Calling Us to Prayer

Dear Friends in Christ,

I am watching the news this afternoon and seeing demonstrators break into the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., bringing an official meeting of Congress to a halt. Members of Congress and their staff were quickly evacuated from the building even as demonstrators continue to go throughout the Capitol Building. It is being reported that parts of the Capitol Building are being vandalized. This violence must be publicly and unequivocally condemned. While this is a developing story, it is critical that we pray now. The light we can shine in the darkness is the light of prayer. Prayer is ours to do and is indispensable, especially in this national crisis. Below is a part of an older form of the Great Litany found in our Book of Common Prayer. This language was used in the 1789 Prayer Book and seemed especially appropriate to our present situation.

Peace, mercy and forgiveness to all,

+Greg Brewer

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Remember not, Lord, our offenses, nor the offenses of our forefathers; neither take thou vengeance of our sins: spare us, good Lord, spare thy people, whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood, and be not angry with us forever.

Spare us, good Lord.

From all evil and mischief; from sin; from the crafts and assaults of the devil; from thy wrath, and from everlasting damnation,

Good Lord, deliver us.

From all blindness of heart; from pride, vain-glory, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness,

Good Lord, deliver us.

From all inordinate and sinful affections; and from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil,

Good Lord deliver us.

From lightning and tempest; from plague, pestilence and famine; from battle and murder, and from sudden death,

Good Lord, deliver us.

From all sedition, privy conspiracy, and rebellion; from all false doctrine, heresy, and schism, from hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word and Commandment,

Good Lord deliver us.