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Pray for Those Who Persecute You

“I ask for your continued prayers for the congregations of St. Stephen’s and First Presbyterian, both of which are continuing to thrive, to rebuild, to worship, and to minister to their community. May this sentencing provide closure and a sense of justice to those most affected.”

This was a paragraph of the press release I sent out last week after the sentencing of Eric Ridenour after he burned down two churches in 2023 for our support of women and LGBTQ+ leaders in ministry.

It is sincere–but it was pointed out to me on social media that I omitted to pray for him.  

Mea Culpa. 

This was an oversight that I would like to think is due to haste and the intentionality of praying for the people of St. Stephen’s and First Presbyterian; I certainly have prayed for Mr. Ridenour, and I believe he is made in the image of God and worthy of the respect and dignity accorded to all human beings. 

But perhaps I am giving myself more credit than I deserve, and my omission was rooted in the look he gave me when I sat behind him in court or the words he said about women, the LGBTQ+ community, and Jesus. Perhaps my omission has its roots in my anger and grief. 

Praying for someone does not mean they should not be held accountable; praying for someone does not endorse their beliefs or their actions. Praying for someone means to hold them intentionally in the presence of God’s love. 

And in this way, praying for Mr. Ridenour is not terribly difficult for me. No one was killed, and he will not be able to hurt someone again in the way he hurt our churches. He is now incarcerated with a long sentence before him—and I regularly remember all those who are incarcerated in my prayers. He is now vulnerable and has lost his relationships and his freedom. 

So I will be more conscious of praying for him, both in public and in private. 

But as I said, praying for him is not as challenging as it is for some others. How do we pray for a member of Hamas, or a neo-Nazi, or a serial killer? How do we pray for someone who has personally harmed us and those we love? How do we pray for those who are taking actions in the world that we view as promoting hatred, violence, or the destruction of our earth? 

I have such sure and certain hope in the love of God that I know that God’s love and God’s capacity for redemption and conversion is greater than my own.  I may struggle to see the image of God in those who persecute others or see me and those I love as enemies. Prayer then offers not just the hope of conversion for the person for whom I am praying—but also for my own transformation, and my own growth in my capacity for love and seeing the image of God in the other. 

O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth: deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP page 816)