American Baptist Home Missions Societies (ABHMS) makes available a collection of non-partisan 2020 Election Season Worship Resources such as, litanies, prayers, and scripture for use in worship services. The General Election is around the corner and we recognize the ever-present tension and need for unity as November 3 comes near. These resources are for faith leaders to use in community whether virtual, in-person, on screen or in a bulletin. In addition, there are helpful articles from the Christian Citizen to provide reflection and solidarity.

In a time where many things feel uncertain, these resources are meant to encourage and uplift in order to prevent, reduce, and de-escalate violence across our nation. There is a need for churches and congregations to speak into and confront prospective concerns such as voter suppression, injustice, and civil unrest across the nation. We are all impacted collectively by the coming General Election. Let us make it our civic duty to engage in the best we can to bring hope in beloved community and across the nation, together.

It is our hope that these resources give you and your community a sense of optimism in preparation for election day and the future following it. “In this historic time, let us lean into naming the truth and fears happening within us and across the United States in this election season,” says Rev. Brittany Graves, Associate Coordinator for Public Witness & Advocacy. “May leaning in bring us hope and healing in our pursuit of unity and justice among our individual communities and nation.”  

A list of the 2020 Election Season Worship Resources is found at this link and made available for use below.

 

We Will Vote Litany (from the Faithful Voter Toolkit)

Reader: God, you tell us that we are made in your image. We believe that all people, regardless of race, religion, or immigration status have inherent dignity because you made us. Our God-given dignity demands recognition.

All: We will celebrate our dignity, and we will vote in the 2020 election!

Reader: We know you long for the freedom of all people and for chains of oppression to break. For far too long, too many of your children have been excluded from the democratic process, which has resulted in inequality and injustice. But we know you see each of us as equal in your eyes.

All: Just as you see us as equal, we will use our vote to ensure the equality of all people!

Reader: You’ve commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves. When we register to vote and solidify our voter plan and ensure our communities do the same, we can address many of the systemic issues we face by electing the right individuals to pass better legislation.

All: For our neighbors, our future generations, we will vote!

Reader: Lord, you assure us to ‘fear not.’ You walk with us in our lives, and we trust in your spirit and guidance. We proclaim ourselves as your children and our dignified presence in this nation.

All: We declare our presence and we will use our vote to make our voice heard!

 

Daily Prayers for the 2020 Election (used with permission from Sheena Rolle/FHJ Strategies: Faith in Florida Toolkit)

  • Pray that we see God in everyone we encounter so that Black, and all marginalized communities in this county would be seen as children of God, not as a threat. 
  • Pray that God’s real justice reigns in our nation, so that our legal systems would privilege the poor and those who are marginalized, not the politically connected or the rich. 
  • Pray that in every level of leadership, God sends us a “shepherd after God’s own heart” so that we might be led by knowledge and understanding, not corruption and ignorance. 
  • Pray for knowledge and wisdom, so that we may never forget the racist history of our nation, and so that we learn from that history and choose a better path forward. 
  • Pray that God might soften the hearts of the people, especially the faith community so that when someone is harmed, our first response is to show compassion and God’s heartbreak; not a suspicion that the person might have deserved their death or their pain. 
  • Pray for the return of the prophets, that the people of God would speak up for those of us who do not get treated fairly by the criminal justice system, or the immigration system, or the economic system of this world. 
  • Pray for repentance of our nation, which was built on stolen land, glorified slavery, and infused those same sins into all of our systems today. May we all repent and turn towards God’s justice, even when it makes us uncomfortable. 
  • Pray that we take the Lord’s Prayer seriously in our daily lives, “on earth, as it is in heaven.” God helps us be more mindful of how we treat and think of each other, so that we can create systems and a society that looks more like heaven.
  • Pray for listening ears, so that we slow down, listen to the experiences of our brothers and sisters, learn from their pain, and take bold steps to do something about the injustices that they experience.


 

Sunday Prayer for Election (used with permission from RevGalBlogPals)

We call upon You,
lover of justice,
maker of a new heaven and a new earth,
promiser of words and wisdom.

We call upon You,
the One who tells us not to be weary of doing right,
the One who believes that wolves and lambs can be safe together,
the One who sees
that nations will rise upon nations,
that endings happen,
that truth shall rise,
yes, it is YOU we call upon.

We call upon You to move us, to shake us, to quiet us, to humble us, to teach us, to help us embrace the courage you give us,
we call upon You to wake us up, to embolden us, to live within us.

We need You.
We offer ourselves to You.
We ask that you use us in spite of all of who we are and aren’t,
so that the world knows your Gospel of Grace, your Call, your Kin-dom.

Amen.

 

Prayer by Ambrose of Milan (c. 340-397) (from The New Manual of Worship, p.216)

When we speak about wisdom,

     we are speaking about Christ.

When we speak about virtue,

     we are speaking about Christ.

When we speak about justice,

     we are speaking about Christ.

When we speak about peace,

     we are speaking about Christ.

When we speak about truth and life and redemption,

     we are speaking about Christ.

 

Prayer by Beth W. Johnston (from The New Manual of Worship, p.221)

Sometimes events in the world around us call us not only to mourning, but also to questioning, and in the midst of the questioning, to new attitude and action. Let us seek a way forward in this time and place as we lay before God our confession.

God of all peoples, we confess all the times when we divided the world into “us” and “them.” We confess the times when we thought that we were somehow, automatically, better than others. We confess the times when we tried to find a reason to distance ourselves from “those people.” We confess the times when we snuffed out our lights; kept our salt to ourselves; spoke about thinking of the hurt we might cause; let the hate-filled remark go unchallenged; missed an opportunity to support the struggling; and turned our back on your call to radical love. Forgive us; draw us into one human community; unite us as your beloved children. Amen.

