Father of Justice,
God of Compassion,
We come before you with hearts full of gratitude
for the life and witness of Tony Campolo.
We thank you for his unwavering voice,
calling us to live out your radical love in action.
For his challenge to comfort the afflicted
and to afflict the comfortable,
For his tireless advocacy for the least of these,
and for teaching us to see your face
in the lives of the poor and the forgotten.
Through his words and his witness,
you have shown us what it means
to walk humbly, love mercy, and do justice.
May we be emboldened to carry forward his legacy,
to speak truth to power,
to embrace those the world has cast aside,
and to work tirelessly for a world
that reflects the fullness of your kingdom.
As his life inspires us,
may your Spirit guide us to keep
our hearts aligned with your mission of love.
May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
Amen.
When Tony came to Leeds, I was excited to meet him. But in the end, all I managed was a simple hello. I didn’t catch much of his hour-long talk, either. Instead, I was sitting in a car park with a vulnerable adult in acute distress, making sure they were safe and supported without any violence.
I don’t think Tony would have minded me skipping his talk; after all, he did say, “Jesus never says to the poor: ‘come find the church,’ but he says to those of us in the church: ‘go into the world and find the poor, hungry, homeless, imprisoned.”
Thank you, Tony, for inspiring me to step away from comfort and move toward the broken. Rest in peace and rise in glory.
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