Communal Lament for Worship

Below is a communal prayer offered during Sunday's worship service on Nov. 30, 2014. When offering the prayer as a community, the minister says, “Come thou long expected Jesus.” The congregation responds, “Set thy people free.” We offer this lament because of the difficult and painful situation emerging nationwide this week around the epicenter of Ferguson, Mo. We offer it because this Sunday is the beginning of Advent, a season in which the church anticipates the coming of Jesus. And, we offer it because we are painfully aware of our sins and hopefully aware of God's salvation. Read the prayer below; watch and listen to it in the video player to the right.

We lament because a child of God is dead, and we wish it were not so.
Come thou long expected Jesus,
Set thy people free;

We cry out over blood spilled in vain,
Come thou long expected Jesus,
Set thy people free;

We mourn the loss of futures,
Come thou long expected Jesus,
Set thy people free;

We grieve the incompleteness of our systems of justice,
Come thou long expected Jesus,
Set thy people free;

We despair over our inability to imagine another way,
Come thou long expected Jesus,
Set thy people free;

We lament being caught in webs of racism both past and present,
Come thou long expected Jesus,
Set thy people free;

We weep because we are not simply strangers who are different, but we are estranged,
Come thou long expected Jesus,
Set thy people free;

We lament that sin is so deep within us all,
Come thou long expected Jesus,
Set thy people free;

We ache because the problems are deeper than we can grasp, and they feel beyond our control,
Come thou long expected Jesus,
Set thy people free;

We mourn because hatred is woven into our shared lives, and we rarely recognize it,
Come thou long expected Jesus,
Set thy people free;

From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Amen