A reflection on our day in Selma

A prayer written by Wes and Jude, intern and student from the University of Maryland, College Park.

God,

There has been much to be thankful for on this week-long pilgrimage.

Tonight, we give thanks for:

Messiah Lutheran Church and their well of hospitality

For the witness-bearing, legacy-carrying workers at the Lowndes Interpretative Center

For the new knowledge and rewritten narratives we were given there

For the space to be honest, vulnerable, and challenge our assumptions

And for those you put their lives on the line, gave their lives, and are still giving their lives to this cause, we give thanks

In giving thanks we also offer prayer and petitions for the people and stories we encountered:

For those whose lives were stolen too soon, especially Jimmie Lee Jackson, Rev. James Reeb, Viola Liuzzo, and Jonathan Daniels. These saints and servants helped bring revolution and reconciliation to Alabama. May they rest easy and never be forgotten.

May we who march now never lose hope or let go of our righteous anger.

When a people shout “How ling must we suffer?” may you always answer, “Not long.”

May you guide our feet from the Edmund Pettus Bridge and the steps of the Brown Chapel AME Church straight to the halls of power.

May we hear the horrors of Bloody Sunday and the terrors of the tent city and vow to never let those things come to pass again.

We lift all these things to you, with humbled hearts and renewed dedication to your work

saying, Amen.