Our Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father;

We are here today out of desperation, sadness, and compassion. But, most of all love. We are here because in this time of loss and tragedy, we are not alone. We are together, holding each other, feeling your presence. We pray for strength. We pray for empathy and insight into the struggles of others. Lord we pray for connectivity. We pray that the struggles and pain of others, those hurts that allow them to inflict pain and even death on others...can be seen. We pray to SEE each other and act in a loving fashion. 

We pray for each of the families affected by this horrific event. We pray for the families of the children that were lost in the shooting. We pray for their peace and understanding of something that is incomprehensible. Lord, we pray for the understanding of a Father that lost his only son. We pray for the courage to reach out and comfort one another. We pray that more lives are not lost during the grief process of losing a loved one. We pray for marriages that will struggle due to the loss of a child. 

Father, please give divine grace and words to the teachers and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School. May they have the strength to continue. May they have the courage and fortitude to comfort the children of Newtown. Because, in comforting those children...they are comforting all of our children. 

Lord, while we cannot focus on the perpetrator. We must acknowledge him. He was your son as are we. We pray for the family of Adam Lanza. They too are probably asking why. We pray for their peace and we pray that their support system will support them. Please, provide them “open arms” and a soft place to land while they shed their own tears. 

God, let us appreciated our children and loved ones this holiday season. As we rush around, go to ballets, see Santa, open gifts...Give us the awareness that the experience is the gift, the time with them, the love we share. Let us say a prayer, have a moment, for those that no longer have those moments. Let us hold our brother’s and sister’s in our arms or hearts this holiday season. Let us hold the parents of the children whose presents will go unwrapped. The mother who cannot get out of bed in the morning. Lord, hold her in a way that only a father can hold a child. Wipe her tears. Lord, give a husband or father the strength to reach out because he feels so helpless. 

We pray for our media and that they will exercise the moral restraint that will allow them to report this emotionally disturbing event with grace, conscience, and integrity. 

Father, comfort our clergy. Give them the words and rest that they need to comfort us in these moments of grief, sorrow, guilt, and confusion. 

God, give President Barack Obama the strength to comfort a nation. Give us the courage to make this about something larger than politics. Please, allow our country to come together in this time of need. 

Right now though, let us hold each other. And, across the miles let our prayers and our love be felt in Newton and all over the world. Let those who are lost feel a moment of peace, even just a moment. 

Lord, 16 mass shootings have occurred in this country over the course of the last year. Please give us the insight to prevent and not just to comfort after the fact. Please help the pained, the hurt, the lost, not only to find their way...but, even just to feel your presence. Help our country to intervene in the mental health capacity of the individual, because they impact our collective humanity. Help our hearts to be open to solutions. 

We will now be silent and pray to you through our own hearts, a voice that only you can hear. For the next 280 seconds we will observe silence for all the deaths in this tragedy.

In your name we pray,

Amen