Today - December 21st - is National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day:
Each year since 1990, on or near the first day of winter and the longest night of the year, National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH), National Consumer Advisory Board (NCAB), and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC) has co-sponsored National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day to bring attention to the tragedy of homelessness and to remember our homeless friends who have paid the ultimate price for our nation's failure to end homelessness.
A federal resolution (H. Con. Res. 325) has been introduced in the United States House of Representatives supporting the goals and ideals of National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day.
The resolution encourages localities and states to issue proclamations designating National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day. This resolution was introduced by U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings and fifteen additional co-sponsors: Representatives Eddie Bernice Johnson, Judy Biggert, Kathy Castor, Steve Cohen, John Conyers, Jr., Elijah E. Cummings, Geoff Davis, Ted Deutch, Barney Frank, Raul M. Grijalva, Luis V. Gutierrez, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Chellie Pingree, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Lynn Woolsey.
Let us pray:
Holy God,
In the midst of winter,
In difficult economic times,
We come to you in prayer.
We grieve this day for all those who have died experiencing homelessness,
No one should live a third world life in a first world country,
We ask for your forgiveness.
Be a source of comfort for those of us who struggle,
Be a source of inspiration to those of us who are comfortable,
We seek a "newer world" where homelessness and poverty are ended.
Together we remember your son Jesus, born homeless,
This child brought light to dark places,
We pray for that light now to illuminate our hearts.
In a world of plenty, we invoke the worlds of the Hebrew prophet:
let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (Amos 5:24).
Amen.
Visit the website of the National Coalition for the Homeless to learn more about homelessness in the United States.
Prayer written by The Rev. Chuck Currie and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.