these “objects” were children of God, beautiful human beings with a spark of your image within them. Yet, they had to hide because someone didn’t see them as human, didn’t see them as beautiful. Only as things. Was it because some of their names were Xiaojie and Daoyou that he saw them as less than human? Objects to be removed?

Dear God of all people, how long must those who are different hide in fear, unseen, unknown, dismissed as objects to be removed, rather than people to be claimed and loved and seen? How long until our sinfulness stops looking for someone to blame for our perceived ills?

Hear our cry, God of justice and of peace, as we stand with those who feel they have to hide, for safety and for a chance to live. We cry out against racism, against objectifying, against profiling. No one should have to hide in order to live. No one. In the name of the one who sees and cares, Amen.

Derek C. Weber, March 2021

MARCH 25, 2021

Almighty God, forgive us. We have sung “O Come All Ye Faithful,” while we exclude people who don’t look like us from worship. We have sung “Joy to the World,” while millions of people are dying of hunger. We have sung “Go, Tell It on the Mountain,” without inviting a single person into a loving relationship with you. Empower us with the desire to live out what we say we believe. Help us be mindful of every opportunity to share the good news with everyone we meet.

Junius Dotson, The Africana Worship Book, Year A, Valerie Bridgeman Davis, PhD and Safiyah Fosua, eds., (Discipleship Resources, 2006), 138.

MARCH 26, 2021

God, all-seeing and all-knowing, let us not dwell on the skies that glow red, not from the sun, but from the raw hate of the unknown. Where fires burn in the souls and the hearts of our dreaded strife, destruction comes to our homes, our places to shop, as old men sleep in alleys.

Give strength to those that hunker down and shield their bodies from the shots ringing out throughout the night. Will it end as we kneel against our swords of defense? Will the dawn come with new hope for our spirits?

My Lord, we stand up tall, singing, chanting as we walk towards a door of unknown destiny. My skin is dark, my blood is red, forgive me Lord, my hearts does bleed. What chance do I share to get my equal voice – with no listening, no person to defend? O God before you is a man/woman in need.

And you in your Grace and with your Spirit will show me as a child of God a faith and a belief that you are from above. No more sneers, no more hate toward those who bring this fire to our souls, but the God-given ability to cope. So, we turn to you O Father as your Arms life us up in love. We will show kindness towards our enemies and for Jesus who has spilled the blood for us all. In thy holy and blessed Name we pray. Amen.

Esther H. Moon, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 63.

MARCH 29, 2021

O God, as we journey with Jesus towards the cross, open our eyes to the reality of men and women persecuted daily by racism, some even to their deaths; help us to recognize our own complicity in the existence of hate, and then turn our contrition into positive action for love and justice. Amen.

Lorna H. Williams, from Race and Prayer: Collected Voices Many Dreams edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester L. Talton (Morehouse Publishing, 2003), 172.

MARCH 30, 2021

O God, as a black man, I get exceedingly tired and so filled up with confronting and fighting racism, that formidable foe. It passes its poison from one generation to another. It has polluted all of the wellsprings of the nation’s institutional life. More widespread than the drug scourge, more explosive than nuclear weapons, more crippling than germ warfare – racism has washed up on the shore of every nation of every continent.

O God, I get tired of racism wherever I go – abroad and at home. From stores that let me know that I have gotten “out of place”; from looks of fear that my black manly presence engenders in some; from small insults to major offenses; from polite, subtle, condescending paternalism or maternalism to outright open hostility; from insulting jokes about my intelligence to curiosity about alleged black sexual prowess; from caricatures and stereotypes to the “you are the exception” syndrome – racism rears its many heads and shows its various faces all the time.

Yet as I bow before you, O God, I pledge to you, to my ancestors who sacrificed greatly so that I might enjoy whatever rights and privileges—however limited and circumscribed—are mine to experience, and to my children and to their children that I will keep up the noble fight of faith and perseverance. I will not go back to the back of the bus. I will not accept the invincibility of racism and the inviolability of its mythical sacred precepts.

