National Overdose Awareness Day | Invocation & Prayers

On Wednesday, August 31, I was asked by the Safe Coalition to participate, along with other clergy leaders, in the Overdose Awareness Day Vigil on the Franklin Town Common. I prepared the following invocation and prayers. The second prayer, which I planned to use during the candle lighting, is based upon a prayer “For an Untimely or Tragic Death” found in The United Methodist Book of Worship (Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 1992, p.164).

Invocation

Hello, my name is Jacob Juncker.
I am the pastor of the Franklin United Methodist Church
and current president of the Franklin Interfaith Council.
It is my honor to join you this evening.

We gather on this night
to break the darkness of stigma
to remind ourselves and others
that every life is precious
and every death is tragic.

The social teachings of my tradition
state that we must commit to confronting
the problems of substance use in our community.
We cannot ignore or hide from a reality
that impacts more lives than we often acknowledge.

Substance use is a social, economic, spiritual,
and health problem.
In addressing it,
we must reorient the conversation
away from stigma and punishment
to prevention and treatment.[1]

Tonight, we bring into the light
a conversation too easily ignored,
acknowledging the impact
of all the lives lost to addiction in our homes,
in our community,
and in our state.

Tonight we stand
with those who grieve the loss of friends
and loved ones to addiction.

We stand with those who seek a better,
more just, and wholistic
solution to the problems of addiction.

Tonight no one stands alone,
we stand together
wiping away tears,
holding each other up,
and seeking to live in a world
where lives are transformed
and not denigrated.

…that, for me,
is a glimpse of heaven.
—if for only in this moment.
On this night, let us commit ourselves
to working toward it here.

Let us pray:

Almighty God,
we gather to mourn and honor
those who have lost in the battle to addiction.
May our collective witness
comfort those who grieve death to overdose,
be a beacon of light to those lost in the darkness of substance use,
and encourage those who walk the path of recovery,

Help us to stand with one another
Help us to help one another in our times of need.
Help us to believe in the transformative power of
empathy and love.

In your great Love, O God, we stand
hoping for a glimpse of heaven now.
Amen.

Vigil Prayer

Ever-loving, Ever-present God,
in your keeping
there is shelter from the storm,
and in your mercy
there is comfort for the sorrows of life.

You are the light that shines in the darkness.

Hear now our prayers
as we remember and honor those lives lost by overdose.

Hear our prayers
for those who mourn and are heavy laden.

Give to each succor and strength.
Lighten their darkness with your love.
Help them to know that your love and care embraces all.
And, when all seems dark,
may your Love light the way
now and into eternity.

Amen.

[1] cf. “3042. Alcohol and Other Drugs,” in The Book of Resolutions of The United Methodist Church (Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 2016), 158-166.