 We stand in solidarity, united with those fighting for justice. We commit ourselves to the active work of dismantling racism in all of its forms. We gather now to pray for all those who have suffered due to racial injustice in our society. Our prayer begins with recognition that our world is wounded and unjust. We have to begin with the courage to acknowledge out loud the reality that racism and racial injustice are present in our culture and even within our communities. We gather to pray for an end to racism and inequality and to commit ourselves as individuals and as a community to the work of bringing about God's justice in our world, to the work of anti-racism. Let us now take a moment to recall those who have lost their lives due to brutality and racial violence. Let us pray. Dear God, in our effort to dismantle racism, we understand that we struggle not merely against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities, those institutions and systems that keep racism alive by perpetuating the lie that some members of the family are inferior and others are superior. Give us grace and strength to identify the racial biases that oppress some of us while providing entitlement to others. Give us strength and courage to speak out against injustice and to work for the transformation of unjust system that keep some of us in bondage. Help us to create a fear-filled community that will open our ears to hear the cries of those wounded by racial discrimination and their passionate appeals for change. Strengthen or resolve to make amends for past injustices and right the wrongs of history. Today Lord, we turn to you for help in this moment of weakness and times of need. We ask to turn our weaknesses into strength, this suffering into compassion, sorrow into joy and pain into comfort for others. May we, your servants, trust in your goodness and hope, in your faithfulness even in the middle of this suffering. Remove all fear and doubt from our hearts as we fight the battle of racial injustice in your name. We beg for forgiveness and transformation as we open our hearts and minds in communal prayer. Teach us, good Lord, to serve as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for any reward. Keep accept that of knowing that we do your will through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And now I will ask invite Tushy for a moment of silence. In this solemn moment of remembrance, we pause and call to mind the victims of racism and white supremacy. We recognize that racialized violence in the US is not new and that its victims date back to the 15th century during the European conquest of indigenous lands in the 17th century when the first enslaved Africans were brought to the English colonies. Throughout the colonial history of America, from conquest to present, black men and women have died without a triety at the hands of white supremacy and racist structures. Though some of their names and stories may be known only to God, their blood calls out from the ground as Abel's called out to God, inviting us all to repentance for our sense and conversion to justice. Since the nominal end of slavery, countless black, indigenous, women, men, and trans people of color have been murdered by white supremacists, unjust racialized systems, and police brutality. We recognize that we are unable to compile a complete list of those names and that as part of the injustice. We lift in prayer an incomplete litany of names of the victims of racist violence, representing the countless lives lost. As we remember each person in the silence of our hearts, we pray for their families, beg forgiveness for our inaction, and pray for the courage to act in the hope that we do not meet in such a way again. Clifford Glover, Claude Rees, Randy Evans, Yvonne Smallwood, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Jonathan Farrell, Renisha McBride, Ayanna Jones, John Crawford, Michael Brown, Tamar Rice, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Reverend Clementa Picney, Cynthia Herd, Sharonda Coleman Singleton, Tywanza Sanders, Myra Thomsen, Ethel Lee Lance, Susie Jackson, Daniel Simmons, Sandra Blonde, Riona Taylor, Corey Jones, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Terrence Crutcher, Keith Scott, Jordan Edwards, Sophan Clark, Eric Gardner, Botham Jean, Atatiana Jefferson, Tony McDade, Ahmed Arbery, Desmond Franklin, David McAtee, and George Floyd. We remember all souls who have been killed by racial violence over the last 500 years. Their memories remain cherished by their families, their descendants, God and an entire human family. Micah, Chapter 6, Verse 8. You have been told, oh mortal, what is good. What the Lord requires of you, only to do justice and to love goodness and to walk humbly with your God. A reading from Habakkuk, How long, O Lord, must I cry for help and you do not listen, or cry out to you, violence, and you do not intervene? Why do you let me see iniquity? Why do you seemly gaze at evil? Destruction and violence are before me. There is strife and discord. This is why the law is numb and justice never comes, for the wicked surround the just. This is why justice comes forth perverted. Look over the nations and see, be utterly amazed, for work is being done in art your days that you would not believe, were it told. Unlike God's word, our words are not enough. Not today or any day or all days put together. When you hear just one of those names, let alone 43, the hollowness of words becomes clear. They're not enough, nor can they ever be. And when you think of hundreds of years in the lives of the countless people whose breath has been choked from them by the hard knee of racism, you don't just feel the inadequacy of words, you feel the indictment of history. I shouldn't say you, but I feel it as a white person, as an American, and as a member of a religious order that sadly once bought and sold people. But it really doesn't matter. It really doesn't matter how I feel personally. What matters tonight is that we mourn and honor the dead. What matters tomorrow and every day after is that we see that this never happens again, that a system of racial violence, typified but not limited to these killings, finally be dismantled, that we choose solidarity over privilege. God is a God of love and peace, of mercy and forgiveness. But God is also a God of justice and always stands with the oppressed. In the final analysis, the question for those of us who are privileged is where will we stand? Will we stand with God, or will we stand against God? That's the choice. Good evening, Fairfield community and those tuning in from home for the celebration of life. In recent days, we have witnessed the outpouring of frustration and global protest in response to the victims of racial injustice. The tragic loss of lives to racial injustice cannot continue to be a dominant narrative in our society. As a student of color at this university, I would rather prefer to dominate this narrative in our society by promoting a shared understanding between different social groups. As self-proclaimed men and women for others, I would like to state that desperation and pain experienced by people of color