A prayer for those who have become hashtags

Rev. Valarie Englert, Senior Pastor

O God, Almighty and merciful,
Who heals the broken-hearted,
and turns the sadness of the sorrowful to joy:

Let your goodness be upon all that you have made.

Remember with compassion those who are this day
Destitute, homeless, or forgotten by humanity.

Bless the poor and down-trodden.

Uplift those who are cast down.

Mightily befriend innocent sufferers,
And lift them from their sorrows,
Sanctifying and preserving them.

Cheer with hope all discouraged people,
And by your grace renew them.

Though trouble comes from every side,
Let them not fall into distress.

Though injustice runs amok,
Let them not be dismayed.

For you are the One who lifts the poor from the dust,
And who tramples the power of the mighty.

Grant this prayer, O Lord,
Through Him who became poor and cast down,
And Who rose and calls the downtrodden to rise with him:

Our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

May Breonna Taylor’s memory be more than a hashtag,
And may we die to injustice, and rise to new life.
 
Based on a collect from the Book of Common Prayer, 1952