A few weeks ago Pastor Chris and Tracy Alexander performed the song "Plowshare Prayer" during worship. Many found the song quite moving and wanted to learn more about it. Here is the video from that Sunday and the lyrics:
Dear blessed creator, dear mother, dear savior
Dear father, dear brother, dear holy other
Dear sibling, dear baby, dear patiently waiting
Dear sad & confused, dear stuck & abused
Dear end of your rope, dear worn out & broke
Dear go it alone, dear running from home
Dear righteously angry, forsaken by family
Dear jaded & quiet, dear tough & defiant
I pray that I'm heard
And I pray that this works
I pray if a prayer has been used as a sword
Against you & your heart
Against you & your word
I pray that this prayer is a plowshare of sorts
That it might break you open
It might help you grow
I pray that your body gets all that it needs
And if you don't want healing
I just pray for peace
I pray that your burden gets lighter each day
I pray the mean voice in your head goes away
I pray that you honor the grief as it comes
I pray you can feel all the life in your lungs
I pray that if you go all day being brave
That you can go home, go to bed
Feeling safe
I pray you're forgiven. I pray you forgive
I pray you set boundaries & openly live
I pray that you feel you are worth never leaving
I pray that you know I will always believe you
I pray that you're heard
And I pray that this works
Amen on behalf of the last & the least
On behalf of the anxious, depressed & unseen
Amen for the workers, the hungry, the houseless
Amen for the lonely & recently spouseless
Amen for the queers & their closeted peers
Amen for the bullied who hold in their tears
Amen for the mothers of little Black sons
Amen for the kids who grow up scared of guns
Amen for the addicts, ashamed & hungover
Amen for the calloused, the wisened, the sober
Amen for ones who want life to be over
Amen for the leaders who lose their composure
And amen for the parents who just lost their baby
Amen for chronically ill & disabled
Amen for the children down at the border
Amen for the victims of our law & order
I pray that you're heard
And I pray that this works
I pray if a prayer has been used as a sword
Against you & your heart
Against you & your word
I pray that this prayer is a plowshare of sorts
-written by Spencer LaJoye