in America is a desperation and pain that we should be addressing on a global platform. Therefore today, we come together and pray to move towards ushering and healing, love, justice and peace for all people, especially people of color. We offer our prayers and reflections today in hope that we as a beloved community will take important steps to grow together. We will do this to be the embodiment of love, justice, peace, compassion and equality in our community. May the families of those who have lost their lives to injustice be strengthened to endure their pain and suffering. And may we all gather in solidarity towards our journey, towards justice and peace. I would like to celebrate the acts of unity that the many members of the Fairfield community have expressed. These people know who they are and have continued advocating on the importance of being an ally in these dire times. We need to understand that we are living in a serious moment in history and it's up to us to enact reform at grassroots levels. So we as a community, we should continue with this energy and head into our fall semester with a serious action plan to combat racism. And now I would like to close out and reference 1 John chapter 4 verse 18 to 20. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. Whoever claims to love God, yet hates a brother or sister, is a liar. Whoever, for whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. Thank you. Let us today be reminded of the words of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. These words come from a sermon with the subject being the answer to a perplexing question. Dr. King said this, racial injustice, a genuine possibility in our nation and in the world will come neither by our frail and often misguided efforts, nor by God imposing his will on wayward men. But when enough people open their lives to God and allow him to pour his triumphant divine energy into their souls, our age, old and noble dream of a world of peace may yet become a reality, but it will neither come by man working alone, nor by God destroying the wicked schemes of men. But when men will so open their lives to God that he may fill them with love, mutual respect, understanding, and goodwill, social salvation will come only through man's willing acceptance of God's mighty gift. Dr. King continued on in this sermon to caution us in this way. He said that we must never feel that God will through some breathtaking miracle or a wave of the hand cast evil out of the world. As long as we believe this, we will pray unanswerable prayers and ask God to do things that he will never do. The belief that God will do everything for man is as untenable as the belief that man can do everything for himself. We must learn that to expect God to do everything while we do nothing is not faith but superstition. So my prayer on this beautiful evening is that just as Jesus was lifted from the grave, let our hearts be lifted above hatred, violence, and the paralyzing grips of institutionalized racism. Let us one day be led by the wisdom of God partnering with man's willingness. Let us be led to a place where love, peace, justice, justice, and compassion become ways of life. Amen. Thank you. It's good to know many have gathered here physically and remotely in the embrace of community. Something life-transforming has happened to us during this time of social distancing and shutting in to our homes. We're on the brink of a new norm as history continues to be made. We have seen solidarity like we haven't seen since the 1960s when Dr. King inspired many to fight for justice not just nationally but internationally. I'm reminded of Catholics in Ireland who challenge anti-catholic discrimination in jobs and housing and police brutality. It's amazing that over the last few weeks thousands have gathered in Japan, Australia, Paris, and many other nations to stand for justice. Tonight we've come together to remember George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmed Aubrey, and all the black lives lost to injustice and that were impacted by racism. Let us not let these lives be lost in vain but instead let them be a driving force for us to make change. So in the upcoming weeks I want to remind those members of our community that there are opportunities for us to gather together and to discuss how we can make change. There's a series of events that will be going forward some for example within the SDMA office there's a program called Can We Talk? Part two a dialogue on advocacy and justice. Campus Ministry will be hosting a new series called the Just One Does Justice and I know that RJSJ will continue to meet. I encourage you all to take a part and be a part of this change. Thank you. Verses from the Quran and the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. Oh humanity we created you from a male and a female and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the site of God is the most righteous among you. God is all knowing all aware. Oh humanity be mindful of your Lord who created you from a single soul and from it he created its mate and through both he spread countless men and women and one of his signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and colors. Surely in this are signs for those of knowledge and the Prophet Muhammad said peace be upon him no Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab nor does the white man have any superiority over a black man or the black man any superiority over the white man. You are all the children of Adam and Adam was created from clay. Thank you. In Hebrew one of the words for God is Ruach Elohim breath of life a gift from the creator of all life. We know that to deny a human being breath is idolatrous and so tonight we have gathered to pray for the families of Mr. Floyd of Ms. Taylor of Mr. Arbery and all those lives who have been so cruelly and violently taken and we renew our commitment to work to achieve a nation that exemplifies compassion and justice for all. So in that spirit I offer the final benediction for our gathering tonight. Oh God we raise our hands to you knowing that the work is ours to do. Black, white, Jew, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, sick, atheist, young, old, gay, straight these are your images battered by some who have sworn to protect and serve but we know that we are all responsible for what happens next and so we pray to you Ruach Elohim source of breath source of life raise up our eyes to see you in each other's eyes to take risks for justice to know that we are our brothers and sisters keepers to ensure that we are united and unified today in prayer more love and compassion we must bring into this world ignite us to combat the hidden prejudice and we pray not for calm but for righteousness for righteousness to flow like a mighty river until peace fills the earth as the waters fill the sea we ask you oh god to comfort the families of all who are grieved and we ask you to strengthen us so that we may do your work to ensure that this is a world redeemed a world not only seeking peace but a world that is truly at peace and we say together on this important and beautiful evening we say together amen