Prayer In Response to Orlando Shooting

Remembering the victims, families and all those affected by the June 12 shootings at the "Pulse" nightclub in Orlando...  Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer...

Lord God, we don’t know how to pray.
This immense disaster feels overwhelming.
We can only imagine how the victims feel,
and we are so many miles away that we feel helpless.
Surround those directly involved with your loving presence.
Comfort the families of the dead and injured,
Sustain those waiting for word of those they love.
Protect, strengthen, and uphold
the rescuers and emergency personnel.
Help all of us to remember that your love
is bigger and stronger than despair and destruction.
Guide and strengthen us to reach out to those affected
in ways that will bring healing.
Give them and us a sense of your peace and hope.
In the name of Jesus, our friend and healer. Amen.

     [--Prayer "In the Face of Disaster" from page 60 of Prayers for Life’s Ordinary and Extraordinary Moments, compiled and edited by Mary Lou Redding. Copyright © 2012 by Upper Room Books.]

You're also invited to watch my WJCN-TV "Inspirational Minute" video "Peace Begins with Me" to be reminded of what we all can do in the midst of senseless acts of violence such as this.

(For suggestions on other appropriate ways to respond, read articles at this United Methodist Church site:  "Responding to Violence") 

In Christ, Pastor Brian