The Good News is this and simply this: God is love. God call us to love.

God loves the unloved. God loves even the unloving. Let us live in and into this love.

 

Litany on Election Year (©Fran Pratt franpratt.com Used with permission)

(Non-bold sections are to be read by a leader and sections in bold are to be read aloud by a congregation.)

When we want to run away,
Help us to stay present to what is important.

When we want to post nasty things on social media,
Help us to vent in more appropriate ways.

When we are tempted to spend time indulging anxiety,
Help us to fix ourselves on your faithfulness.

When we are uncertain how to vote in good conscience,
Show us a way forward.

When we feel reactive,
Help us to become contemplative.

When we feel frustrated,
Help us to trust that the Kingdom of God is unstoppable.

When we feel afraid,
Help us remember our hope, joy, and the power of love.

When we are tempted to criticize those who disagree with us,
Help us to speak gracefully, or not at all.

When we are focused on pointing out the negative,
Help us to find ways to help make things better.

When we feel a sense of dislike or loathing for anyone, ever,
Help us to remember compassion and kindness.

When all we can see is ugliness,
Help us to turn off the screen and go outside.

Amen

 

Litany for Loving Those with Whom We Disagree (©Fran Pratt franpratt.com Used with permission)

God of Love, fill us anew with the energy of your love
For we find ourselves in conflict and disagreement with our sisters and brothers;
But we want Your heart to move us.

We confess our tendency to cast judgement on those whose ideas differ from ours.
We confess our tendency to consider ourselves superior.
We confess our tendency to blame, call names, castigate, and demean.
We confess our tendency to speak truth in righteous indignation, and not in love.
We confess our tendency to use sarcasm as a weapon of righteousness.
We confess our tendency to obsess about being right.

Help us to have patience with those who do not share our perspective.
Help us to have grace for those we consider to be in the wrong.
Help us to extend forgiveness to those who hurt us or those close to us.

May we find, in each circumstance, those places where we are complicit.
May we attend to the log in our own eye.
May we remember that the good news of the Kingdom of God is steadily creeping in,
   That fear, defensiveness, and violence are alien to it;
   That peace, beauty, and gentleness are its hallmarks.
May we compass our movements by Love’s true north.

We relinquish our need to win arguments.
We relinquish our need to demonstrate our superior worldview.
In those opportunities we get to peaceably speak our opinion, may we do it with
    Love
    Joy
    Peace
    Patience
    Kindness
    Goodness
    Faithfulness
    Gentleness
    Self-control
And may Christ be glorified by our every word and action.

Amen

 

Prayer for an Election Year (from the online Book of Common Prayer)

Almighty God, to whom we must account for all our powers
and privileges: Guide the people of the United States (or of
this community) in the election of officials and representatives;
that, by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights of
all may be protected and our nation be enabled to fulfill your
purposes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Scripture reading from Romans 12:14-21 (a few translations in English, Spanish & Chinese submitted by Florence Li; the Chinese translation is available for download from the ABHMS website)

Romans 12:14-21 on Christian Living (The Voice)

14 If people mistreat or malign you, bless them. Always speak blessings, not curses. 15 If some have cause to celebrate, join in the celebration. And if others are weeping, join in that as well. 16 Work toward unity and live in harmony with one another. Avoid thinking you are better than others or wiser than the rest; instead, embrace common people and ordinary tasks.

17 Do not retaliate with evil, regardless of the evil brought against you. Try to do what is good and right and honorable as agreed upon by all people. 18 If it is within your power, make peace with all people. 19 Again, my loved ones, do not seek revenge; instead, allow God’s wrath to make sure justice is servedTurn it over to Him. For the Scriptures say, “Revenge is Mine. I will settle all scores.”[a

20 But consider this bit of wisdom: “If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink; because if you treat him kindly, it will be like heaping hot coals on top of his head.”[b21 Never let evil get the best of you; instead, overpower evil with the good.

 

Romanos 12:16-21, Nueva Versión Internacional

16 Vivan en armonía los unos con los otros. No sean arrogantes, sino háganse solidarios con los humildes.[a] No se crean los únicos que saben.

17 No paguen a nadie mal por mal. Procuren hacer lo bueno delante de todos. 18 Si es posible, y en cuanto dependa de ustedes, vivan en paz con todos. 19 No tomen venganza, hermanos míos, sino dejen el castigo en las manos de Dios, porque está escrito: «Mía es la venganza; yo pagaré»,[b] dice el Señor. 20 Antes bien,

«Si tu enemigo tiene hambre, dale de comer;
    si tiene sed, dale de beber.
Actuando así, harás que se avergüence de su conducta».[c]

21 No te dejes vencer por el mal; al contrario, vence el mal con el bien.

 

Below are links to supplemental resources from the Christian Citizen:

With anxieties on the rise during election season, faith communities can help, by Michael Woolf

From the awesome grandeur of the night sky to the awesome responsibility of voting, by Curtis Ramsey-Lucas

One month and counting—the church’s unique role in encouraging and supporting voting, by Susan Gottshall:

Being a Christian Citizen in an election year, by Daniel Headrick

I am weary, let me vote, by Claire Hein Blanton

Public engagement from a contemplative heart, by Julie Pennington-Russell

Spiritual activism: We must constructively engage in politics, by Mae Elise Cannon

 

 

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