On November 22nd, a group of clergy and local citizens gathered at Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler’s office to ask that she vote to extend unemployment insurance which is set to expire on December 31st. In the remarks of group participants, it was noted that unemployment insurance serves as a vital lifeline to people as they search for work. It can mean the difference between hopelessness and a place to live with food on the table.
For the gathering, Pastor Brooks delivered the following prayer:
Giver of life and source of all that is just, in this season of ten-pound turkeys and pumpkin pies, we pray to you for children with empty stomachs. In this season of football games and touchdown passes, we pray to you for parents fighting against the odds. In this season of family meals and holiday cheer, we pray to you for those struggling to provide.
In this moment of prayer, we voice our love and concern not for the unlucky few but for the unemployed millions. We pray knowing that what they need are jobs and support getting those jobs. For this reason, we pray for the kind of government assistance that enables people to survive and ultimately thrive. We pray especially for unemployment insurance. We pray for the lifeline it sends to families in danger of slipping into homelessness and hopelessness.
In this time of economic despair and desperation, we are nevertheless thankful. We are thankful for this gathering of people. We are thankful for their heartfelt concern for the dispossessed and disenfranchised. We are thankful for the spirit of democracy that emboldens them to raise their voices and to seek accountability to you and to your impoverished children.
May the political leaders of this nation hear their plea and heed their call. May they act in ways that will enable families to have a thanksgiving that is happy and a Christmas that is merry. With united hearts we pray for this now, and all the people said, amen, amen, and amen.