What’s Happening

Dear Holy Family,
This morning we had a wonderful service with Bishop Jenny celebrating the Resurrection of Our Lord.
It was the proclamation of the gospel, that death has been defeated, that the bondage to sin and death has been overcome and that new life is possible for all of us.
We were also faced with the news of the tragic events that occurred in Sri Lanka yesterday, on Easter Sunday - 6 different blasts that occurred at churches and hotels with hundreds of people killed and injured.
As you know, a number of our parishioners are from Sri Lanka, and the daughter of one of our members had worked in one of the hotels that was bombed before coming to Canada recently....
Who could imagine that one could go to church on Easter Sunday and be injured or killed?
It speaks to the violence and the evil so present in the world ….a world God loves........it breaks our hearts and boggles the mind.....
We grieve with our fellow brothers and sisters at Holy Family, with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Sri Lanka, and indeed, with all the innocent victims, with families torn apart, on what should be a day celebrating life in all its fullness.

It is difficult to pray, indeed, and in perhaps our only prayer can be Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.
But I offer you this litany from the Rev. Michael Marsh, an Episcopalian priest in Texas, whom you will have heard me quoting often in sermons. Adapted from his prayer after the shootings in Orlando, Florida.
You can find his website at www.interruptingthesilence.com

O Lord of life, the God of our salvation, who bears our burdens: Our lives and world have been shaken by violence in Sri Lanka. We are weary because of our groaning. Every night we flood our bed with tears and drench our couch with weeping. Our eyes waste away with grief. Our spirit shakes with terror. How long, O Lord, how long?
Yet you are the one who took us out of the womb. We have been entrusted to you ever since we were born. We turn to you, O Lord. To whom else can we go?
Grant, O Lord, eternal rest to all who died in Sri Lanka . Let light perpetual shine upon them. May their souls, and the souls of all the departed, through your mercy, rest in peace.
Lord, hear our prayer and let our cry come to you.
Remember in your mercy all who mourn and grieve the death of family and friends. Nourish them with patience, comfort them with a sense of your goodness, strengthen them to meet the days ahead, lift up your countenance upon them, and give them peace.
Lord, hear our prayer and let our cry come to you.
Let your healing presence be upon all who were injured in the attack. Give them comfort, courage, and hope. Restore them to life.
Lord, hear our prayer and let our cry come to you.
Draw near in this time of sorrow and anguish. Strengthen those who are weary, encourage those who despair, and lead us all to fullness of life.
Lord, hear our prayer and let our cry come to you.
As you, O Lord, weep for the pain of your children, so let us weep for the pain of our brothers and sisters. Give us tears of compassion that our hearts may not become desensitized to violence or hardened by fear, prejudice, or indifference.
Lord, hear our prayer and let our cry come to you.
Give wisdom, creativity, and perseverance to all who work for unity, peace, concord, and the freedom of all people. Guide the leaders of the nations in the ways of your peace and justice.
Lord, hear our prayer and let our cry come to you.
Look with compassion, O Lord, on the whole human family, whom you have made in your image and according to your likeness. Take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts, break down the walls that separate us, and unite us in bonds of love.
Lord, hear our prayer and let our cry come to you.
Open our eyes, O Lord, to see that you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you, bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit upon all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom.
Lord, hear our prayer and let our cry come to you.
We thank you for those who remained safe and physically uninjured and for the first responders, doctors, nurses, and unknown neighbors who gave of themselves to care for the victims of these bombs. Send you holy angels to sustain, guard, and protect them.
Lord, hear our prayer and let our cry come to you.
Almighty God, who created us in your own image: Grant us grace fearlessly to contend against evil, that we may reverently use our freedom, help us to employ it in the maintenance 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 for ever. Amen.

May we never forget the power of God to change hearts of evil into hearts of goodness, and pray that this may be so.

Easter blessings and prayers,
Rev. Julie + ... See MoreSee Less

Interrupting the Silence

interruptingthesilence.com

An Episcopal Priest's Sermons, Prayers, and Reflections on Life, Becoming Human, and Discovering Our Divinity

3 days ago