To Do Justice
This prayer is included in Prayers for The New Social Awakening: Inspired by the New Social Creed.
In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God
and She was known as Sophia.
Present at the beginning of creation
you blew breath into our very souls
groaning in travail, you gave birth to creation.
God, our Mother, hear our prayer.
Rejoice with us in the pleasure of our joys:
For mothers
who sing lullabies and rock songs to soothe and entertain their babies,
who play endless games of Hi Ho Cherry O and Chutes and Ladders,
who braid hair, potty-train, cook, clean, and do laundry,
who learn something new about what it means to love by being a mother.
Mother God, the delight of our children fills our hearts and our souls with joy,
We give thanks for the myriad ways that they bless our lives and communities.
Weep with us in the pain of our laments:
For mothers who bleed
from abortions of unwanted or impossible pregnancies,
from rape and assault,
from domestic violence and homicide.
We need better birth control, sex education,
and a transformation of our culture of violence,
We pray for the will and the strength to get involved
in facilitating this transformation.
For mothers who cry
when they can’t make their rent,
when their children go hungry,
when they lose their children to drugs, prison, or gang violence.
We need affordable housing, social safety nets,
and community alternatives for idle teens,
Help us commit ourselves and our churches
to making these changes in our local communities.
For mothers who have had enough
of asthma attacks and hospital rooms when there is no insurance,
of losing jobs for staying home with a sick child,
of low wage, dead end jobs.
We need universal health coverage and new ways of envisioning work and life,
We ask for imagination and the political courage to make this a reality.
For mothers who are lonely, tired, hateful, loving, energetic, absent, over-bearing, fun, silly, sad, courageous, ill, angry, soft-spoken, old, young, and in-between.
For women who mother their own children or the children of others, for adopted moms, and birth moms, and single moms and grand moms, for the moms we had and the moms we want to be – we thank you O God, our Mother.
Help us to remember that no one mothers in isolation and that all mothers need support, courage, assistance, and friendships to make it through.
Help us remember what it means to be communities of Christ in the world and help us work to support mothers in our communities and in our nation. Amen.
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