Prayer of Reconciliation

We gather with a hunger for reconciliation.

What is done cannot be undone.
What is done next must now be done with care.

We gather because we are hopeful,
Because we have visions and dreams of a brighter future.

That there may be more than vision in this room,
These are the wounds we must heal together—
Grief and anger for all that has been lost,
Guilt or fear in the reliving,
Pain that has gone without sufficient comfort,
Mistrust that was earned, that continues burning still,

Every injury we may have named, and yet still carry,
Those we haven’t, can’t, or dare not speak aloud,
Those we are not ready to make public,
Those still not recognized, accepted, understood.

These are the wounds that seek replacement—
Not cancellation or denial,
Wounds we will tend cautiously,
Applying the salve of understanding,
Forming scars that mark our history,
Without disfiguring the future we might share.

This is not a time of quick solutions, fancy talking.
This is a slow precision. This is a prayer for peace.

We are new at this endeavor. New at listening, new at hearing.
New at taking enough time to honestly receive one another’s stories.

What is done cannot be undone.
What is done next must now be done with care.

We gather because we are hopeful,
Because we have visions and dreams of a brighter future.

May the strength of this time together help us to walk forward.
May the wisdom of this experience help us to know our path.
May we have the courage to return, as often as necessary, until our way is clear.
May we have the perseverance, together, to see it through.

May we cause it to be so.

A small flame burns on a ceramic green candle holder

To Wake, To Rise

By William G. Sinkford

From Skinner House Books

The 2017 edition of the UUA InSpirit series is an anthology of 29 poems, prayers, and reflections about resisting oppression and keeping the faith in social action work.

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