By now, you’ve grown numb to the frequent calls for ‘thoughts and prayers’ that politicians call out following the latest mass shooting. After this past weekend’s events in El Paso and Dayton, it seems the discourse may, finally, be shifting. Calls of thoughts and prayers were drowned out by demands to ‘do something.’ This shouldn’t make us forget that prayer is still an important response to evil acts.
On Wednesday night, about 20 of us gathered in the sanctuary for a special prayer service following the weekend’s events. While we read the seemingly endless remembrance of mass gun violence in this country over the past few years, it was overwhelming. But we continued praying.
Today, we pray, but tomorrow we act. A number of members of our community are organizing letter writing campaigns, marches to the capitol, and other ways to make our voices heard.
Today we pray, knowing that God hears us, and tomorrow we act, knowing that God counts on us to do his work in the world.
Amen.