With heavy hearts, we in the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) join our voices with siblings in faith and all people of goodwill around the world to mourn the tragic loss of life and the violence inflicted upon the community gathered at the Pride celebration in Berlin. On Saturday, July 25, a vehicle drove into a crowd at Berlin’s Christopher Street Day festival, where one person died at the scene, and at least 29 have been injured.

This tragedy hits close to home for our communion as a long-standing participant and member of the WCRC, Carlos Tomayo, was struck by the vehicle in the crowd. Tomayo has served as a translator, program participant and in various roles within the WCRC. He is also the son of Dora Arce-Valentín, former executive secretary of justice and partnership. We give thanks to God for his safety and healing, holding him in prayer as he navigates the heartbreak following the tragedy. 

As people of the Reformation, we confess that we are called to be a community of justice and compassion. This tragedy strikes at the heart of that calling. It is an assault on the inherent dignity of every human being, created in the image of God. We weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15), and we hold in our prayers the victims, the injured, the traumatised, and the first responders who risked their safety in the face of such chaos.

We pray to a God of mercy, who knows the fragility of our mortal bodies and the depths of our sorrow. We pray for a world where such violence is not the final word, where healing overflows, and where the Spirit of peace dismantles the spirit of hatred.

Let us join together in prayer.

Gracious and Almighty God,

You are the source of all life and the ground of our hope. We lift up to you the city of Berlin and all who have been shattered by this unspeakable act of violence.

We ask for your comfort for those who grieve. Be near the bereaved, the bedsides of the wounded, and the restless hearts of those who witnessed the terror. Grant them your peace that passes all understanding.

We pray for the global community, which witnesses this tragedy with horror. Turn our shock into action, Lord. Do not let us retreat into fear, but guide us into the work of reconciliation. By your Spirit, we pray for the church to be a sanctuary of radical inclusion and a voice that speaks truth to power in the face of hatred.

We pray against the spirit of violence that seeks to divide and destroy. We ask not for vengeance, but for justice; not for retaliation, but for healing. May the families and friends of the victims find strength in the community of saints, and may the perpetrators of this evil be met with the righteous judgment of God.

We ask that, in the shadow of this tragedy, the light of Christ might shine all the brighter. We pray that all people, of every orientation, ethnicity, and creed, might know they are beloved children of God. Grant us the courage to love one another even when the world insists on hatred.

All this we ask in the strong name of Jesus Christ, who died and rose again, and who reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.