On Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in response to the impending trial of Derek Chauvin, we launched the Healing Our City Virtual Prayer Tent, an online version of the community prayer tent we hosted last summer in North Minneapolis. We held daily until Wednesday, May 26, 2021. We met daily at 8:00 AM Central Time for an approximately 30-minute interfaith prayer experience which began with a timely reflection from a spiritual leader. We were followed by a period of 9 minutes and 29 seconds of silent prayer – the length of time former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on the neck of George Floyd, resulting in his tragic death.

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Our prayer tent has been expansive and inclusive, has included people of all faiths, denominations, races, and orientations. Due to its virtual orientation, we have welcomed people from all over this nation and world. People who, like us, have hungered for healing in our -- or their -- city and everywhere. From this tent we go out into our neighborhoods and into the daily lives of people who long for welcome, safety, and belonging.

 

Let us walk boldly into the unpredictability, holding hands, praying in solidarity and unity of spirit.

 

We want to use the energy of this moment to explore our depths. We want to use this opportunity of openness and to take all this attention and energy to pray we might do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly.

    

We have indeed been involuntarily called to witness the injustices of the system of racial inequity and oppression. Now we are called to voluntarily pray for the healing for our city.

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We are called to provide honest reflection on failures of an unjust order.

We are called to provide divine perspective for the current disorder.

We are called to contribute to reimagining a new more just order and
join in true healing of our city, our nation, our world.