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Lord God in Heaven, Sustainer and Provider for us all: Our Father:

We come before Thee with heads bowed and eyes closed and upon our knees in abject Humility, thanking Thee for Thy bountiful blessings bestowed upon us. And most especially we gather now to seek Thy blessing upon these Boy Scouts who have perished in the tornado, and upon their Families: most especially we seek Thy comfort for those who have lost one of their own.

Tornadoes and such are often called “Acts of God” — unjustly so: they are acts of Thy Creation and are a force of Nature, into which all good Boy Scouts venture forth and marvel. Most often Thy Creation causes us delight and makes us marvel; sometimes, however, it serves to remind us of how tiny and minuscule and powerless we as mere humans can be in the face of forces much more powerful than ourselves.

And these forces, too, are forces of Thine own making: they are marvelous to behold, and dreadful, and yet wonderful. And yet, when they occur they happen not necessarily because Thou art angry with Thy servants, but rather because Thy Creation is larger and more mighty than we mere mortals, and it is perhaps timely for us to be reminded of this betimes, lest we forget and become boastful and proud of our species unseemly.

These Boy Scouts who died at the hands of the tornado would have known and appreciated the wonders of Nature and the Creation which Thou hast granted unto us: and if they were to be pluck’d untimely from this mortal coil in their youth, uniquely as Boy Scouts do, they would surely understand, and would perhaps yet marvel at Thy strength, and in their last moments find Thy Peace. And they would Be Prepared, as only Boy Scouts can, to meet with Thee.

Grant unto them Thine eternal grace, and visit unto their families the blessing of Thy Peace, with the full assurance that their loved ones are Loved by Thee and are safe.

And Lord we ask also that Thou would bless the Boy Scouts Organization worldwide, and the Girl Guides, as a force for Good and for Righteousness and not as a force for Evil. Be with those of us who grieve this loss tonite.

I seek Thine especial blessing on Edith Lawrence, courageous British nurse in the Second World War and Akela to many young Lads from the inner city. She was Thy lifelong Servant, a daughter of Israel, and beloved of many: a wonderful influence for Good in my life, now gone long ago. In Memoriam, gone but never forgotten.

In Jesus Name
Amen, so Mote it be.

*DieHard the Hunter*