Our sunset prayers for June will be lifted with Pastor Russel in mind. His influence will be inescapable. At sunset on June 7, at about 8:48 p.m., from wherever you are, inviting anyone who is with you, let’s pause and pray together for inclusiveness. In our church. In the United Methodist Church. In our communities and neighborhoods. In our schools and workplaces. In our mornings, our afternoons and our evenings.
June is Pride month, and we will “adamantly and enthusiastically” lift our LGBTQ+ siblings in this prayer. But Pastor Russel’s definition of inclusiveness is much bigger: “Our church adamantly and enthusiastically welcomes persons of all ages, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities (the entire LGBTQ community), family configuration, economic conditions, marital status, and mental or physical abilities to attend, join, and participate fully in the life of our congregation.”
Let’s pray into the biggest definitions of inclusiveness. Let’s ask to be part of it. Let’s ask God to shine more light onto our paths so that we can see everyone.