Happy We All Matter Monday Dear Ones,
By now we all have seen the news that the Senate of the United States have rejected the latest gun control laws. Yes I'm angry, Yes I'm frustrated, Yes I don't see why people we elect don't realize they work for us are going against our wishes. They don't get it! They are failing to get it and every time we see a mass murder and act of terrorism committed by gun violence we keep hoping they will get it. We must be resolved in making change happen in this country. Change is only going to happen when we decide together that #WeHaveHadEnough and that we all need to #DisarmHate. This isn't an easy task but it must be done. It requires a need to listen and find common ground away from the public stage. I'm calling all of us to write and call our legislators, faith leaders, and mental health professionals to meet for a summit on gun violence away from the public stage a la the time when Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat met at Camp David. I also am calling on each of us to urge our representatives to begin listening to the words of all those who have lost loved ones in all acts of terror, hatred, violence and abuse. We all must be heard! We all matter! Yes this is hard work but it must be done I am calling on all LGBTQIA people, allies, loved ones, religious, and political leaders to stand up and be counted.Yes, I mean stand up and be counted without fear and let the world know that we are here and not going away. We have been here and will remain. We all must model Jesus and all heroes of peaceful non-violent protest.
How do we begin to do this? We do this first by gathering together and our strength through prayer and unity. We must as Jesus so pointedly reminds us that "we must love our enemies and do good to those who hate us!" Yes dear family members they are family too and need to be prayed for, loved, and cared for even when we are mad at them. We will only be able to gain their trust and ours in turn by listening and remember that they were made in the image and likeness of God. We should be praying for all those who commit acts of hatred, bullying, terror, and abuse and their family members. Can we do this? Yes, but only with God's help. Jesus' dinner table must include all people and those on the margins.
Tonight we start by lighting our candles and praying for each other and sharing this blog with our representatives. I know I am stepping out and taking a risk but we all must put our words and deeds into action and bring them to the attention of our elected officials. No matter how long it takes. We must affect change through prayer, love, unity and activism. We must change hardened hearts for the good of all.
God, we come to you as a family seeking to be united in prayer with our hearts, minds, and spirits fixed on affecting positive and life giving change in this country and the world. We light our candles this night in prayer to affect change and in memory of every human being that has been affected by all forms of terror and most especially gun violence our own national terrorist activity. We pray for the families who seek answers to why their calls to stem the tide of gun violence have been left on deaf ears. We pray for the families whose relatives have committed these acts of terror and that they may find some kind of solace and learn why their precious family members were led to these deeds. We pray this night for our enemies, those who hate us, and all who seek to divide and not unite. We pray that we may use words that heal, not harm. We pray that we may learn to do as Jesus has commanded us to do and "Love one another!" And in the words of St. Francis we pray:
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen.
We pray these prayers an light our candles and offer them to God the Great I AM with a loud and resounding Amen!
God we come to you this night still with heavy hearts and we pray as we have been doing for the past week remembering our brothers and sisters who perished at Pulse in Orlando. We pray and remember them each by name and this night and respond with "Let light perpetual shine upon them"
Amanda Alvear, 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"
God we lift up these precious ones to you as a reminder that life is precious and that we know that you know us all by name and love us. We pray that we may come together in memory and in honor of all your children to affect positive change in this fragile and broken world that you have made.
Help us we pray to build bridges and tear down walls. Give us strength to truly to become peacemakers and your children.
God we pray for the least of these who are homeless, hungry, without sufficient clothing and we remember especially that these are our family members who need our compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy.
God we pray for compassionate immigration reform as we remember all refugees on this World Refugee Day. We pray that all families may be kept together and remember the children who were born here are beloved citizens.
We pray for freedom to practice our faiths with out fear and the need to divide and profile us by the faith(s) we practice.
We pray for an end to all forms of violence, terror, bullying and abuse both in action and in words.
We pray for peace, unity, and justice, and remember as in the baptismal covenant in the BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER as one of the questions " Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
Help us we pray that we may lay down all weaponry of hate and division and be united in heart, mind, and spirit.
We pray for seasonable weather and a respect and conservation of God's Cathedral of Life. We pray for help reducing our carbon footprints and solutions to global warming and climate change. We pray for the care of all of our animal kingdom and all endangered species. We pray for laws banning imported ivory and all wild game hunts.
We pray for all victims of hate, bullying, abuse, human trafficking, and all who have died because of their sexual orientation and gender.
We pray and give thanks this day for_________________________________
We lift up these our prayers in the name of (Place your own deity of choice here) Amen.
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Here is what I posted on Facebook earlier:
I have a dream that we will wake up and be the country our fore-fathers and fore-mothers dreamed it would be. A country where Compassion, Acceptance, Love, and Mercy are not only talked about but practiced every nano second of the day.
A country where our elected officials wake up and understand that they work for us not big corporations, lobbies, and organizations that truly do not care about our citizenry. A country where we can feel safe without weapons and know that we don't have to fear people who are different from us. A country where freedom of religion is inclusive and not exclusive. A country where we can live authentically and not be forced back into the closet. A country where we listen with open minds and hearts. A country that really cares about the least of these. A country where each person is educated and knows the history of all the people in our country and especially the histories of the Native Americans, LGBTQIA, African Americans, Latin Americans, Slavery, Muslims, and every diverse group of people who came to this country. A country where our succeeding generations have a place to call home, a place where they don't have to fear, a place where they can live in peace, love and diversity. A country where we are building bridges of understanding and not putting up walls that divide. Just a few rambling thoughts. I love you!
A country where our elected officials wake up and understand that they work for us not big corporations, lobbies, and organizations that truly do not care about our citizenry. A country where we can feel safe without weapons and know that we don't have to fear people who are different from us. A country where freedom of religion is inclusive and not exclusive. A country where we can live authentically and not be forced back into the closet. A country where we listen with open minds and hearts. A country that really cares about the least of these. A country where each person is educated and knows the history of all the people in our country and especially the histories of the Native Americans, LGBTQIA, African Americans, Latin Americans, Slavery, Muslims, and every diverse group of people who came to this country. A country where our succeeding generations have a place to call home, a place where they don't have to fear, a place where they can live in peace, love and diversity. A country where we are building bridges of understanding and not putting up walls that divide. Just a few rambling thoughts. I love you!
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Good Night ! I love you and give thanks to God for you this night and always! We are a family and we must work for the good of all human and living beings.
With love and prayers,
Sara
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