One of the prayers (collects) in the Book of Common Prayer (2019) is “For the Diversity of Races and Cultures”:
O God, who created all peoples in your image: We thank you for the diversity of races and cultures in this world. Show us your presence in those who differ from us, and enrich our lives with their fellowship, until our knowledge of your love is made perfect in our love for all your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
To which I add my prayer:
Lord, forgive us for we, as white Christians, have failed to see the beauty in our world. The diversity of race and the beauty of different cultures are all around us and at our self-righteous best, all we can muster at times is, “I’m colorblind.” Or, “I’m not racist.” Or, “I didn’t own slaves.”
Forgive us.
Forgives us for we have failed to learn from other cultures. We have failed to listen to pain. We have failed to mourn with those who mourn. We have failed to move forward in justice.
We have failed to do policing any other way other than screaming: “LAW AND ORDER!”
We have failed to see the marginalized. We have failed to act on their behalf. We have valued the stuff of our lives over the people in our nation who cry for justice.
Forgive us.
Let us, instead, mourn over our sin. Let us confess our national racism. Let us, for once in our lives, confess community sin rather than push it off because “I didn’t do it.”
Let us act on behalf of those who have been crushed and demand better of our legal system. Let us be brave to re-imagine how things can be done. Let us surrender our selfish agendas and pick up the burden of those being crushed so we can carry it together.
Empower us, O Lord.
Let us walk in justice. Let us walk in change. Let us walk in Kingdom renewal and finally mean it when we pray, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Change us, O Lord.
Apprentice 2 Jesus 