Mail Archive of the old Santa Clara Valley Lutheran Parish

Subject: Re: Prayer/Meditation

Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 11:09:32 -0700 (PDT)

From: David Bonde <dkbonde@gmail.com>

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Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 11:09:32 -0700 (PDT)
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Subject: Re: Prayer/Meditation
From: David Bonde <dkbonde@gmail.com>
To: SCVLP <scvlp@googlegroups.com>
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Do we no longer pray to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who
revealed himself to Moses and showed himself a liberator of slaves?
Do we no longer pray to the God who revealed himself as the LORD, who
spoke through the prophets, and who was incarnate in Jesus of
Nazareth?  Do we no longer pray to this specific God whom Jesus taught
to call Father? And do we not longer pray in Jesus name?  We imagine
that we can approach this God who sets free the oppressed in our own
name?

We do not proclaim some nameless spiritual power.  We proclaim a
specific power =96 one who knows what it is to be tortured.  One who
vindicates the tortured one and raised him from the grave.

David Bonde

On Jul 8, 10:11 am, prjohnh...@aol.com wrote:
> During the month of June we displayed a banner in front of the church
> proclaiming that Torture is a Moral Issue. We have now decided to
> continue to display it -- at least through the inauguration of a new
> president.
>
> On the day that we went out during worship to put the banner up for the
> first time, we used the following prayer:
>
> Dear God of Many Names =85.
>
> At the heart of our longing, there is a cry for compassion. In the
> midst of war as we work and pray for peace, all the world's people must
> nourish a kernel of compassion from which a true and lasting peace may
> grow.
>
> Mighty God, as you have stood with the saints, sages and prophets of
> the world's great traditions, as you have stood with our ancestors who
> have cried, "Peace, Peace" when there was no peace, we pray to feel
> your strength and presence. We honor your name when we courageously
> speak out against those actions that harm the soul of our nation, none
> more than the torture of body, mind, and spirit of one human being at
> the hands of another.
>
> We hold in our hearts those who have been tortured. Their suffering
> will not be forgotten or silenced so long as we give voice to their
> plight.
> We hold in our hearts those who have engaged in torture and pray they
> will take up the powerful path of redemption. May they cease and desist
> and turn away from this path that corrupts their souls.
>
> And for those who would sully our nation's name out of fear, our
> hopeful prayers envision a new day, when leaders will find strength in
> the power of compassion and peace.
>
> By our prayers and actions may we attain forgiveness for what we have
> allowed to occur in our name. May we be worthy to do good deeds in Your
> eyes. Amen.
>
> John Freesemann
>
> A church that doesn't provoke any crisis, a gospel that doesn't
> unsettle, a word of God that doesn't get under anyone's skin, a word of
> God that doesn't touch the real sin of the society in which it is being
> proclaimed, what gospel is that? Archbishop Oscar Romero (1917-1980)