Colorado Faith Leaders Lament Continuing Racial Injustice towards African Americans in the U.S.
Our hearts are heavy and our souls troubled that the sin of racism continues to plague our society. Our nation’s failure to fully confront this evil deepens a spiritual crisis that has led to so much violence, destruction and death. In the face of such injustice, we cry out, “How long, O Lord?” Yet, we know that our cries must be coupled with action. Action that will end unequal treatment before the law, police brutality, intimidation and violence perpetrated by private citizens, and mass incarceration. We stand united in love with African Americans as we continue to repair a world broken by racial injustice. We lift up this prayer by Rev. Olivia Hudson Smith, Stated Clerk, the Presbytery of Denver:
Impartial God of all creation, we come before you this day with lament in our hearts for your people.
Lord, as we face uncertainty in the world, we mourn the inequity which we are witness to throughout the world amid a health pandemic and the pandemics of evil, injustice and human brutality.
You, O Lord, who know us before we are knit together in our Mothers’ wombs, who loves us unconditionally and weeps over our inhumanity, open our hearts and eyes to see each human life as valued and created for your purpose.
Merciful God, we mourn over and over for the too many to name lives that have not mattered for so many, for George Floyd, and all African American men and women who have suffered and died at the hands of an unjust society that views them less than your beloved created in your image. You know their names, you know their purpose, forgive those who do not.
We seek your mercy for the Mother’s and Father’s who are tired and weary knowing that every time their black and brown babies walk out the doors, they are viewed as a threat.
Gracious One, we pray for all your children who are deprived of human dignity, those separated from parents and families at our borders, those who are without shelter, proper clothing, food, and water whose suffering is made worse by human systems of inequality.
Holy One, let your presence be palpable to all creation, fill your people with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Hope, the Spirit of Love for our neighbor, knowing that in your Kingdom there are no strangers, none that are less than your beloved.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Below is a list of recent statements from faith leaders in our covenanting denominations:
Rev. Sue Artt, Conference Minister, Rocky Mountain Conference, United Church of Christ
A Joint Statement by Bishop Jim Gonia, Bishop Kym Lucas, and Bishop Karen Oliveto (video and written form)
Father Michael Nicosia, Vicar of the Presiding Bishop to the Rocky Mountain Region of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion
Statements from covenanting denominations at the national level:
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, Episcopal Church
Conference of Bishops, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of Public Witness
With hope in Christ,
Rev. Ron Anderson, Executive Presbyter, Presbytery of Pueblo
Rev. Sue Artt, Conference Minister, Rocky Mountain Conference, United Church of Christ
Rev. Joan Bell-Haynes, Executive Regional Minister, Central Rocky Mountain Region, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Rev. Sheriolyn Curry Lasley, Presiding Elder, Rocky Mountain District, Desert Mountain Conference, African Methodist Episcopal Church
Bishop Jim Gonia, Rocky Mountain Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Presiding Elder Anthony Hill, Kansas District, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Rev. Dana Hughes, Transitional Presbytery Pastor, Denver Presbytery
The Right Reverend Kym Lucas, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Colorado
Rev. Michael J. Nicosia, Vicar to the Rocky Mountain Region of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion
Bishop Karen Oliveto, Mountain Sky Conference, United Methodist Church
Rev. Denise Pass, Executive Presbyter, Presbytery of Plains and Peaks
Rev. Vickie Samland, Western Plains District Representative, Church of the Brethren
Rev. Steve Van Ostran, Executive Minister, American Baptist Churches of the Rocky MountainsAdrian Miller, Executive Director, Colorado Council of Churches
