Yesterday, students, staff, and faculty at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology gathered in our fourth floor Chapel to pray and mourn for the victims of last week’s shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. After the noon bells led into a moment of silence, Paul Steinke, Dean of Students & Alumni, opened with reflection about the God who is with us in troubled waters, and Hillary Kimsey, a first-year MDiv student, led the room in the following communal prayer:

Leader: Today we are gathered to mourn as a community for our brothers and sisters at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. Together we weep, together we lament. Together we come before the Holy One with tears and questions. Together we pray.

Let us pray together.

O God, you are our help and strength,
our refuge in the time of trouble.
In you our ancestors trusted;
They trusted, and you delivered them.

When we do not know how to pray, your Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.
We beg for that intercession now, Gracious One.
Let us echo your pleas by saying together, Loving God, hear our prayer.

Desolation and destruction are in our streets,
and terror dances before us. Our hearts faint; our knees tremble;
Our eyes are spent from weeping and our stomachs churn.
Loving God, hear our prayer.

How long, O Lord, how long
must we endure this devastation?
Why does violence flourish while peace is taken prisoner?
Rouse yourself! Do not cast us off in times of trouble.
Loving God, hear our prayer.

For our brothers and our sisters at Emanuel AME Church,
for the heartbroken community in Charleston,
Loving God, hear our prayer.

For South Carolina and our whole nation as we face
the reality of racism and the pain of privilege,
Loving God, hear our prayer.

For our community at The Seattle School
as we endeavor to embrace each other, to welcome diversity,
to learn, and to act as messengers of hope,
Loving God, hear our prayer.

Together, let us speak aloud the names of the victims. Let us remember them.

Cynthia Hurd
Age 54. A library manager whose life was dedicated to books, children, and youth.
God of Hope, receive her light, embrace her loved ones.

Susie Jackson
Age 87, a mother figure to generations in her family and a renowned cook.
God of Hope, receive her light, embrace her loved ones.

Ethel Lance
Age 70, a church custodian who found strength in a gospel song to overcome life’s challenges.
God of Hope, receive her light, embrace her loved ones.

DePayne Middleton Doctor
Age 49, a minister whose angelic voice could heal troubled hearts.
God of Hope, receive her light, embrace her loved ones.

Clementa Pinckney
Age 41, a pastor and state senator who lent his booming voice to the voiceless.
God of Hope, receive his light, embrace his loved ones.

Tywanza Sanders
Age 26, a barber, poet, and aspiring entrepreneur ready to take the world by storm.
God of Hope, receive his light, embrace his loved ones.

Daniel L. Simmons, Sr.
Age 74, a minister who served as a model of endurance and service to God.
God of Hope, receive his light, embrace his loved ones.

Sharonda Singleton
Age 45, a pastor and coach who became her runners’ biggest cheerleader, on and off the track.
God of Hope, receive her light, embrace her loved ones.

Myra Thompson
Age 59, a builder of faith who worked to restore her beloved church’s properties to their full glory.
God of Hope, receive her light, embrace her loved ones.

And in our heartbreak and our anger,
God of Justice, teach us to be like Jesus,
who urged us to love our enemies.
For Dylann Roof, for his family,
for all among us who wrestle with
fear, ignorance, prejudice, or hatred,
Loving God, hear our prayer.

For you are a gracious God abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
By the power of the cross, bring to an end hostility.
For you will gather together your people into the place
where mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
and tears will be wiped from every eye.
Hurry that day, O God, for our salvation. Accomplish it quickly!
In the name of our Creator, Christ, and Counselor we pray, Amen.

Partially adapted from Let the Whole Church Say Amen! A Guide for Those Who Pray in Public by Laurence Hull Stookey (pp. 94-95) and the Sunday, June 21 edition of The Post and Courier, a newspaper in Charleston.