Prayer, day 1662: on the feast day of Jonathan Myrick Daniels, martyr for civil rights

On this day 3 years ago, we marched for peace and justice in Ferguson after the murder of Mike Brown, and I thought of the witness of Jonathan Daniels as county police pointed automatic weapons at us and watched us through scopes.
THIS is what the march looked like, and we were met with a military response.

O God,
You tenderly hold our souls in your hand:
hear our prayer.
Teach us, O God,
to act so that we are a blessing to others.
Bring forth in us perfect love,
in which we see all life as connected and mutually dependent.
Make us more prone to wonder than to wander,
grounding us in your Wisdom,
uplifted by grace.
Strengthen us
to offer our lives to one another,
and ground ourselves in your Beloved Community.

Cradle us to You in our pain, despair, or fear,
and brush away the tears of those who mourn,
O Loving One.
Open our eyes to the blessings we have
even in the midst of trouble.

Help us hold fast to your hand as little children,
trusting always that You are with us.
Hear the sighs of your beloveds,
and send your Spirit to comfort and bear up those we now name.

Amen.
570, adapted