KANSAS CITY, MO (June 26, 2015) – In what has been one of the most emotional moments of the 130th Annual Meeting of The Evangelical Covenant Church, delegates participated in a litany expressing empathy for and solidarity with the victims of the shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
The litany and prayer led by several denominational leaders were part of President Gary Walter’s report to delegates on Friday. Walter shared that he wept while watch the Sunday worship service held at Emanuel just days after the tragedy and he choked up again when he read the first part of the litany.
The litany was written by Portland faith leaders Leroy Barber and Rick McKinley and has been used by hundreds of churches as a show of solidarity.
A Call To Worship for the Tragedy In Charleston
Leader:
We stand before you today, oh Lord
Hearts broken, eyes weeping, heads spinning
Our brothers and sisters have died
They gathered and prayed and then were no more
The prayer soaked walls of the church are spattered with blood
The enemy at the table turned on them in violence
While they were turning to you in prayer
All:
We stand with our sisters
We stand with our brothers
We stand with their families
We stand to bear their burden in Jesus’ name
Leader:
We cry out to you, oh Lord
Our hearts breaking, eyes weeping, heads spinning
The violence in our streets has come into your house
The hatred in our cities has crept into your sanctuary
The brokenness in our lives has broken into your temple
The dividing wall of hostility has crushed our brothers and sisters
We cry out to you, May your Kingdom come, may it be on earth as it is in heaven
All:
We cry out for our sisters
We cry out for our brothers
We cry out for their families
We cry out for peace in Jesus’ name
Leader:
We pray to you today, oh Lord
Our hearts breaking, eyes weeping, souls stirring
We pray for our enemies, we pray for those who persecute us
We pray to the God of all Comfort to comfort our brothers and sisters in their mourning
We pray that you would bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes
We pray that you would give them the oil of joy instead of mourning
We pray that you would give them a garment of praise in place of a spirit of despair
All:
We pray for our sisters
We pray for our brothers
We pray for their families
We pray for their comfort in Jesus’ name
Leader:
We declare together, oh Lord
With hearts breaking, eyes weeping and souls stirring
We will continue to stand and cry and weep with our brothers and sisters
We will continue to make a place of peace for even the enemies at our table
We will continue to open our doors and our hearts to those who enter them
We will continue to seek to forgive as we have been forgiven
We will continue to love in Jesus’ name because you taught us that love conquers all
All:
We declare our love for you, our Sisters
We declare our love for you, our Brothers
We declare our love for you, their families
We declare our love as one body, one Lord, one faith, one baptism
We declare they do not grieve alone today
