As a child I dreaded only one part of the Sunday liturgy, the Prayer of the Church (Service Book and Hymnal, p. 6). It was a long, all-encompassing prayer that the pastor of Victory Lutheran Church prayed almost every week. He also used all of the petitions, divided only by our responses, “We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.” I was thinking “Good Lord, how much longer?” Forgive me; I was about nine years old.
When Lutheran Book of Worship was published, an updated version of the prayer was included in the prayer section (p.52). As a pastor I used it on a few occasions, though I must admit, not many. It was still a long prayer, but I had come to deeply appreciate its beauty.
Two petitions of that prayer are on my mind today. One is the prayer for our nation, the president, the governor and all who make our laws. The second, which followed immediately, is a petition asking God to remove from us all hatred and prejudice and “whatever may hinder the unity of spirit and concord.”
I think we need to dust off the Prayer of the Church. I was listening to the radio in the car this afternoon and heard a report of acts of racial hatred being committed against some who voted for Barack Obama. The report also said that there have been an unprecedented number of threats against our president-elect.
Sadly, some of the most racially prejudicial statements I have ever heard have been whispered in church.
It is time for the Church to renew its efforts to work for justice, use its public voice and confront racism. Our synod council engages in anti-racism training annually. Workshops are available for our congregations through our synod anti-racism team. There are resources available on the ELCA website (www.elca.org) and the synod’s website (www.nisynod.org).
At this moment in history, I think we have a great opportunity to engage in this important work. I also believe that it is all the more important in congregations with little or no racial, ethnic or cultural diversity. I invite you to pray and act. Now.
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