Prayer for Civility

Good and Gracious God,

forgive us,

for we know not what to do.

We assume,

We opine,

We label,

We blame,

We reject,

We criticize,

We condemn.

We turn deaf ears

to one another.

Incivility

has become

our lingua franca.

Disappointment,

our shared identity.

Like the tower of Babel,

our language divides us.

As the tone of our discourse

becomes louder and

more aggressive,

we yearn to withdraw into

our own self-interests,

which only distances us further

from your call

to love and service.

We are guilty of

the sin of forgetting.

We have forgotten

to love one another

as you have loved us.

To do unto “the other”

as we would have

“the other” do unto us.

We jump to quick judgements,

forgetting that we too

will be judged.

We have lost our way.

We come to you today,

asking that you

guide us toward civility -

in the thoughts we think

and the words we speak.

Help us -

Learn to build others up,

not tear them down.

To express our

thoughts and feelings

with tact and respect.

Open our hearts

so that we might listen

to desperate voices

with patience

and empathy.

As we adapt to this

new way of being,

may we become

agents of change

for our beleaguered world.

No longer dependent on

strident discourse,

but empowered by

your love and grace

in all that we

say and do.

AMEN