{"id":7822,"date":"2020-03-27T19:05:06","date_gmt":"2020-03-27T19:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pilgrimwr.unitingchurch.org.au\/?p=7822"},"modified":"2022-03-01T22:46:39","modified_gmt":"2022-03-01T22:46:39","slug":"covid19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pilgrimwr.unitingchurch.org.au\/?p=7822","title":{"rendered":"COVID19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Arundhati Roy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

God of love, we ask that all who are affected by the coronavirus be held in your loving care. Enfold in your love and peace all those who have lost loved ones, and those who have lost their incomes and livelihoods. Shield the poor and vulnerable from all harm. Bless and uphold the health workers who are tending the sick, the scientists seeking a vaccine, and the political leaders and their advisers in their decision making.
In this time of uncertainty, help us to know what \u202fis\u202f ours \u202fto do, and that you are with us in it and through it. Help us to recognize your presence in acts of kindness, in moments of silence, and in the beauty of the created world. Grant peace and protection to all of humanity for their well-being and for the benefit of the earth.
(Adapted from a prayer by Richard Rohr<\/em>, and posted here<\/a><\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God of mercy and compassion, 
We pray for the world as across the globe we face the challenges of COVID. 
We give you thanks for those who care for the sick,  
for those who work on limiting the spread of the disease  
and those who develop and administer vaccines. 
We remember before you all those affected by COVID, 
Comfort those who mourn the death of a loved one, 
Heal those who have COVID-19 or suffer the long-term effects of having had COVID. 
Sustain those who work in health care, testing and vaccination. 
Encourage those who are supporting education remotely,  
Console those who must stay at home,  
And bless and protect those whose work is essential for our wellbeing. 
We long for a world where access to health care and vaccines are shared equitably 
Strengthen the efforts of those who work to end COVID for all. 
And fill us with a desire to work for justice and care for all. Amen 
(Source: Rev Sharon Hollis, President, Uniting Church in Australia, August 2021<\/em>)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Prayer for Leaders in these COVID-19 Time<\/strong>
God of all, we pray for leaders across the world,
where wisdom grows through honouring those whom they lead and serve.
 
For leaders born into monarchy, we pray their reign learns from history,
and acts without greed, domination and corruption.
May they shine with humility, and love those whom they serve.
 
For leaders who seize power, we pray that restorative justice prevails.
and coups, oppression and violent threats are ended.
May we advocate a democratic way forward and support those who are persecuted.
 
For leaders voted into power,
we pray they act with a serving heart and responsible thinking.
May love for their community override corruption
and decisions reflect consideration of all whom they serve.
 
For those who lead in local communities,
we pray that they lead with graciousness, clear thinking, listening ears and advocacy, to promote honest, just communities where neighbourliness is honoured
 
Bring our voices into these spaces, Spirit,
So that we advocate where injustice is prevalent,
offer healing where there is woundedness
be people who seek your peace and wisdom,
and create a positive, safe and welcoming community of grace. (Source: Rev Anne Hewitt)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A prayer: Rescue me from self-obsession<\/strong>
Dear God of all beings,
This pandemic is making my life so small that I am thinking of myself way more than I should. So for today, I send my prayers out on behalf of others and not myself. May my prayers connect me to them THROUGH you \u2013 like gossamer floss threaded through a divine needle.
I pray calm for all who are struck with terror every time they cough, or a loved one coughs or someone passing them in the supermarket coughs.
I pray healing for those sick with COVID.
I pray rest for exhausted nurses, doctors and other heroes I don\u2019t always think about like the hospital laundry workers and cafeteria cooks.
I pray comfort for the lonely.
I pray rescue for the evicted.
I pray solace for the grieving. (And I\u2019m sure you already know this Lord, but that\u2019s basically everyone on the planet right now. Grief is the baseline for all of us. No more taking turns.)
I pray the gift of increased generosity in those who have more.
I pray mercy for the incarcerated and all who love them.
I pray fortitude for those who never ever thought they\u2019d be homeschooling small children and are losing their minds.
I pray wisdom for our leaders.
I pray humility for the powerful.
I pray compassion for clergy and counselors and everyone else who is doing emotional and spiritual triage for others and yet are also deeply affected by the pandemic in their own quiet ways.
And for all of us, more joy please. Every tiny bit of joy possible during this shit-show. Amen.
(Source: Nadia Bolz-Weber, ‘The Corners’<\/a>, 29th Nov 2020)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new liturgical resource<\/strong> – A liturgy at the time of dying<\/a>
(for those isolated from the dying)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We Come to You for Healing, Lord<\/strong>
Words: Rev. Dr. Herman G. Steumpfle (1923-2007)
1. We come to you for healing, Lord,
of body, mind, and soul,
and pray that by, your Spirit’s touch,
we may again be whole.

