9 faith leaders on "thoughts and prayers" - and action - after tragedy

Reverend Frank Scott: So what resolution should we make for the New Year?

It's to let God know that you have the guts and the will to do it alone. Resolve to fight for yourselves, and for others, for those you love.

And that part of God within you will be fighting with you all the way. -- "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972)


Source: Vox, by Tara Isabella Burton

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Offering “thoughts and prayers” after such tragedies is so common that it has become a model for performative sympathy and inaction. It’s the title of a satirical video game in which players are challenged to use “thoughts and prayers” to stop school shootings (spoiler alert: it doesn’t work). It’s the title, too, of a particularly cynical BoJack Horseman episode about mass shootings, in which beleaguered film producers find themselves rolling their eyes while they trot out the phrase, again and again, in response to real events as they try to get back to the “actually pressing business of making sure the movie gets made.”

But for faith leaders from a variety of traditions, prayer — particularly prayer after a mass tragedy — is more than a byword for inaction. For some, it’s an opportunity to engage with a higher power, or to express sorrow, sympathy, or solidarity. For some others, it’s the first step toward taking meaningful real-world action. And for others still, it’s an excuse to do too little.



We talked to members of the clergy from different Christian denominations, and faith leaders from religious traditions more broadly, about the role of prayer after a tragedy and what it really means to offer “thoughts and prayers” to those in need. Their responses have been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity (subtitles only, much more at link):

• Prayer can be a powerful grounding force

• Prayer reminds us to reflect on others

• “I want people to stop going to church and start being the church”

• Prayer can move God’s heart

• Prayer is a form of submission to God’s will

• Prayer means reflecting on hard truths

• Prayer and action feed off each other

• Acknowledging the suffering of others is important, even if the phrasing is trite

• God may move your heart through prayer to show you how to act

Read it all at: https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/10/3/16408658/9-faith-leaders-action-after-tragedy-florida-shooting-majory-stoneman-douglas