"O God, Make Speed to Save Us...O Lord, Make Haste to Help Us"

I was newly awake, bleary-eyed, checking my e-mail, when the local news -- cheery little features about the National Cherry Festival -- was interrupted with breaking news of the bombings in London. The local newscasters, who'd been chattering about sand castle competitions and cherry-pit-spitting contests, were suddenly befuddled, not quite knowing what to say, not having much to say because they didn't seem to be getting any information from the network. When the program broke away for the network news, those anchorpeople too seemed confused and frustrated. It was all eerily similar to the morning of 9-11, when I'd just gotten to work and found coworkers and clients huddled around a television, not sure what was happening other than that it was something very bad.

I've thought about this all day; prayed for all the people involved, especially a nurse interviewed on BBC, who'd had to work in the midst of all the carnage and, despite what seemed like a gallant effort at remaining professional while talking to the reporter, was clearly on the verge of breaking into sobs as she described some of the wounded she'd seen and attended. I suppose I could write an essay about our inhumanity to one another, or the dangers of religious extremism...but instead I will share a prayer I found online, from the Diocese of Chichester's collection of prayers for time of war. I've changed it just a bit; but when all is said and done, it encapsulates what I most wanted today:

Almighty God,
whose will is to restore all things
in your beloved Son, the Sovereign of all:
govern the hearts and minds of those in authority,
and bring all of us, everywhere,
divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin,
to be subject to Christ's just and gentle rule;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.