God of every voice,
Motivate us to use our own. We confess that we are taken with the fashionable fatalism of our culture, which leaves us unprepared for the enduring nature of justice work. Help us to have compassion for all the memories that have formed us to feel this present helplessness. Renew our practice of love in community, that civic engagement would feel vital to us. Instill a commitment to local government, elevating the discussion of the common good in our immediate places of belonging. Surround our public leaders with wise counsel and a diversity of voices, that we would not elect leaders of arrogance and unchecked narcissism, however alluring their promises may be. Expose the status desperate, the power hungry, as politicians attempt to influence us to support them. Thwart all attempts at voter suppression, the evil schemes that uniquely target Black people, the overworked, and the elderly. Spur on your people of color to pursue public service. Grant them the courage and resources to challenge officials who have failed at serving with their full humanity. Hold us in our purpose, that we would never become too accustomed to injustice. That we would never become numb to the pain of the world. This vote is only the beginning, but it is a sacred beginning. May it be so.