(337)369-9966 [email protected]

Dear Friends,

As you may have heard, a gunman entered Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and killed nine people. I bid your prayers for those who were killed and for all those left bereaved and in shock. Please consider adding appropriate prayers in your Prayers of the People on Sunday in addition to those personal petitions that you will be lifting today and in the days that follow.

May those who have died rest in peace. May those left in sorrow and loss be comforted and consoled. May the Lord protect others from any further violence. And, perhaps most trying to pray, may our Lord have mercy upon the tormented soul whose hate has led to such violence and destruction. Amen.

In Christ’s Love,

+Jake

The Rt. Rev. Jacob W. Owensby, PhD, DD
IV Bishop of The Episcopal Diocese of Western Louisiana
P. O. Box 2031
Alexandria, Louisiana 71309-2031