ELPC members, pastoral leadership, and staff stand in prayer and solidarity with the families of the victims of the massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. We issue a clarion call for all of God’s children to pray that violence against the LGBTQIA+ community and ALL people will be no more. The prayer offered by Pastor Patrice Fowler-Searcy at The Pittsburgh Clergy Consortium’s City-wide Candlelight Vigil for Orlando Victims on Monday, June 13, 2016, is below.
United together we pray:
Gracious and loving God, we stand before you this evening with broken hearts and bowed down heads. One more time, we gather in disbelief and horror that your people have been gunned down needlessly, senselessly, without any regard for who they are as individuals, but based on their sexuality and gender identity. We stand united in solidarity, stripped and devoid of labels and adjectives that we use to identify and describe us; but are too often spoken and lifted up as code to divide and destroy. We stand, not as LGBTQIA+, black, white, Native American, Asian, Latino, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or as any other descriptor. We stand this night created in your image, called by your name, valued and beloved by you, Lord God; sadly united once again by a heinous act of terrorism, and act of evil, and act of destruction that have been meted out against your people.
Tonight we come as the children of God, praying for our brothers and sisters in the city of Orlando. We pray for those 49 individuals who lost their lives to senseless violence, prejudice, and bigotry; we pray for the mothers, fathers, sister, brothers, spouses and partners who received that dreaded knock on the door, that dreaded phone call or text, or who watched the horror of the deadly and destructive shooting on the news and later learned their loved you was a victim. We pray for those who are clinging to life in the hospitals and for those who were in Pulse and are traumatized by what they witnessed. We pray for those who ran to aid others even at their own potential peril. And Lord, we lift to you the family and friends of the perpetrator, for we recognize they are victims too. We pray for our Muslim brothers and sisters who will be look at with suspicion and considered by some as guilty by association.
Lord, you said in your word, “If your people who are called by your name would humble themselves and pray, seek your face…we would hear from heaven and you would heal our land.” We are your people called by your name and we are crying out to you Lord with united voices this evening. Crying out that troubled and sick minds and hearts would be healed; crying out for your comfort and protection; crying out that people would realize that what unites us is stronger than anything that is used to divide us; crying out that our government leaders move to legislate sensible gun laws; crying out that those who are weak, weary, ill, or in despair would know your peace; crying out that no one, regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, or country of origin would be denigrated or seen as less than the other. We are all God’s people, regardless!
Lord, we realize that no one is immune from violence that is so often predicated on hatred, prejudice, narrow-mindedness, discrimination, or distorted views and ideations, so we lift to you every individual gathered here this evening, and pray that you will protect and cover each of us and our loved ones. And we pray that should the worst come, you will give us a peace that surpasses all understanding, that you will be our hiding place and our strong tower. Lastly Lord God, we stand this evening not as those who have no hope, but as a people who have faith and trust in you to lead, guide, breakdown every stronghold, cause the enemy to flee; as you Lord God have promised to never leave nor forsake us and that all things work together for the good of those who love you and are called according to your purpose. So we pray that the lives of those killed in Orlando will not be lost in vain, but they will be the seed planted to root out hate, injustice, violence, oppression, intolerance, homophobia, xenophobia, sexism, heterosexism, and racism; and that their witness and sacrifice will reap a harvest of understanding, acceptance, peace, grace, joy, and love. We love you Lord with all our hearts, minds, bodies, souls, and strength, and love our neighbors better than ourselves.
This we pray in the name of God—our creator, redeemer, and sustainer. Amen.
Powerful prayer, Pastor Patrice. Thank you for verbalizing what so many of us are feeling and challenging us to find meaning and purpose in this tragedy.