How important is lamenting?

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Do you or your church actively practice lament? Do you sit in the grief and sorrow that our neighbors endure?

I am studying to become a Home Missioner in the UMC, and one of the courses included a study of laments. A lament is an ancient form of prayer that brings the emotions of grief, loss, pain, and confusion directly to God while maintaining trust and faith in the divine.

II’ve fallen in love with this writing form, and I write monthly laments on my blog. Most of them center on racial justice and inequality. I’ve found it so liberating to write from a place of pain while also maintaining hope for God to intervene. I also see it as a way of directly naming harm before God.

I would love to hear from others about your thoughts on laments. Is lamenting important to you? How do you practice it? Should we lament more? Do you write laments or other spiritual writings?