Joining our voices with God’s people around the world, let us offer our prayers for those in need.
A brief silence.
For the church throughout the world and its leaders, that the work of the Spirit unite us in Christ to proclaim the wonders of God,
For the majesty of creation: the moon and stars that enlighten the night, the birds that inhabit the sky, and the fish that reside in the seas, that all creatures flourish together
For those in pursuit of recovery and perseverance in the midst of the Coronavirus. We pray for all essential workers in New York City and around the world who continue to work and put their own wellbeing on the line to help us face this crisis. We pray for doctors, nurses, first responders, researchers, law enforcement, caregivers, sanitation and maintenance workers, and all working to combat COVID-19. Be with those who work in service and restaurant professions, those keeping stores stocked and making at home deliveries, for teachers both at home and online working tirelessly to give our children an education in the midst of crisis. We pray for those who transport goods to the places that need them, provide them with what they need along the journey. Keep them safe, keep them healthy, and help us to find ways to provide them with the supplies that they need to do their jobs well. We ask that you continue to be with employers and employees who are struggling to figure out how to keep things going during this time.
God we fervently pray for all who experience racism as part of their daily realities, those who feel fear for their own safety and that of those whom they love. We pray for all who are not treated with the respect they deserve, for we are all your children, created in your image. We pray for protestors who are scared and angry that they’re fighting a seemingly endless battle for safety. We pray for the families and friends of those who have been lost. We pray for wisdom and safety for public officials and law enforcement. We pray that no more harm come to our communities by anyone for any reason. We pray for peace, and we long for a future where the dignity of all God’s children is respected and upheld.
For the sick, that they are comforted; for the despairing, that they receive hope; for infants and children, that they be granted nurturing caretakers; and for all who cry out to God in any need especially Peter, Laura, Kathy, Susan, Tom S., Bob, Kara, Charlie, the family of Jane Scheff, Gerry, and those we name silently in our hearts, aloud in our homes, or in the comments below.
Lord in your mercy: We ask these things in your name, Amen.
Do Not Our Hearts Burt Within Us?
God of Wind and Fire,
Make our hearts burn within us–
We feel the heat of so many flames, O God.
Fires of revealing.
Fires of guiding.
Fires of denying.
Fires of resurrecting.
Make our hearts burn within us–
Fires of confessing.
Fires of lamenting.
Fires of acting.
And if we weep, O God?
May we weep tears of cleansing,
not tears of dousing, dampening, diminishing
fires that rage against injustice.
Make our hearts burn within us—
So many winds blow around us, O God.
Winds wailing with pain.
Winds howling with agony.
Winds stirring up the dust of our humanity.
Ashes to ashes.
Dust to dust.
Stir us up, Holy Wind.
Stir up wisdom.
Stir up mercy.
Make our hearts burn within us–
No more crushed windpipes, O God.
Let justice breathe.
Blow your radical love into us.
Through us.
All around us.
God of Wind and Fire,
Heal us.
Resurrect us.
Put our feet on the road to justice and mercy.
Make our hearts burn within us–
– Rev. Dr. Jill Crainshaw
Vice Dean for Faculty Development and Academic Initiatives and Blackburn Professor of Worship and Liturgical Theology at the Wake Forest University School of Divinity
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Bellerose 