Marian Wright Edelman is the founder of the Children’s Defense Fund. She
was the first black woman admitted to the bar in Mississippi, directed the
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund office in Jackson, and also
served as counsel to Dr. King’s Poor People’s Campaign in Washington,
D.C. Her book Lanterns: A Memoir of Mentors, is one I often give as a gift,
especially to graduates. She shared this prayer this week:
O God of all time
Yesterday, today, tomorrow, and eternity
Give us courage in our lifetimes
To make war on war
Which leaves behind waifs and widows
Rubble of spirit, home, and community.
Mothers, grandmothers, and all with a mothering spirit
Let us declare and demand:
No more war
No more violence and abuse
No more killing of our young
O God of yesterday, today, tomorrow, and eternity
Our dwelling place in all generations
Give us courage to sow seeds of life and hope for the future
And to fight with all our moral might for justice for every child
Help us to pluck the thorns of despair from our children’s lives.
Mothers, grandmothers, and all with a mothering spirit
Let us declare and demand:
No more hunger
No more homelessness
No more poverty
O God of yesterday, every child’s history
O God of today, every living child’s birthright
O God of tomorrow, every child’s inheritance
O God of eternity, every child’s hope
Lift our voices against the spiritual and cultural pollution
which leave dreamless and purposeless the fruit of our wombs.
Mothers, grandmothers, and all with a mothering spirit
Let us stand together and build a world fit for children
Calling all to serve, to care, and to act to leave no child behind.
Amen