2. As once you walked through ancient streets
and reached toward those in pain,
come, risen Christ, among us still
with power to heal again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. You touch us through physicians’ skills,
through nurses’ gifts of care,
and through the love of faithful friends
who lift our lives in prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. When nights are long with wakefulness,
through days when strength runs low,
grant us your gift of patience, Lord,
your calming peace to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. We come to you, O loving Lord,
in our distress and pain,
in trust that through our nights and days
your grace will heal, sustain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeds Of Hope<\/strong> (from Amos Trust<\/a>)
Martin Wroe wrote this in June 2020 when many churches, doors locked during three months of pandemic, began to allow people back inside.<\/em>
All quiet, I unlocked your doors, discreetly broke in.
Not to disturb you, interfere with that frequency,
I so rarely tune to. I sat down by the font,
Held a second in my palm, dialled the silence,
Awaited communication, some kind of guidance,
The font was tight-lipped,
The rood screen blanked me, I tried not to take it personally.
The organ, holding her breath, was not coming up for air.
I looked for my words to speak to the unspoken,
Locked down in quiet time, this great crowd of witness
What are you thinking? I whispered, on the chancel,
Where the candles played dead, keeping their distance.
Mary winked from the window, with a stained glass eye
Splintering the sun from ninety-two million miles
Do you miss us? I asked, Do you want us back? An angel
Arched an eyebrow, advised I stop talking, listen again,
Said silence holds more than quiet and the absence of
All souls, doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not here.
I lay down in the nave, gazed up through the dust motes,
At the pillars, the arches, the old wooden roof,
Heard a chorus of voices, singing someone\u2019s death
Witnessed a happy couple, plighting their troth
Saw heads being bowed, knees being bent, forgiveness
And mercy and centuries of weeping. And someone,
From the future, came to offer me the peace.
She said, this house is open, even when it\u2019s closed
Prayers pray themselves, that\u2019s how everything goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Letters from Outside the Camp<\/strong> by Richard Rohr <\/em>
Many of you are probably familiar with my use of the paradigm of Order > Disorder > Reorder<\/a> to describe the universal pattern of change and transformation. After my last letter, a CAC staff member pointed out to me that I tend to apply this paradigm in one of two ways.
In the first case, I try to show Americans (and other nationalities by association) how to spiritually thrive amid the DISORDER of Empire and the Imperial Church, a version of Christianity that has allowed itself to be co-opted and distorted by the illusions of \u201cEmpire.\u201d Regardless of whether you are Orthodox, Catholic, or Protestant, this is what most of us were handed\u2014largely without knowing what we were being given. Consider: the wholesale toleration and support of the enslavement of human beings, the Doctrine of Discovery that allowed us to colonize and oppress indigenous peoples, the deep Disorder of two World Wars and the Holocaust, the perpetuation of Jim Crow and white supremacy by major cultures of denial. Only in hindsight, as we are able to chart the arc of history and recognize the depth of our blindness, do the consequences of this co-option become so humiliatingly apparent.
In the second case, I use this paradigm to encourage and guide those who are ready<\/em> to move out of Disorder and into REORDER. In my various books and meditations, I often refer to this as the Second Half of Life, or Resurrection, Recovery, Salvation, the Nonviolent Life, the Third Way, or just Enlightenment. I\u2019m afraid this group has always been a minority in every age, as conservatives tend to hide in a presumed perfect Order and progressives often get lost in a perpetual Disorder that lacks any Center. To use Jesus\u2019 metaphor, when one blind person tries to lead another, they both fall into the pit (Matthew 15:14). I am not saying all people were lost for the last 2000 years\u2014not at all; but, I am saying we have failed to reveal to the world more than a pittance of the great Good News that is the Gospel. They will surely be able to accuse me of the same 2000 years hence. God always fills in the gaps by grace and mercy and this will never change. There seems to be no utopian age.
But now, what I will try to do is lead people consciously and lovingly into a necessary and conscious DISORDER\u2014which is part of what I think John Lewis meant by \u201cGood Trouble\u201d and the Hebrew prophets by EXILE. <\/strong>
Below is an updated version of a brief meditation I wrote and offered to our CAC staff shortly after the pandemic began this past March. At that point, I suspected this might be What the Pandemic Is Saying to the World<\/em>.Humanity, you are all One.
You are one beloved community,
and you are one global sickness.
You are all contagious\u2014and always have been,
unconsciously infecting and yet able to also bless one another.
There are no higher<\/em> and lower<\/em> in this world.
There is no smart<\/em> or stupid<\/em>; no totally right or totally wrong.
The only meaningful division is between those who serve<\/em>
and those who allow themselves to be served<\/em>.
All the rest is temporary posturing.
Many to whom you look for power and leadership
have shown themselves to have empty hands, minds, and hearts.
We are bereft of all satisfying explanations,
all ledgers of deserving and undeserving.
There are no perfect answers or absolute heroes.
We must all wear a mask to protect the other from \u201cme.\u201d
Don\u2019t play the victim!
Victimhood is always a waste of time – God\u2019s time and yours.
Instead, try to learn the important lessons.
We are all in the same elementary<\/em> school now.
Here, we must learn to stand in two different places
and to change places often.
The served must also be the servants,
and the servants must also be the served.
Just stay in the eternal circle of the Suffering and the Servants.
Christians call it the Body of Christ<\/em>.
We are not the first or the last generation
that gets to suffer and to serve on this earth.

