A Prayer for Inauguration Day 2021

We lift our voices

in gratitude

for a new day,

for possibilities we have dreamed of,

for an opportunity to start again.

And we lift our voices in repentance,

recognizing the sins of racism and white supremacy that have such a hold on our nation, 

that are embedded in its very creation;

even as we lift our voices with hope,

knowing that in turning away from sin we are turning toward a better world

for all of us.

We lift our voices in a call for peace- 

not peace as in an absence of conflict-

no, we call for an end to the violence leaders like Coretta Scott King point to:

the violence of allowing children to starve

(or remain in cages), and

the violence of ignoring medical needs

and refusing simple actions like wearing masks to keep one another safe.

We know another world is possible.

And we know that new leaders will not save us.

As we lift our voices, we lift our hands,

so we can do the work of gratitude, repentance, and peace

together.