Litany for a Nation Brutalized by Violence

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I have written this litany as an offering. Finding words for the depth and breadth of what the collective, and in particular the Black and Asian communities, are experiencing (and have for centuries) in terms of violence feels impossible. But I feel our communities need to speak aloud about this to God, together. Not for some hollow "unity." But for sacred lament and consciousness.

I have tried to articulate these far-reaching problems - gun violence, violence against Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian folks, school and mass shootings, and more in this prayer of lament. But the task feels monumental. It is imperfect, but something is better than nothing for putting words and action to this lament. .

It is my hope that we will be drawn in to peace, and toward a non-violent, equitable future, toward Heaven on Earth. All beings safe. All beings provided for. All beings held accountable to love. Amen. Amen. May it be so.



God, we bring to you our lament 
And our sorrow. 

We are a people undone, 
Brutalized by violence:
By gun violence, 
By police violence, 
By violence against Black and Brown people, 
By violence against Indigenous and Asian people. 

Our streets are blood-soaked, 
And our history tainted by supremacist evil. 
We are crying out in lament, 
And we know that you weep with us. 

We grieve every lost life. 
We grieve every orphaned child. 
We grieve alongside every mourning family. 
We grieve every trauma and tragedy. 

We reject every system that makes some of us safe at the expense of the lives of others. 
We reject white supremacy and police militarization.
We reject government-sanctioned execution. 
We reject systems of mass incarceration. 
We reject systems that prioritize whiteness over all other people.
We reject systems of poverty and inequity.  

We lament; and we gather our power. 
We combine our resources to re-imagine this world,
To abolish inequity.
To create a safe and harmonious reality for every person. 
We join with those who have been working for justice tirelessly for decades. 
We apply our energy, money, time, and voices to this work. 

May the government of this nation be moved to right action, 
May the churches of this nation be spurred to work for justice. 
May the local and community leaders of this nation create positive change. 
May the economic systems of this nation cease to reward evil.  
May those who remain asleep or apathetic to injustice become conscious participants for good.
May we as individuals hold our leaders, government, and ourselves accountable to the work.

Let the fire of justice burn in every heart
So that every mother’s child may live in peace and safety.

Amen. 


Lament for Breonna

This lament is in response to the murder of Breonna Taylor by police officers in Louisville, KY on March 13, 2020. As of Wednesday, September 23, the officers who killed her have received no indictments for her wrongful death, nor any repercussions at all. Another in a long line of Black bodies killed by the state.

God, this is not the world we want to live in:
Where murderers go free,
Where the state kills innocents,
Where the political system justifies lynching,
Where the system protects the powerful and leaves the innocent to their fate. 
Where justice is not done. 

This injustice is not new. No. 
It is an old, old pattern: 
Of racism, 
Of white supremacy, 
Of power-hoarding, 
Of greed,
Of theft, 
Of ego. 

We cry out for the abolishment of unjust systems. 
We cry out for an end to police abuse of power. 
We cry out for an end to the state-sanctioned murder of innocents. 
We cry out for an end to the abuse and murder of Black lives.
We cry out for an end to political stalemate that does not legislate protections. 
We cry out for Breonna’s family and loved ones. 

We lament Breonna’s lost future here on earth. 
We lament her life cut short. 
We lament the trauma of her death. 
We lament the corrupt officers who got off without consequence. 
We lament the pain and grief of all who mourn her. 
We lament the long line of martyrs Breonna joins. 

Give us strength, oh God, to continue the work. 
Strength to be struck down but not destroyed, 
To be persecuted but not forsaken,
To be mystified but not despairing (1). 

Give ear to our voices, God, 
Hear the pleas of the righteous. 
Cast down the mighty from their thrones.
Lift up the lowly (2). 

  1. 2 Corinthians 4:8,9

  2. Luke 1:52