FACING OUR COMMUNAL BROKENNESS
by Bishop Karen Oliveto
“And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.” – Isaiah 32:17 (ESV)*
God of Grace and God of Glory,
In a season of division and disease, vitriol and violence,
we feel most acutely our communal brokenness.
May we not avert our eyes from this brokenness.
May we not make excuses for injustice.
May we not be complicit with evil.
We ask you to search our hearts:
replace our hatred with love,
replace our frustration with compassion,
replace our inaction with engagement,
and replace our rigidity with curiosity.
Equip us with all we need to be agents of your love and justice
in a nation and world that hungers and hurts for healing and hope.
May we boldly live out this love and justice in everything we do and say.
Grant us courage, grant us wisdom for the living of these days.
Amen.
– Karen Oliveto
The Rev. Karen Oliveto is the Bishop of the Mountain Sky Conference of The United Methodist Church. She is the author of several books, including “Together at the Table: Diversity without Division in The United Methodist Church”.
