Prayer of Repentance & Lament

Here’s a prayer from Carol Penner’s Leading in Worship website.

Repenting and Lamenting in Times Like These

You are the God who hears:

hear our prayer today for all who lament or repent.

For those among us who face discrimination every day

because of their skin colour,

we lament.

For those among us with white skin who benefit

from racist systems sometimes even without realizing it,

we repent.

For those among us who have struggled and waited so long

for the Promised Land of freedom and equality,

we lament.

For those among us who have acted in racist ways

and have hurt people of colour,

we repent.

For those protesting injustice who face police brutality

and a justice system rigged against them,

we lament.

For those who think racism is someone else’s problem,

and not a problem for humanity,

we repent.

God of hope, show us how to work for justice together,

standing up for what is right,

stepping in when something's wrong,

shouldering each other’s burdens,

holding each other accountable,

righting the wrongs we’ve done,

speaking truth to power.

We pray for change, lasting change,

for protection for protesters,

for a de-escalation of violence

and for government leaders who listen.

Deliver us from evil, within and without,

in Jesus' name we pray, Amen

~ written by Carol Penner and posted on Leading in Worship. https://carolpenner.typepad.com/leadinginworship/

Prayer: Breaking Down Barriers

Here’s a prayer of petition from John Bucki, S.J. It was posted on the Social Justice Resource Center website.

Prayer

Lord, Jesus Christ

who reached across the ethnic boundaries

between Samaritan, Roman and Jew

who offered fresh sight to the blind and freedom to captives,

help us to break down the barriers in our community,

enable us to see the reality of racism and bigotry,

and free us to challenge and uproot it

from ourselves, our society and our world.

~ written by John Bucki, SJ, and posted on the Social Justice Resource Center website.  https://socialjusticeresourcecenter.org/prayers/racism/

Prayer: One Human Family

Here’s a prayer of petition and commitment on the subject of racism. It comes from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Prayer

God of Heaven and Earth,

you created the one human family

and endowed each person with great dignity.

Aid us, we pray, in overcoming the sin of racism.

Grant us your grace in eliminating this blight

from our hearts, our communities,

our social and civil institutions.

Fill our hearts with love for you and our neighbor

so that we may work with you

in healing our land from racial injustice.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

~ Posted on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/racism/prayer-service-for-racial-healing.cfm