Here is a litany we will use at Peace Mennonite on Sunday. It is adapted from one I  wrote several years ago for Memorial Day.

God of Life,
We mourn the culture of violence in our country:
where our entertainment enacts and glorifies violence,
where over three thousand people sit on death row,
where drone strikes are considered necessary for national security,
where the right to own guns takes priority over the right to live,
where religious messages of judgment against people of different religions, different ethnicities and races, different sexualities and sexual identities, nurture violence against bodies and spirits,

God of Hope,
We give thanks for the peacemakers in our midst:
for those in government who speak against policies of violence,
for those in organizations that work for peace, that engage in service around the world,
for those who write and speak and act towards life and love and justice and peace,
for those who teach our children their own worth and the worth of all people.

God of Power,
Bring forth the reality of your promise:
that we will beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks;
that nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will we train for war anymore;
that all will gather together around the divine banquet table.
In the meantime, God, let us walk in your light,
that we might see
the small turnings,
the next steps toward life,
the small acts of peace that catch in the light and shine.

Amen.