A great deal has happened since the beginning days of the pandemic, yet the fundamental reality of humanity\u2019s interconnectedness remains as true now as it has been at every moment in our history. But, as Pope Francis said in his recent encyclical (Fratelli Tutti [1] or All Brothers\u2014and Sisters by implication),<\/em>
If everything is connected, it is hard to imagine that this global disaster is unrelated to our way of approaching reality, our claim to be absolute masters of our own lives and of all that exists.
DISORDER is already upon us by reason of our planet, our history, our politics, our economy, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the widespread increase in mental and emotional unhealth. Our job is to make \u201cGood Trouble\u201d\u2014and probably even \u201cNecessary Trouble\u201d\u2014so that humanity can spiritually and politically mature.<\/strong>
It is about falling\u2014but, as always, falling upward.<\/em>
(Source: Richard Rohr<\/a><\/em>)

God, this is my 228th daily prayer (since ~ Feb 17)
for those with COVID-19
and today it includes Donald and Melania Trump,
as well as people from the Greek Orthodox church,
York County Jail, University of Iowa,
India, Brazil, and the parents
of people whom I know.
And everyone else, O Gentle One,
but I can\u2019t think that way
and I know you multiply my prayers.
And so I pray for these – breath,
access to good care,
sleep for the weariness, cool for the fever,
some chances to be connected
with people they love,
ease from fear of having infected others,
hope, and more breath,
for I pray in the name of Jesus Christ
who breathed – peace be with you –
into his disciples faces,
and in the spirit of holiness
that each of these for whom I pray hold dear. Amen.
(Maren Tirabassi, Gifts in Open Hands<\/a><\/em>)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ecumenical COVID-19 prayers<\/a> gathered on World Council of Churches website.

