The following remarks were delivered by Jennifer Copeland as the opening invocation to the Raising Wages press conference held in the press room of the NC General Assembly this morning.
Great God of creation, with the labor of your words you created our world, saying sky and making sky, saying land and making land, saying human and making us, we who look like you.
And we have many gifts: Some of us are teachers, some of us are healers, some of us are farmers, some of us are food service providers, some of us are domestic workers, some of us are elected leaders. All of us are created with your loving care, invaluable. Yet, our labor is valued. The work of our hands and heads comes with a price. For many that price is not enough to shelter our families, that price is not enough to cloth our families, that price is not enough to feed our families. For some of us, our work is undervalued.
We have come here today to implore those who control our state’s legislature to create laws that add value to our labor. We come here today asking for enough, enough to provide shelter, enough to provide clothing, enough to provide food for ourselves and those who depend on us.
With your work, you created life. With our lives we offer work for your creation. May each of us understand the gift of your work to us. May each of us know the value of our work for you. Grant to us that our work is valued by those who make our laws and pay our salaries. We pray knowing of your justice and hoping others know it as well. Amen.
