Habari Gani? (which is Swahili for "
Well, the news is it's the first day of Kwanzaa. While Christians will continue our journey through Christmastide, or the 12 days of Christmas, some of us will also celebrate Kwanzaa.
I recently participated in a pre-Kwanzaa program where I wrote this prayer that followed a brief discussion about the Gullah-Geecchee culture. I'll likely pray this prayer differently in the future, but this is what God gave me for our gathering a few weeks ag0.
Feel free to use it as written, edit for your setting, or read it to inspire your own offering to God. Although Kwanzaa is a secular celebration, for African-American churches it can be beautifully incorporated into our settings.
"Faith" is the final principle celebrated on Jan. 1. May you keep the faith this season and continue to Look, Learn and LIVE!
A Kwanzaa Prayer for Christian Services
©2013
Arlecia D. Simmons
Oh holy God,
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob...
God of Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and Rachel...
The God who
heard Hagar's cries as she sat with Ishmael in the wilderness...
Our God who
heard our ancestors’ cries as they crossed the Atlantic Ocean in slave ships;
heard their cries as they picked cotton and tobacco; heard their cries through
the shouts of Lynch mobs. Our God.
We come (today,
tonight) asking you to be in our midst as you have been from generation to
generation. Come now, Holy Spirit
Lord, we
thank you for allowing us to gather to worship you, and to celebrate the
heritage passed down to us.
Even while
experiencing the injustices of this life, our big mamas and papas proclaimed
you as a just God. Calling on the name of Jesus, who was also a suffering
servant.
Lord, we thank you for every prayer our ancestors ever prayed and how you answered them. We thank you for being the lifter of our heads when oppression, racism, segregation sought to keep them bowed down.
Lord, we thank you for every prayer our ancestors ever prayed and how you answered them. We thank you for being the lifter of our heads when oppression, racism, segregation sought to keep them bowed down.
May we not
be a forgetful people; forgetting our ancestors and forgetting your benefits. May
we forever remember that if it had not been for the Lord who was on our side,
where would be.
Touch now your people as we give back to you the gifts that
you have given to us.
Bless your children and
those whose hands you have placed them in (Optional verse to be used when children are included
during celebration).
We offer this
prayer, in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
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