Communal Tragedy

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As individuals, we all know pain and loss. It is the rare person who escapes sorrow. But when one of us hurts, others are there to offer comfort. Communal tragedy is different. When something bad happens to us as a community—whether that is a school, a town, a people, or a country—we struggle to figure out how to tend to our own wounds while taking care of each other. Drawing on compassion, empathy, justice, and love, we can bring out the best in each other, and perhaps, find a theology of hope in the midst of despair.

Latest Rituals

“We pray by raising our voices and blowing our whistles, by marching and by singing.”
“Blessed Breath of the Universe, / I pledge myself again…”
“In the synagogue / hung a ner tamid the eternal flame / it too went up in flames”
“Blessed are the souls / As they leave the Temple of body…”
“Infinite Source of All, / As darkness threatens, / Enable me to join/ The Light of Redemption…”
“God of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, may the land of covenant and promise, sanctified by the children of both their sons, become an oasis of peace in a chaotic world.”
This memorial service includes poetry, prayers and readings.
“May there never again be war.  Wasn’t war  lifetimes ago? Who wants war?” 
“We created this mayhem in the night time / because our hearts were full of fear,” and now we must live in its shadow.
A powerful prayer addressing food insecurity and the SNAP crisis in America.

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