God, hear our cries.
Our calm and trust have been shattered by the violent death in Woolwich.
Keep us ever mindful that you are our God, that you are the Prince of Peace, the God of Love.
Let our hearts not respond with hate or generalizations, not with phobias nor a desire for payback.
We pray for all who have been personally impacted by these events, especially the family of the soldier who was killed.
Grant us courage to walk with our Muslim brothers and sister who, like us, have responded with horror and shock.
Help us hold hands together, as your people, children of one God — Yahweh, Jehovah, Allah– the God of us all.
Show us the path before us, in Christ’s footsteps, illuminated by the light of your wisdom and mercy.
This we pray, in Jesus’s name, Amen.
–written in response to the 2013 brutal attack and murder on the High Street of Woolwich UK