Prayer Offered for January 27, 2025

In the Lakota language of the North American Plains, the phrase Hanto Yo is a prayer to “clear the way.”

At this time of remembering the atrocities of Auschwitz, we pray:

God of mercy, You call us from the narrowness of our traditions to new ways of being human, from the captivities of our culture to creative witness for justice, we pray:

Clear the way in us, your people, that we might invite each other to freedom and renewed faith.

God of mercy, You call us from privilege and protocol to partnership and pilgrimage, from isolation and insularity to inclusive community, we pray:

Clear the way in us, your people, that we might invite each other to wholeness and integrity. 

Holy, transforming Spirit, You call us from fear to faithfulness, from a desire to control to deeper trust, from the refusal to love to a readiness to reverence all humanity, we pray:

Clear the way in us, your people, that we might all know the beauty and power of preserving the diversity of your creation for future generations.—AMEN.

^{(“From One Race the Human Race: Racial Justice Sunday 2003” by Gwyn Cashmore and Joan Puls)}