6.01.2010

Human Trafficking Prayer

One of my roles in my ministry at the Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center is as a community educator on the issue of human trafficking. Another of my roles is as editor of our quarterly justice journal. This quarter those two roles merged, as I helped to create our latest edition of our journal focused on human trafficking. You can download a PDF on our website.

If you don't know much about human trafficking, this is a great resource to dig deeper and begin to understand the root causes and opportunities for action. The back page also has a prayer, part of it is adapted and included below. Please join me in praying for an end to human trafficking:

Human Trafficking: Prayer for Conversion of Heart

Leader: Human trafficking can be an overwhelming reality, but we must not forget that our God is bigger.

Reader: “A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36)

Leader: Let us pray that God will convert the hearts of all human traffickers.

For those who have become so hardened that human suffering no longer tugs on their hearts.
R. “Give them hearts of flesh.”

For those so long consumed with greed that they no longer recognize the inherent value of the human person. R

For those so caught up in seeking pleasure that they buy sex or exploit other human beings. R

Leader: Let us pray for all of us who participate in systems that continue the demand for human trafficking.

That we will change our consumer choices and habits to promote fairly traded products.
R. “Give us hearts of flesh.”

That we will demand corporate responsibility and slave-free products and services. R

That we will challenge others when they use language that demeans or objectifies women and girls. R

Loving God, we ask for conversion of heart for all human traffickers, and for courage to recognize and respond to our own role in society’s demand for human trafficking. We pray
this in solidarity with all victims of human trafficking. Amen.

2 comments:

Anne Welch said...

Men and boys can be victims of human trafficking also.

Susan Rose Francois, CSJP said...

Dear Anne, yes indeed. Human Trafficking effects all types of people - ages, races, nationalities and gender. While the majority (not all) of sex trafficking victims are women, many men and boys are victims of labor trafficking.