I know that greater is the One that is in me than the one that is in the world. May that Spirit’s presence and power direct and inspire me now and evermore until victory is won for my people, and all people, and until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. Amen.

William Donnel Watley, “O God, I Get So Tired of Racism Wherever I Go (1992),” in Conversations with God: Two Centuries of Prayers by African Americans, ed. James Melvin Washington (HarperCollins: 1994), 266.

MARCH 31, 2021

Save us from weak resignation
to the evils we deplore.
Let the search for thy salvation
be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
serving thee whom we adore,
serving thee whom we adore.

"God of Grace and God of Glory" by Harry Emerson Fosdick,
United Methodist Hymnal, 577, verse 4.

Long-suffering God, how easy it would be to just let go, to throw up our hands in despair, and bury our heads in the sand.

Maybe things aren’t that bad. Maybe the naysayers are right, and we’ve imagined racism embedded in our culture and our institutions and hearts. Maybe if we just close our eyes and wish really hard, it will go away. Maybe . . . if we flap our arms really hard, we could fly to the moon.

Save us from weak resignation, God of grace and God of glory, to the evils we deplore. Because we do deplore the racism that wounds and divides and gives voice to our fears and our inadequacies and our hate. Save us from surrendering to the immensity of the problem and the depth of the hurt. Forgive us when we find ourselves saying, “That’s just the way it is. The way we are.” Forgive us.

And steel us for the long and difficult search for thy salvation for all people, as free and beloved and seen for who and what we are, children of God, glorified in you. By you. For you. We will not be resigned to the way things are, until they are the way things could be, in your name. Amen.

Derek C. Weber, March 2021

APRIL 1, 2021

A Maundy Prayer

He sat at the table with you on that night,
That Thursday night we have come to call holy,
You knelt before him and washed his feet,
You showed him service, love without words.

But then you called out his uncleanness,
The stain that took up residence in his heart,
But still you gave him bread, that you called your body
And told him to do what he was going to do.

Because he then ran out into the night,
He missed the command, that “maundy” moment,
Where you told them to love with the love that you loved,
And he knelt on your neck until you breathed your last breath.

Is that the source of deep-seated sin,
This hate that divides us and tears at our soul?
Did we leave the table too soon on that night,
Concerned about getting our individual grace
But avoiding the directive to love with your love?

Bring us back, loving Lord of life and death,
Let us sit with you and hang on every word that you say,
Let us not be too quick to be declared clean,
Let us not gulp grace and then leave all alone.
Give us, once more, the command we ignore.

And maybe this time . . .

Derek C. Weber, March 2021

APRIL 2, 2021

Ooh
Come Sunday, oh, come Sunday, that’s the day.
Lord, dear Lord above, God almighty,
God of love, please look down and see my people through.

“Come Sunday”, words and music Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington,
United Methodist Hymnal, 728

Lord of life in the face of death,

If ever there was a day we needed to be able to hope that Sunday was coming, it was this day. If ever there was a day we needed to believe that death was not the last word. That suffering was not the whole story, that blood that spills and pain that shouts and breath that leaves does not sum up our existence it was this day. This Friday we dare call good.

This was the day when the hammer rang out like a gunshot in the light of day, and another life was taken. This was the day that the hate drove deep like a nail in the flesh to take away what was perceived to be a threat. This was the day that the blood poured out and showed itself the same color as any of us despite the suspicions. This was the day that breath was choked out by the power of authority and institutionalized oppression. This was the day that the laughter of derision and prejudice rang from a hill on the wrong side of town. This was the day that defined infamy.

If ever, Lord of sustenance and hope, there was a day where we needed to believe in the power of Sunday, it is this day. So, please, we beg you, God of love, please look down and see your people through. On this day. Amen.

Derek C. Weber, March 2021