MLK 2012

By revjudegeiger

Spirit of Hope, God of Striving, That which stirs our compassion,

in our race toward equality, help us to pick up the baton from those who have come before.

Let our dreams of a more just world be born anew in this age,

may the everyday stories of prejudice and discrimination,

enter into the light of day and be known for what they are –

— stories of fear and hatred bringing harm to the health of our communities.

May all amongst us come to hear demagogues, spouting racism, homophobia or sexism, for the clanging noise that it is;

And let us not stumble by following them down their divisive pathways.

God of Love, may your message be written upon the tablets of our hearts,

so that our quest for a compassionate world will be at our core.

Teach us to celebrate the everyday stories of success, of gratitude, of neighborly living as well.

Remind us that the world is not only stark, but vivid.

To celebrate the contemporary notion that diversity is a value to be sought after,

To celebrate most of our children living in peace with those who come from different cultures and religions.

To celebrate the glass ceiling beginning to show its cracks,

and the Redlining beginning to blur at the edges,

and marriage finally being properly honored in our state.

Knowing that we have a far way to go.

May we never be lost to dread from all that is ailing in this world,

And never forget the successes before us.

May we hold the bitter and the sweet in hand,

so that in our actions we remember where we have come from,

what is before us, and that the work of the world is ever for us to do,

and in our doing – may we share freely that work with those around us.