LITANY FOR THE VICTIMS OF GUN VIOLENCE
O Lord our Protector, we implore your healing of a nation enamored with guns and wracked by the mayhem they cause.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Lift souls and offer hope to all whose desperation would end only through taking their own life.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Bring forbearance and love to our homes so that frustration and anger are resolved through conversation, not violence.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Oversee those places where we gather to learn and worship that they may be safe sanctuaries for all who enter them.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Be present where we work that mutual respect and just relationships might govern our economic lives and disagreements be resolved through engagement not revenge.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Join us where we walk and play that our streets and turf may cradle dreams rather than be littered with shell casings.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Strengthen, encourage and support all who advocate for sensible gun safety laws and regulations.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Open the hearts and minds of those who govern our shared life that they may know the anguish of a nation reeling from gun deaths and join in common action in addressing the racial, social, economic and psychological factors which cause them.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Individual petitions are invited silently or aloud.
Concluding Collect
God of all mercy, who weeps with us as we anguish over lives broken and lost to the gun violence which so pains our community: Open our ears that we might hear their cries; open our eyes that we might see their fears; open our hearts that we might embrace them in love; and open our arms that we might protect them from all harm; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Litany by The Rev. Marc D. Smith, PhD
Bishop’s Deputy for Gun Violence Prevention
Episcopal Diocese of Missouri
msmith@holycommunion.net
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