A Prayer for Black History Month

God of our ancestors,
God of liberation,
God of freedom,
God of justice,
God of the oppressed,
God who hears the cries of the oppressed
And walks with those who struggle for freedom.

Today and this hour and this minute
We remember the generations who endured chains,
torture, segregation, violence, exclusion, and injustice,
and yet refused to surrender their dignity,
their faith, their culture or their hope.

We give thanks for those who resisted
For those who marched, organized, taught, plotted, created,
Prayed, spoke truth and opened doors,
that others might walk through.

We remember the names we know,
and countless names history has chosen to forget,
We remember many pacifists who were beheaded and whose heads hung in world capitals' museums displayed as trophies of war.

In the same token may you give us short memory sufficient to forget and forgive all violent racists who destroyed lives, communities and engaged in primitive accumulation.

We also pray for holy anger that we may play our part in destroying symbols of slavery colonialism, racism and modern-day slavery.

We remember individuals and communities of whatever colour and nationality who selflessly paid the ultimate prize for their belief in the equality of all people. May their courage live not only in our memories but in the choices we make today.

Liberating God free us from every system that diminishes human worth,
Give us courage to challenge racism,
to confront injustice
to speak when silence seems the safer way
to engage when passivism protects oppression,
and to stand alongside those whose voices are too often unheard.

Where there is inequality
make us agents of justice
where there is hatred,
make us builders of communities
where there is exclusion,
make us open doors
where there is despair
make us keepers of hope

May black history never be confined to one month.
May it call us to remember,
To learn,
To resist injustice,
To celebrate black joy and creativity,
And to build a future where every person can live
With dignity, freedom, safety and belonging.

May we honour the ancestors
By refusing to accept oppression as inevitable,
May we honour the present
By standing together
And may we honour the future
By leaving behind a world
More free, more just and more loving
than the one we inherited.

Amen