April 23rd

Prayer for Portapique, Nova Scotia

Prayer for Portapique, Nova Scotia
Written by Rachel Siemens, Pastor of Carman Mennonite Church, Carman, MB

Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth
or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
 
We bring You our broken hearts
and place into Your great care
all of the lives lost in Nova Scotia in this rampage.
We entrust their souls to Your bountiful love
which knows no end in time or eternity.
            Lord, have mercy.
            Christ, have mercy.
 
We weep with those who are weeping.
Send Your Spirit of comfort to the many many people who are mourning the death
of their mothers and fathers, their sons and daughters, their family and neighbours,
their friends and colleagues.
Embrace them as their grief is compounded by the inability to come together
to mourn in person and comfort each other with hugs and tears.
            Lord, have mercy.
            Christ, have mercy.
 
Grant Your strength and Your comfort to the many people who are working
to help in a variety of ways: for first responders, investigators, funeral directors,
mayors and town councils, for pastors and journalists, and those whose work goes unnamed.
            Lord, have mercy.
            Christ, have mercy.
 
We bring to You our shock, our grief, our fear, our outrage;
“This doesn’t happen in Canada!”
But this did happen.
We bring You our loss of innocence.
As we react and respond to this awful event,
may we not become cynical and close our hearts to others or to You.
            Lord, have mercy.
            Christ, have mercy.

God of compassion and mercy,
we offer You our prayer in the strong name of Jesus, Our Risen Saviour,
who taught us to pray, Our Father…