A Prayer for Black History Month, from and for the lived experiences of all people with sentiments collected and collated by the Rev Dr Vincent Jambawo, Co-Chair of the Belonging Together Ministers Group.
Let us give thanks.
For the ancestors who stood firm when the world bent against them —
Who crossed oceans in chains but built empires with their hands.
Who sang freedom into existence and danced resistance into rhythm.
For the present generations whose choirs pick up the ancient songs
Whose dancing forges a story of hope in brokenness
The Lord be with you all, siblings of the one human race
And also with you, brothers and sisters of our heavenly Earth
Lift your hearts to God, who is beyond the universe
We lift them to this God who comes to dwell among us
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise for Black History.
We give thanks for the Black voices echoing across generations and beyond history
In parliaments, in classrooms, in studios, in streets and in churches.
For the poets, the pioneers, the protestors, the peacemakers.
For those who dared to dream beyond the margins, busting barriers and breaking ceilings.
We give thanks for pride and defiance and hope —
Pride in bodies kissed by the sun, shaped by the earth, and nurtured by the Holy Spirit.
Defiance in names that echo heritage, recall hidden treasures.
Hope in stories that defy erasure, narratives that speak through stones.
We give thanks for the child, dispossessed and dislocated —
Who learns to walk tall in a world that tries to shrink them and contain them in boxes.
Who carries the torch of truth, lit by generations before them.
We give thanks for the struggle —
Not because it is convenient, but because it is our cross to carry.
Because through it, we find and give strength, whether the road is lonely or crowded.
Because in it, we find each other and discover others.
We give thanks for the future —
A future shaped by justice, not fear, by unity, not division.
By love, not hate.
And we give thanks for this moment —
This sacred October, where we stand firm in power and pride.
Where we remember, reclaim, and rejoice.
It is right, and a good and joyful thing,
always and everywhere to give thanks to you,
Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
You formed us black people in your image, fearfully and beautifully
and breathed into us the breath of life.
When the world’s brokenness failed us, your love remained steadfast.
You delivered us from slavery and colonialism, and coursed your spirit in our blood,
and spoke to us through your prophets, who looked for that day
when justice shall roll down like waters
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream,
when one nation shall not lift a sword against another nation,
nor learn war and conflict anymore.
And so, with your people on earth and all the company of Black People
we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, of black people and all people
Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed are they who come in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Amen.