SHANNON CRAIGO-SNELL

God of Refuge, bless U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia, who blocked the implementation of a law in Texas designed to punish sanctuary cities and increase deportations. Garcia hails from San Antonio. As far as I can tell, the random guys with boats who showed up in Houston aren't asking about immigration status before they rescue people from the floodwaters. Neither are the thousands of volunteers working night and day to provide shelter, food, water, medical services, diaper

Merciful God, I pray for the attorney general of Illinois, Lisa Madigan, who filed a lawsuit to push for police reform in Chicago. The Justice Department investigated policing practices in Chicago and found a pattern of excessive force. Normally, this would lead to an agreement for changes that could be enforced by the courts. The Occupant and Jeff Sessions put a stop to this process. Attorney General Madigan is trying to go forward towards reform anyway. Bless her with stub

Holy God, bless those who participated in the Ministers March for Justice in Washington, D.C. today. Leaders from different faith traditions were united in their call for civil rights and social justice. May their combined voices be heard and their call heeded. Amen.

Merciful God, protect the people of Texas. Save them from the rushing waters. Protect the pets and farm animals, the wildlife and the vegetation, the habitats and landscapes. Bless all Texans with a spirit of solidarity that they may come together in this crisis and care for one another. Help those of us not in Texas support them with vigilant prayer and financial contributions. We know, God, that we humans have harmed our environment so that storms are worsened. In Your d

Holy God, I pray for the thousands of heroes today who helped those affected by hurricane Harvey. I give thanks for the acts of kindness, of neighbors helping neighbors, strangers lending hands, first responders working tirelessly, nurses and others looking out not only for themselves but for those in their care. We will never know all the acts of bravery and valor, compassion and benevolence. But You see and know and honor every act of good will. In the coming days, let th

God, we need to talk. Marilyn McCord Adams, who knew you better than anyone else I've ever met in my whole life, said the faithful thing to do was to be like the Psalmist and take my problems straight to the top. So here are a few things about which I am concerned: 1. There is a category 4 hurricane bearing down on Texas, while we have a science-hating dingbat in charge. 2. Above-mentioned dingbat pardoned Joe Arpaio, a criminal racist who targeted and tortured people of co

God of Justice and Love, I give thanks for the faithful witness of Catholic Worker communities. Grant them a palpable sense of Your abundant grace; sustain them with joy and delight. Amen.

Creator God, I lift up Daniel Kammen, formerly the State Department Science Envoy. Kammen resigned in protest of the Occupant's policies and rhetoric. The first letters of each paragraph in his resignation letter spell out "impeach." Open doors of opportunity for Kammen to work for energy sustainability and ecological responsibility. Let his leadership in international scientific cooperation be a powerful force for the healing of our environment and the flourishing of all pe

Holy God, bless Colin Kaepernick in his powerful witness against racism in the United States. Bless those who join him, and bless those who stand in solidarity with him. Amen.

God of Grace, I lift up all the people who don't decide to be activists, they just can't help it. People who do not ponder how to intervene when Archibald makes a racist comment, because the words "racist nonsense" are already out of their mouths before Archie gets to the punctuation. People whose shelves are filled with books written by authors of every imaginable background. People who are so fundamentally fair-minded that they could no more choose to ignore injustice than