St James AME Church, Elgin, Illinois

African Methodist Episcopal Church

First Episcopal District

First District Plaza - 3801 Market Street, Suite 300

Philadelphia, PA 19104

(215) 662-0506

(215) 662-0199 (Fax)

 August 15, 2014

"Grace, Mercy and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"  Galatians 1:3 (NIV)

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

In a response to the national outcry from the senseless death of Michael Brown committed by Officer Darren Wilson, a police officer in Ferguson, MO, the Dr. Samurl D. Proctor Trustee Board, of which I am a member, is asking Pastors and Churches to read and participate to the attached missive.

Yours in His service,

Bishop Gregory G.M. Ingram

Presiding Prelate

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A Litany For Children Slain By Violence
and Traumatized By Those Called to “Serve and Protect”
August 17, 2014

 

Leader:  A sound is heard in Ramah, the sound of bitter weeping.  Rachel is weeping for her children.  She refuses to be comforted, for they are dead.

Assembly: We pray for the families of children who have been slain by gun violence, left to die on streets with less dignity than is given to animals.

Leader: A sound is heard in every city.  Communities are weeping generationally for their children. Our sons, like Emmett Till, Treyvon Martin, Ezell Ford, Michael Brown and John Crawford.  Our daughters, like Ayanna Jones, Miriam Carey, Malisa Williams and Tarika Wilson.

Assembly: As people of God, we weep for the lives of all children who instead of enjoying the sweetness of innocence become victims of hate, victims of war, and victims of violence. 

Leader: Now, let us rise up and interrupt these rushing waters of violence that leave children and communities wounded and paralyzed, traumatized by internal  disintegration and state terror.  Let us rise up and demand this nation abandon its affair with beliefs, practices and laws that are rooted in militarism, justified by racism and propped up by systemic  inequities. 

Assembly: We will rise up against laws rooted in evil that have no concern for life, nor any concern for God’s love. We will rise up until justice rolls on like a river and righteousness like a never failing stream.

Leader:  Oh Lord, we commit ourselves to seeing all children the way that you see them.  No matter their age or race, they are precious gifts made in your image, created with transformative purpose and unlimited promise.

Assembly:  And for that cause, we pledge to be hedges of protection for their lives, we pledge to stand against anything that threatens their potential or promise. 

All: We embody the universal spirit of Ubuntu, “I am because we are and because we are, I am.” We are all Rachel crying for the children!  Therefore, we pledge to lock arms in solidarity with the families of the slain.  We pledge to let our voices be heard all over this nation and the world, for we know we are called to do what is just and right.

©2014 by Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc.

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