Bishop’s Sand Creek Massacre Blog
Entry #5
March 25, 2014
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Colorado State Senate
Opening Prayer
March 25, 2014
Yesterday I met and prayed and with descendants of the nearly 200 Native Americans who died at the hands of government troops in Sand Creek Massacre 150 years ago in the State of Colorado. And so, I bring them with me this day as we pray together.
We pause at the start of a new day. We pause before we act. All the people have given their trust to the people in this room. And with this trust comes tremendous power to do good and to do harm. We pause because we know our actions count. We know that votes taken in this room have the power to make or break: dreams, lives, cultures, communities, fortunes, worlds.
And we know that we are moved by many motives. Bodies like this have not always served the common good or protected individual liberty. People like us have sometimes put the public trust to private purpose or personal gain. We have sometimes utterly failed to protect those in our care.
And so we pause this morning, and humble ourselves before the source of all life, yearning to see with the eyes of the One who sees the far horizon, and who loves without shadow. And we say, help us. Open our minds to the truth that confounds our opinions. Help us hold in our hearts the poor as well as the rich. Help us find the common values that unite us across the great divides among us. Give us the fortitude to try again what we have tried and failed to. Give us the courage to try what we have never tried before. Help us this day lead the State of Colorado to be a place of justice and peace for all who call it home.
And now I commend you to the care of God and to the message of God’s grace, which is able to build you up and give you the blessings God has for all God’s people. Acts 20: 32
Amen.
Entry #5
March 25, 2014
Download PDF
Colorado State Senate
Opening Prayer
March 25, 2014
Yesterday I met and prayed and with descendants of the nearly 200 Native Americans who died at the hands of government troops in Sand Creek Massacre 150 years ago in the State of Colorado. And so, I bring them with me this day as we pray together.
We pause at the start of a new day. We pause before we act. All the people have given their trust to the people in this room. And with this trust comes tremendous power to do good and to do harm. We pause because we know our actions count. We know that votes taken in this room have the power to make or break: dreams, lives, cultures, communities, fortunes, worlds.
And we know that we are moved by many motives. Bodies like this have not always served the common good or protected individual liberty. People like us have sometimes put the public trust to private purpose or personal gain. We have sometimes utterly failed to protect those in our care.
And so we pause this morning, and humble ourselves before the source of all life, yearning to see with the eyes of the One who sees the far horizon, and who loves without shadow. And we say, help us. Open our minds to the truth that confounds our opinions. Help us hold in our hearts the poor as well as the rich. Help us find the common values that unite us across the great divides among us. Give us the fortitude to try again what we have tried and failed to. Give us the courage to try what we have never tried before. Help us this day lead the State of Colorado to be a place of justice and peace for all who call it home.
And now I commend you to the care of God and to the message of God’s grace, which is able to build you up and give you the blessings God has for all God’s people. Acts 20: 32
Amen.
Standing L to R: Charles Schuster, Eric Strader, Marv Vose, Youngsook Kang, Tom
Meier, David Halaas, Max Bear, Henry Littlebird, Ava Hamilton, Elaine Stanovsky
Seated L to R: Ben Ridgely, Joe Big Medicine, Karen Little Coyote
Meier, David Halaas, Max Bear, Henry Littlebird, Ava Hamilton, Elaine Stanovsky
Seated L to R: Ben Ridgely, Joe Big Medicine, Karen Little Coyote
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