Deborah A. Nisly Grace Mennonite Church Pandora, Oh

[On the first two lines, we plan to encourage members to read the line or lines which express what they are feeling.]

Leader & Congregants: Today we feel sorrow.

Leader & Congregants: Today we feel anger.

All: Today we feel loss.

Leader: The Lord has witnessed the destructive forces of evil this week. He hears us when we cry out.

All: We are not alone.

Leader: And yet there are others in our world who have cried out.

Side 1: Those who have cried out from the depths of hunger.

Side 2: Those who have cried out from the depths of homelessness.

All: Those who have cried out from the depths of injustice, oppression, and desperation.

Leader: The Lord heard their plea, but in the world they cried alone.

Side 1: From the security of our safe homes and well-fed families, we did not hear their cry.

Side 2: From the security of a powerful nation which has much to be thankful for, we could not feel their hopelessness.

All: And so sorrow leads to desperation. Anger leads to hatred. And hatred unchecked leads to evil.

Leader: Evil has visited us this week.

Side 1: The horrific actions carried out against those in New York and Washington, D.C., on Tuesday are reprehensible.

Side 2: They are without excuse. They are wrong.

All: They are evil.

Leader: And yet evil wore a human face.

Congregation: A face that cries out in anger. A face that cries out in sorrow. A face that cries out in desperation as we ourselves cry out today.

Leader: Jesus died for all humankind. God loves all humankind. God tells us to do the same. And so we wrestle with the anger and sorrow deep in our hearts, but God where is the love?

All: Lord, we confess that in our safe, comfortable lives, it has been difficult to truly hear the cries of others. Open our ears to the anger of others. Open our eyes to the sorrow of others–that we might truly learn to love before hatred spawns evil once more.

Deborah A. Nisly

Susan Mark Landis Minister of peace and Justice for the Mennonite Church PO Box 173, Orrville OH 44667-0173 phone/fax 330-683-6844 http://www.MennoLink.org/peace/