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 and its ministries; for pastors and musicians; for teachers and leaders, that their joyful noise clearly announce your reign of peace come near, let us pray.
Have mercy, O God.
For your works revealed in creation: for rivers and streams; for thunderstorms and sunshine; and for those preparing for harvest time, that you inspire our care for the earth.
For peace and justice in the world; for all levels of government; for areas affected by strife, that those in authority always work for the good of all, bringing your justice to all people.
For the sick and those who console them; for prisoners and those who show them mercy; for the downtrodden and those who help them flourish; and for all in need of care especially Peter, Laura, Kathy, Susan, Tom S., Bob, Kara, Charlie, the family of Jane Scheff, Gerry, and those that we name in our hearts, aloud in our homes, or in the comments below, that you comfort them as a mother comforts her child.
Healing God. 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.
Enduring 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.
In thanksgiving for the faithful departed who have inspired us by their witness to the gospel, that with them we will know the confidence of being held in your embrace.
Merciful God, you hear the prayers of your people even before they are spoken. We commend these and all our prayers to you, trusting in your abundant mercy; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
BLESSING OF HOPE
So may we know
the hope
that is not just
for someday
but for this day—
here, now,
in this moment
that opens to us:
hope not made
of wishes
but of substance,
hope made of sinew
and muscle
and bone,
hope that has breath
and a beating heart,
hope that will not
keep quiet
and be polite,
hope that knows
how to holler
when it is called for,
hope that knows
how to sing
when there seems
little cause,
hope that raises us
from the dead—
not someday
but this day,
every day,
again and
again and
again.
—Jan Richardson
from The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Bellerose 