Wayne Mellinger, "Some Social Justice Prayers" (2017-2018)

                                                         Some Social Justice Prayers

Wayne Martin Mellinger, Ph.D.

The following prayers were originally written in 2017-2018 to accompany my essay “Bearing Witness to Social Injustice as a Spiritual Practice”.  At the time I was concerned with the process of eyewitnessing things that shouldn't exist and turning that experience into holy work contributing to the advance of social justice.  We were two years into the Trump Administration and I felt as if the arc of the moral universe was no longer bending toward justice. In the midst of this time of increasing suffering one event stood to me: the gathering of five hundred interfaith clergy in Standing Rock to peacefully bear witness to the desecration of Native sacred lands.  Their goal was to increase awareness of the situation and to advocate for elected officials to take action to end construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).   Here are the prayers that were written for that essay.

Spirit of Life,

Transcending Mystery and Wonder,

Ground of Our Being,

That-Which-Proceeds-All-Naming,

Be present with us now as we contemplate

How best to bring healing and justice to the world

And inspire us with a vision borne of compassion,

Where the bounty of the Earth is revered,

Where no one goes hungry or unhoused,

Where the weak are protected and the innocent are safeguarded,

And where the riches of creation are shared.

May all souls find their true purpose and become whole,

allowing who we are to inform what we do. 

May we come to learn that it is often through our darkest nights

That we discover the glimmers of light that will guide our days. 

May our suffering allow us to become wounded healers 

With the gift of empathy to sustain our acts of compassion.

When we bear witness to social injustices and that which should not exist,

Let us find the courage to publicly speak our truth to those in power

Demanding changes in institutions and practices that inflict harm upon our neighbors.

Let us re-commit to building the Beloved Community.

May it be so.  Blessed Be and Amen.

Spirit of Life,

Limitless Creativity of the Cosmos,

Mystery of Mysteries,

Be with us now in this time of grave need,

When our governments inflict suffering,

When they shatter dreams and destroy lives,

And do not encourage broad-based human flourishing,

But instead promote discrimination and hatred.

We must lift up our sacred traditions

That teach that diversity is a gift,

That encourage compassion to all things,

And remind us constantly of our ethical responsibility to all people and to the Earth.

As people of faith and of moral commitments,

We must join the forces of resistance to fight these unjust actions.

Our traditions demand that we welcome the stranger and the sojourner.

The message of love and of freedom is strong and unswerving.

We must reject these forces of evil

And stand against the soul-harming hatred

It breeds and join in movements to stop the harm.

As people of faith and of conscience

We must stand against these policies and uphold values 

That celebrate the fullness of the human family

In all its glorious diversity.

There are many of us, our voices are loud, our commitments are strong,

our will is tough as steel, and our faith unswerving.

May it be so.  Blessed Be and Amen.

Be the one who rises above the crowd,

Who sets aside daily life,

Who pushes past fears and transcends doubts,

Who blazes the path of justice,

Who maintains a vision of the Beloved Community,

Who helps to heal the hurts of the world.

Help us to stand unswerving

Against hated and discrimination

With humble courage for truth and compassion

To serve humanity by loving our neighbors.

Together we will get to the Promised Land.

Many have dreamed of this destiny.

Some have given their lives for the promise of a new life.

Our struggles will not be in vain.

Together we can do anything.

The Apathy of the Comfortable with the Misery of the Marginalized

May we never forget our greatest potentialities 

to treat all people with dignity and respect, 

to listen to their songs of sorrow, 

to bear witness to that which shouldn't occur 

to bring healing to the world 

and to fight for justice and fairness. 

Forgive us for falling short so often, 

as when we choose to ignore those who suffer, 

stepping over their sidewalk encampments, 

avoiding contact with their eyes 

so we can pretend not to know their struggles and pain. 

Forgive us the sin of indifference, 

for nothing portends the downfall of a civilization 

more than the apathy of the comfortable with the misery of the marginalized.

 

Right here, right now, you have the opportunity 

to more fully understand the horrors of our world. 

You must enter a spiritual consciousness 

in which you are completely mindful and totally present. 

While what you are witnessing may be often painful to observe, 

and your first impulse may be to turn away so as to not observe it, 

you must allow yourself to take in all the details of this situation 

and plant this event firmly in your memory 

so that you will be able to recall these particulars 

as you publicly make known what has happened here on this day. 

You must step outside your own perspective on the world 

and feel what those who are suffering feel. 

This experience will change you forever, 

compelling you to actively change the world. 

Indeed, this is very holy work. 

Together We Can Do Anything

Be the one who rises above the crowd, 

Who sets aside daily life, 

Who pushes past fears and transcends doubts, 

Who blazes the path of justice, 

Who maintains a vision of the Beloved Community, 

Who helps to heal the hurts of the world. 

Help us to stand unswerving 

Against hated and discrimination 

With humble courage for truth and compassion 

To serve humanity by loving our neighbors. 

Together we will get to the Promised Land. 

Many have dreamed of this destiny. 

Some have given their lives for the promise of a new life. 

Our struggles will not be in vain. 

Together we can do anything. 

To bear witness to injustice is not turn away, 

but to face the ugly and upsetting realities of our world. 

To bear witness to injustice is to allow myself to feel 

the discomfort of observing the processes of hatred and discrimination.  

To bear witness to injustice is to proclaim: "I will not forget what I have observed". 

To bear witness to social injustice is to re-commit myself to the struggles for social justice through spiritual principles.  

To bear witness to social injustice is to make public these shameful acts; 

When bearing witness to social injustice is accompanied by a critical analysis of the root causes, 

especially the structural violence, 

it can inform and strengthen the prophetic voices 

so vital to social justice movements by grounding critiques of the status quo in empirical observation .

After bearing witness, observers need to pause 

and reflect upon what they have seen. 

We must contrast “the way things are” with “the way things should be” 

and consider the necessary steps to reach the promised land. 

Then, we must do something about what we have seen.  

We must take action and work to change the world. 

When the policies and practices of our government inflict suffering 

When they shatter dreams and destroy lives 

And do not encourage broad-based human flourishing 

But instead promote discrimination and hatred, 

We must lift up our sacred traditions 

That teach that diversity is a gift, 

That encourage compassion to all things, 

And remind us constantly of our ethical responsibility 

To work towards the well-being of all people and the earth. 

As people of faith and of moral commitment 

We must join the forces of resistance 

And fight these unjust actions. 

Our traditions demand that we welcome the stranger and the sojourner. 

The message of love and of freedom is strong and unswerving. 

We must reject these forces of evil 

And stand against the soul-harming hatred it breeds 

And join in movements to stop the harm. 

As people of faith and of conscience 

We must stand against unjust policies and uphold values 

That celebrate the fullness of the human family in all its glorious diversity. 

There are many of us, 

our voices are loud, 

our commitments are strong, 

our will tough as steel, 

and our faith, 

unswerving. 

When we wake up in the morning 

Our minds are empty and without chatter. 

To hold onto this quality

Do not go into your study 

And begin reading your books 

But instead go up to your rooftop 

And sing songs of great beauty. 

Let the beauty we love become what we do.