The tragic death of five members of The Djibril Diol Family has struck close to the heart of Mountain View United Church (MVUC). The Diol Family were members of the Senegalese Tijania Muslim Community that are friends and partners of MVUC. The Senegalese Tijania Muslim Community has shared their Ramadan celebrations with us and hold prayer and religious holy days in the MVUC sanctuary, and their children study the Koran in the Community Room on Saturday mornings. These are our friends and partners in understanding the diverse nature of God and the extent of God’s abundant love and generosity.
MVUC is holding a Special Love Offering and Prayers for the extended Djibril Diol Family and their Senegalese Muslim Community. The Senegalese Muslim Community is raising $15,000 towards funeral costs and repatriation of the bodies to Senegal for burial. Legal fees need to be raised. As well, three members of the family who escaped the fire, lost everything, and will need support to rebuild their lives. To add to the horror of the loss of five family members, their deaths are being investigated as a homicide because fire and police officials suspect arson.
With the unanimous support of the MVUC Church Council, we ask for generous donations to this Special Love Offering. You can send checks to the church or donate through tithe.ly, found on our webpage www.mtviewunited.org. Please put “funeral costs” on the check memo line or in “other” in tithe.ly so that your donations are directed to this Special Love Offering.
This Love Offering is our way of sharing God’s abundant love and mercy to our friends in the Senegalese Tijania Muslim Community. May we share together in this faithful effort to support our friends during this time of tragic loss.
Let us pray for the lives lost:
Djibril and Adja Diol and Kadida, their three-year old daughter; Hassan Diol and Hawa-Beye, her infant son.
Holy and loving God, we thank you for the remembrance of loved ones no longer with us; for their inspiring words, encouragement, love and support, an example for us to follow. May their legacy be seen in the people their family and friends have become, and may we always be thankful for their precious lives. We commend Djibril, Adja, Hassan, Kadida and Hawa-Beye, to your eternal loving embrace.
Let us pray for the Senegalese Muslim Community in Denver and across the world:
God of love and mercy, embrace all those whose hearts today overflow with grief, unanswered questions and a deep sense of loss. Grant them space to express their tears. Hold them close through the coming days. We pray for all whose lives have been touched by this deliberate act and these tragic deaths. Embrace in your loving arms all who are grieving the loss of the Diol Family. Be with them in sorrow, uphold them with your strength, and through the generosity of love shown by others and your presence within their hearts, may they know they are not alone in their grief and sorrow. We ask this through Jesus Christ, whose own suffering brought us life, here and for eternity.
Amen
The prayers are adapted from “Prayers For Those Who Mourn”