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Hello First Presbyterian Church,
As I continue to learn about what happened at the Allen outlet mall this past Saturday, I am heartbroken for the children and adults whose lives were cut short by a senseless act of gun violence.
When I turn to God at times like this, I am sometimes at a loss for words and depend heavily on the Holy Spirit to intercede on my behalf. Other times, I am filled with questions and uncertainty. Recently, a pastor friend shared a website with me called Every Moment Holy. There, Douglas Kaine McKelvey, who grew up in East Texas and now serves as the sexton at St. John’s Anglican Church in Franklin, Tennessee, offers his books with prayers and liturgies for every life, as well as seasons like death and grief.
McKelvey has shared this prayer on Grieving a Death Due to Violence, and I wanted to share it with you, as we continue to pray and put our prayers into action for a better world for all. (Click on the link for the full text of the prayer.)
An excerpt from McKelvey’s prayer:
I surely cannot change what happened.
Or make sense of it.
Or find some lesson in it.
Or force the wheels of justice to spin to a satisfying end.
And so I am left feeling vulnerable, and violated, and helpless.
Be my refuge and my shelter, O Lord.
Be my shield and defender. Hold me in
this hour; hold me through this long,
dark night when death’s shadow obstructs
the light; cradle and carry me through
this vale of sorrows; deliver me to higher
ground. Let justice roll down, O Christ.
I hope to see you in worship again this Sunday.
Grace and Peace,
Rebecca
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