Being the Church Across Racial/Ethnic Boundaries
December 19th, 2008One of the culminating actions of our fall series on racial reconciliation was that we agreed to pray the following prayer as a kind of corporate discipline. It was written by one of our members Danny Yencich.
O LORD, You are a God whose love knows no boundaries and no favorites;
it s a Love that overcomes barriers and breaks down walls.
It is clear to us now that your gathered people reflect this Truth:
Your people is multicultural gathering from every notion, every walk of life;
your people is a gathering of faithful family from every tongue, every race;
your chosen are the rich, the poor, the middle-class.
Yours are a people of Rebirth–who, above all else, cling to the gospel
preached by your Anointed Son–the One who was nailed to a Roman cross,
the One who came to free and to save.
Father, let us mold our thoughts, our hearts, and our actions after Yours.
Let us follow after Peter, who, with your guidance, stepped out of his culture–
stepped out of himself–to meet Cornelius in his place, his culture.
Let us be like Peter who held first to the love of the LORD for the people;
let us be like Peter who chose to stay.
God, we come to you as a Body asking for guidance.
Show us how better to grow over, to stretch across, and to break down
the walls that separate humanity.
Show to us the people–the Corneliuses–in our own lives;
dear God, help us to love them, to walk with them, and to choose to stay.
In the name of Christ and for the sake of the Church, we pray this together. AMEN.
Please feel free to pray this with us whether you are a part of our community or not.
[See Acts 10 for the whole Peter/Cornelius story].