The first item below will be a statement/news update released by The United Church of Canada on the one-year anniversary of the 2023 Hamas attack. It will be available on united-church.ca on October 7. The following liturgical pieces are intended for worship services next week, if you choose.
Prayer for a renewal of our shared humanity
It is October 7. A day now associated with horror. A day linked—for many—to innate fear and also to resilience.
We remember the Hamas-led attacks and kidnappings of October 7, 2023. We remember those who were taken. We remember the families left behind, wondering and angry. Bereft. We remember the dead.
As the calendar marks a year since October 7, 2023, The United Church of Canada prays for the grieving loved ones of the 1,200 people killed in Hamas’s attack on Jewish communities and innocent people in Israel. It urges the immediate and unconditional release of all captives.
Every human being is made in God’s image. When we devalue the lives of others, humanity itself is diminished.
And so, this trauma of October 7—and the shame of our own failures in the 365 days since and the 75 years since the Nakba—sits heavily on us. Our siblings in humanity are devalued, their stories cut short.
In the introduction to their guided readings for Tisha b’av, a Jewish holy day commemorating the destruction of the two temples, rabbis and others from Halachic Left and All That’s Left ask:
How do we internalize that our grief for Israeli victims of October 7 is not counter to, but inextricable from, mourning the [deaths] of tens of thousands of Gazans?
What does mourning look like when we are not in the aftermath of the devastation but still in its midst? Can we confront trauma in a way that portends redemption instead of using our pain as a justification for further destruction?
None of these questions have simple answers, but, for now, we exist in a place of brokenness and rupture… [a place of] inarticulable horror.
We reckon with this dichotomy. We reckon with the unspeakable grief and trauma. We reckon with the killing of entire families and the destruction of their homes, livelihood, and land in Gaza.
God of life, justice, and hope,
The cries of those grieving in Palestine and Israel are drowned out by the guns and bombs;
and by those who say, “Peace, peace,” where there is no peace,
And no justice.
Make us instruments of your justice and peace.
For we are all made in your image.
Liturgical Response for October 7
On October 7, we invite congregations to join in prayer together for peace in Israel and Palestine. Consider having seven candles on the altar and using these words (or something similar) followed by a brief silence before lighting each candle.
We remember the over 40,000 people who have been killed on and since October 7, 2023. We mourn the atrocities of war. Into the silence, we pray.
[Silence. Candle is lit.]
We remember those who are separated by force from loved ones—prisoners, hostages, and detainees. We remember those whose human rights and freedoms are violated daily. Into the silence, we pray.
[Silence. Candle is lit.]
We remember the people who have lost their security, homes and communities in this war. We remember the more than 1 million Palestinians who are displaced and without a home. Into the silence, we pray.
[Silence. Candle is lit.]
We remember the uncomforted tears, the deep longings for peace, the prayers of lament that cannot be expressed in words, brought on by the horrors of war. Into the silence, we pray.
[Silence. Candle is lit.]
We remember the lush lands, the fields that can no longer be harvested, the livestock unattended, and the destruction of creation caused by war. Into the silence, we pray.
[Silence. Candle is lit.]
We remember those who mourn and are grieving while still living in devastation. We remember children who do not have safe spaces to play, learn, and grow. Into the silence, we pray.
[Silence. Candle is lit.]
We remember the peacekeepers, the human right defenders, the justice seekers, and all those who have sacrificed to provide much-needed humanitarian aid. Into the silence, we pray.
[Silence. Candle is lit.]
We gather these prayers, with kindred in the Holy Land and around the world, together with the prayer that Jesus taught us:
Our Creator…