leadinginworship

Congregational Prayer in a Pandemic

Great God: our community gathers in spirit
through the marvels of technology to give thanks together.
Thank you for medical professionals and staff
who work so faithfully in hospitals, clinics and nursing homes…
give them strength, courage and personal protective equipment.
Thank you for the diligence of scientists working on a vaccine,
and the way so many have ramped up the production of essential supplies.
Thank you for storekeepers and clerks,
farmers and truck drivers,
police officers, firefighters
and all who show up to work every day in essential services.
Thank you for those who care for children in close quarters,
and all the creativity and patience they are showing.
There is so much to be thankful for,
we pause here to lift up our own silent prayer of thanks….

We come to you with many needs today.
Hear our prayer for those who are sick with this virus…
ease their suffering and restore them to health.
Hear our prayer for those who are grieving,
who bury their loved ones without the comfort of funerals,
or the physical presence of family and friends.
Hear our prayer for the unemployed
and business owners in this time of financial insecurity…
help them survive this economic downturn.
Hear our prayer for children whose routines are disrupted
and who long to play sports and visit playgrounds…
show them how to have fun inside.
We pray for vulnerable people everywhere,
especially refugees, and people in war-torn countries
who have no access to medical care….
we need a miracle to spare them from this virus.
Finally, hear our prayer for public health officials around the world--
give them wisdom as they make decisions to reduce fatalities.
This week, when we are tempted
to dwell only on our own loneliness,
help us reach out to others,
being the community we long to have.
Thank you for showing us new ways to be the church,
the church alive, vibrant and witnessing to the risen Christ
in times like these.
Amen

Easter Pandemic Prayer

Jesus died.
He was buried.
On the third day
he rose.
Thank you, God,
for hope
when hope was lost
and for life
when death had won.
In these pandemic times
when so many
are suffering and dying
resurrect within our world
the faith and hope and love
we need to survive.
This Easter,
accept our humble hosannas,
which are linked
with our deepest prayers
for relief from this virus.
Healer of our every ill,
we need you now.
With Christians around the world
and the angels in heaven
we proclaim the mystery of our faith;
Christ has died,
Christ is risen,
Christ will come again.

Good Friday Pandemic Prayer

Jesus, Saviour, hear our Good Friday prayer.
As human beings stagger under the weight
of a worldwide pandemic,
we turn to you, bearer of the pain of the world.
You woke that Friday morning in captivity,
and so we see your face in all who are imprisoned;
hear our prayer for those in jail,
who cannot escape contagion in close quarters.
We see your face in all who are unjustly accused;
hear our prayer for those who tell the truth about this virus,
and are scoffed at, or not believed.
We see your face in all who are tortured;
hear our prayer for those who are too poor to afford healthcare,
and must suffer without medical help.
We see your face in all who are condemned to death;
hear our prayer for those with underlying medical conditions
who are not triaged to receive care.
We see your face in all who are dying;
hear our prayer for those who are separated from loved ones
when they need them most, at the hour of their death.
We know, Jesus, that you faced death
carrying the burden of our sins,
and we continue to add to that weight.
Our failings are so apparent in this pandemic crisis;
whether it’s hoarding supplies for ourselves,
or a reluctance to be generous,
whether it’s being mean-tempered to family members
or failing to be polite to strangers,
whether it’s profiteering from people’s misery,
or an unwillingness to sacrifice anything for the common good.
You chose a path that was all for the common good--
you have borne our infirmities and carried our diseases.
On this Good Friday,  we join with the women at the foot of the cross
weeping for you, and for all the world’s sorrows.
As you breathe your last
and they lay your body in the tomb,
we feel the chill of death,
its hold on all of us.
We wait together for resurrection.

Maundy Thursday Pandemic Prayer

Today is a day unlike other days,
a Thursday of mysteries,
where we remember your final meal with your friends.
Taking a towel, you washed their feet.
Knowing what was to come,
and what you had to suffer,
you instructed them to love one another.
You told them, ”Peace I leave with you,
Do not let your hearts be troubled,
and do not let them be afraid.”

From the heart of this pandemic
we raise our solitary prayers to you.
We miss the consolation of our congregations
when so many are lamenting.
We pray for all whose hour has come
to depart from this world.
We know that we are made by you,
and are going to you.
Give peace to the dying,
and protection to those who care for them.
So many are living out your call to love one another,
braving illness to minister in practical ways.
In this time of economic hardship,
let generosity be the air we breathe.

Jesus, after that dinner together
you prayed in the night alone
as death and suffering loomed large.
Today the weight of human sorrow is heavy upon us,
and we join you on our knees.
We, too, do not want this cup of suffering.
We want this virus to pass over us.
We are bewildered by this pandemic.
It is a time of separation
and a time of great togetherness.
It is a time of fear and doubt
and a time of resolve and deep faith.
It is a time of helplessness
and a time of reaching out.
Meet us here in this darkness, God.
Send us angels and give us strength
to meet this time of trial.

Palm Sunday Pandemic Prayer

On this Palm Sunday, things are different.
No children waving palm branches in processions,
no collective singing of hosannas, loud hosannas,
no exultant crowds, here or anywhere.
The streets are quiet.
What resonates is the image of you, Jesus,
weeping over Jerusalem,
crying for a people surrounded by enemies,
who do not know the things that make for peace.

Our tiny, lethal enemy is invisible to the naked eye.
We jump when people cough,
we eye each other suspiciously,
not knowing where the danger is lurking.
We fear for all the vulnerable,
and we fear for ourselves.
As our lives are overturned,
and restrictions are put in place,
it’s not business as usual
and economic worries are added to the mix.
Anxiety settles like a dense cloud
over all the world.
We need you more than ever, Jesus.

You arrive humbly, unnoticed by many,
cheered by some.
You arrive in the early morning cars
of health workers showing up for their shifts.
You arrive on eighteen wheels as truckers
unload groceries and essential supplies.
You arrive by public transit as scientists
head to their labs day in and day out,
searching diligently for a virus vaccine.
You arrive on foot as neighbours
deliver meals to seniors stranded at home.
You arrive in the ricochet of signals off satellites,
as cyberspace messages of love circle our globe;
millions reaching out to say,
“Are you OK? I miss you.” 

God, hear our prayer
from the lonesome valleys
of this world wide pandemic.
Open our hearts to the possibility
that today is the day of our visitation;
you walk triumphantly through closed doors,
meeting us when others cannot come.
Accept our solitary hosannas,
and gather us together in prayer:
“Blessed is the One
who comes in the name of the Lord.”