Prayer commemorating Pulse

Prayer shared on June 12, 2017, at a vigil in Knoxville commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando.


Today we are pulsing—with sorrow, rage, determination, hope.  Whatever you have, bring it here.

Listen to your own pulse, join in unity with the beating hearts present here.

As we hear the life flowing in us and between us, we remember those who are no longer with us.
Our siblings lost one year ago—beautiful gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, siblings, and human beings beyond any label or box—as they danced, and played, and laughed, and created sanctuary for one another.

We remember our siblings lost through the generations, in different times and places, to acts of hatred, ignorance, and violence; and those lost to disease, poverty, and lack of access to health care and other basic needs.

We remember, too, our siblings who succumbed to too much pain and suffering, who were not able to keep on living in this world.

As we gather we also remember all the ancestors who fought for change, for freedom, for the liberation of all people.

As we gather we bring to mind the people in our lives who brought us to this day—who affirm us, who dance with us, who hold us, who see us, and who love us.

Let us wrap up all those lives, all that life, up into our own, let them strengthen us so that we find our own brave hearts.

Brave hearts that don’t turn away from pain and suffering, but are willing to break open with love for one another.

Brave hearts that dare to still see the beauty and goodness and joy in this world, and remember that we too, are part of this beauty and goodness.

Brave hearts that believe no matter our life circumstances, no matter what the world says about who we are, we are beautiful and good—our bodies are beautiful and good, our lives are beautiful and good, our relationships are beautiful and good.

Brave hearts to remember that our siblings of all races, genders, sexualities, nations, and religions around this world also belong to this beauty and goodness.

With that courage, may we be the Love we ourselves want to receive and be the change we want to see in the world.

May we be the Pulsing heart that brings liberation out of the loss, rising up, together, again and again.