Holy One, I come to you with shaking knees and a heavy heart.
I am not a stranger to suffering, but I do not know the depths of pain caused by racism.
To protect my own comfort, I have been complicit in patterns of exclusion,
where the presence of my sisters is minimized, discredited, and hyper-sexualized.
I confess, I have sinned against your beloved.
I have responded to my sisters’ cries in fear and ignorance.
I have rushed to defensiveness instead of lament, and pride instead of humility.
My words, my actions, my beliefs have built a wall of performative egalitarianism,
centered on my own needs and costing others a place at the table.
I confess, I have sinned against your beloved.
God Who Sees, I come to you seeking a different way.
Forgive me for where I have turned a blind eye to the suffering of others.
Forgive me for I have not pursued your kin-dom. I have not sought shalom.
I confess, I have sinned against your beloved.
Take the scales from my eyes and lead me according to your truth.
Do not allow me to separate or elevate myself from other Daughters of Eve.
May I grieve with my sisters who grieve and celebrate with those who celebrate.
Body and soul, we are created in your image, a single source with eternal creativity.
I confess, I have sinned against you.
Lord Christ, forgive me.
Show me the path forward into your justice and mercy.
With each breath, cleanse my mouth, mind, and heart from apathy.
Stoke a fire in my heart to engage in the work you have set before me with prophetic humility,
so that all women may know your healing.
Amen.
This prayer appears in “Learning Lament, Building Empathy, and Joining our Sisters at the Intersection of Race and Gender,” the Summer 2021 issue of Mutuality magazine. Read the full issue here.
