Dayhoff Soundtrack: A prayer for Orlando - I think that the world has gone mad. June 18, 2016 Kevin E. Dayhoff

Saturday, June 18, 2016

A prayer for Orlando - I think that the world has gone mad. June 18, 2016 Kevin E. Dayhoff

I think that the world has gone mad. June 18, 2016 Kevin E. Dayhoff

https://www.facebook.com/notes/kevin-earl-dayhoff/i-think-that-the-world-has-gone-mad/10153684326222654

I have struggled for the past week to arrive at the words that may adequately express a sense of horror and loss as a result of the horrific mass killings at the LGBT nightclub, Pulse, in Orlando, Florida in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 12, 2016.

I immediately sat at the computer to try and gather my thoughts. That is how writers sort things out, I guess.

After a considerable length of time in which I successfully stared-down the computer screen and listened to Amy Lee and Evanescence, and Plumb at a level where the computer warned it was damaging my ears, the computer abruptly crashed. I gave-up and went to bed.

This comes just after the news on June 7, 2016, that a Stanford star-athlete, Brock Turner, had been given a slap on the wrist for a ruthless attack on a woman on Jan. 17, 2015. His Dad rubbed salt in the wound by writing a callous and offensive appeal for leniency for his son. It was all too surreal.

Then, after the terrible news that MP Jo Cox had been killed in the streets of her constituency by a deranged attacker and reading the statement of her husband, I decided to sit at the keyboard again.

As I search for more pertinent details, as only an OCD newspaper reporter would do at a time like this; I came across a wonderful set of words on the website, “Think Christian” - https://thinkchristian.reframemedia.com/a-prayer-for-orlando I really-really hope that at time like this, “Think Christian” does not mind me reprinting it. I think this prayer says it better than anything I might come up for the moment.

I might carry it around with me – if I edit it for length, I might have opportunity to use it…

“Think Christian” said in an editor’s note: This prayer was originally published by the Christian Reformed Church’s Office of Social Justice, a sister ministry of Think Christian, in response to the June 12 shooting in Orlando, Fla. Our hope is that it encourages both prayerful lament and prayerful action.

A prayer for Orlando 06/14/16 https://thinkchristian.reframemedia.com/a-prayer-for-orlando

God of comfort, we lift our prayers to you.

We lift prayers for the families, friends, and partners of the victims, for all of those who are grieving.

For the questions which have no answers, we pray.

For those who wring their hands, bring dishes of food, struggle to express their condolences, we pray.

For pastors who plan funerals and stand at hospital beds, we pray.

For those who are estranged from a loved one because of sexual orientation, and who today feel grief and loneliness, we pray.

For those who feel fresh grief because someone they love was also a victim of gun violence, we pray.

We lift prayers for the LGBTQ+ community.

Protect them from harm.

Heal them from trauma.

Lead them to places of hospitality and safety.

We lift prayers for the Muslim community.

Shield them from fallout.

Call Christians to reach out in mutuality and solidarity.

May the stories of the many Muslims who have responded in love, help, and hospitality be told often, and publicly.

We lift prayers for lawmakers.

Give them wisdom as they craft their public statements, which have an impact on real people’s lives.

Give them wisdom as they consider policy implications, which will always make some furious and others gratified.

Give them wisdom as they accept donations to their campaigns, as they align with interests, as they reach across the aisle and compromise.

Work through politics to build your kingdom, Lord.

We lift prayers for your church, which includes each one of us. May your church speak the words of Christ — of healing, hope, repentance, and good news.

We are a people who believe in resurrection. As we walk through the valley of the shadow of death in times such as these, may we see and be signs of kingdom hope. We long for the day when death will be no more.

*****