Churches around England are gathering at noon on 25th May 2022 to mark two years since the death of George Floyd in the United States.
As a peace movement, rooted in biblical principals of peace and justice, we believe this is an important anniverasry to mark. It demonstrates, as Rev Azariah France-Williams challenged us with in 2022, that many of us live in a false peace.
So we offer the following prayer of lament and action into the day. We are all on a journey to racial justice and this is just one of the steps we must take:
Loving and ever-present God
You created a kaleidoscope of people
each wonderfully and beautifully made.
Yet we, your people, have let you down.
We have allowed powers, structures and prejudice
to suppress some while lifting up others.
It is happening all around,
yet we often don’t see this
because our lives can sometimes feel so peaceful.
As we reflect on this,
we pause for the anniversary of the death of George Floyd.
We lament the place of violence in the world
and fall silent to hear the cry of the oppressed.
We pledge ourselves to hear that cry,
and to use it as a spur to work for peace.
A peace which is not a false peace,
but one in which every person can live their fullest life.
One free from hate, fear and violence.
AMEN
