Prayers for the deliberation
Dear Friends,
Today the prosecution and defense will present closing arguments and the jury will begin to deliberate in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. As they begin deliberation, we call on you to join us in upholding and uplifting the jury in prayer.
Why do we pray? We pray for what’s deeply important. When we pray together, we join with people across time and space, across denominations and faiths, interconnected.
How do we pray? Unceasingly. While the jury is in deliberation this week, we offer the practice of a short prayer that you can pray every time you check your phone, every time you take a drink of water, or at other regular intervals throughout the day. We pray: “Lord, send your Spirit to the jury.” “God, grant justice.”
We also turn to prayers that are resources from our traditions, including this morning prayer from the Book of Common Prayer:
Almighty God, you created us in your own image: grant us grace to contend fearlessly against evil and to make no peace with oppression; and help us use our freedom rightly in the establishment of justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of your Holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen.
We join with ecumenical and interfaith leaders in Minneapolis praying together every morning this week at 8 am, Central Time, at Healing Our City: A Virtual Prayer Tent for Minneapolis. People of faith from around the world are invited to join together in prayer there, daily, on Zoom or by Facebook.
Finally, we give thanks for the Spirit who intercedes when our prayers are sighs too deep for words.
This upcoming Sunday, many of our congregations will hear this exhortation from 1 John: “Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” (3:18.) The same text encourages the Body of Christ to pray “with boldness before God” (21.) Through the jury’s deliberation, the verdict and all that comes next, the liberating love of Jesus Christ will make us bold to pray, act, and love our neighbors and our enemies. God will continue to send a Spirit of courage and everything we need to dismantle the racism in the church, in the criminal justice system and all aspects of our society, and in ourselves.
Signed,
Reverend Jane B. Anderson
Associate Conference Minister
Wisconsin Conference
United Church of Christ
Rev. Dr. Kate Croskery Jones
District Superintendent
North East District
Wisconsin Annual Conference, United Methodist Church
The Rev. Anne Edison-Albright
Bishop of the East-Central Synod of Wisconsin
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Rt. Rev. Matthew Gunter
Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac
Bishop Provisional of the Episcopal Diocese of Eau Claire
The Episcopal Church