\u201cI am sorry for your loss\u201d<\/strong>
(On the occasion of one million deaths in the U.S. from COVID-19)<\/em>
These are the words that are never enough
and do not pretend to understand \u2013
a verbal fingertip of tenderness
today offered to the world.

World, we are sorry for your loss
of a million smiles,
and a million memories,
and a million hopes for the future.

We are sorry for your loss
of stories that will never be told,
flowers never planted,
friends never made,
extraordinary gifts and simple kindnesses
that will not be received,
meals not shared; hugs not held.

We are sorry for our own loss
of a million people
whom we will never meet,
with whom we will not
laugh or cry, work or play,
argue or kiss,
and so many families and friends
to whom we will never be able
to offer our awkward words
and our inadequate but holy love.
(Maren Tirabassi, Gifts in Open Hands<\/a>, Sept 2020<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look to the light<\/strong>
Dear God,
we can\u2019t heal or resolve
all the problems
this pandemic has brought.
But what we can do,
(and it is a healing work)
is to keep ourselves
turned to the Light,
to seek it
against all odds,
and to take it
into ourselves
and shine a little.
That is what
we can do,
and it matters.
(Source: Ann Siddall, Being Present,<\/a> September 2020<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your confidence in us
Gracious God, may our prayers at this time
allow You to call forth the best in us.
There will be confession, and grief, yes.
There will be confusion and anger, yes.
But when our tears are spent,
remind us of the great trust and hope
with which You regard us: instill in us
that knowing of Your love which
will make us strong and compassionate,
and creative and brave, as we rise up
to repair the world and find joy again.
Amen. May it be so.
(Source: Ann Siddall, Being Present,<\/a> September 2020<\/em>)

Facing the world with love<\/strong>
God of compassion and love,
Christ of Good News and healing,
Spirit of wisdom and power,
in these days of change and uncertainty
we turn to You because our world is hurting,
and we are overwhelmed by its needs.

We cannot turn away from its suffering
because our well-being depends
on the wellbeing of all people and creatures,
and of the earth itself. We are grieving
the injustices and lies that we see and hear,
we long for fairness and truth to prevail

In a few moments of silence we bring to mind
some of the situations which make our hearts ache:
the bitterness and division of world leaders,
the unthinking use of power, hoarding of resources
and oppression of those who are poor and ill,
the greed which has made us over-use the earth.
Silence \u2026<\/em>

We come to You now, Creator of all,
and humbly ask for the tools and resources
with which we may make our small contribution
to the healing and peace that we cry out for.
We ask for wisdom, to know what is ours to do,
and for courage and resilience to respond.

With the gift of wisdom we will see
what contributes to the greater good.
With the gift of hope we will work
with the hope You have in us.
With the gift of resilience we will
walk whatever path opens up before us.
Amen.
(Source: Ann Siddall, Being Present,<\/a> September 2020<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God as our Mother and Father<\/strong>
Beloved God, we are in need
of You as our Mother, tenderly holding
those who are suffering, weeping
with those who are grieving,
nurturing those who are broken.

Beloved God, we are in need
of You as our Father, reasoning,
struggling for wise outcomes, and
shouldering the burden of care
with those who are overcome.

Beloved God, open our minds
and soften our hearts, so that
when we pray our imagination
and our faith is not limited, our
resulting actions not constrained.
Amen.
(Source: Ann Siddall, Being Present,<\/a> September 2020<\/em>)

Take this prayer to those who need it<\/strong>
Compassionate God,
we pray for those whose heads are bent
over test-tubes and microscopes, who
work long into the night to find a vaccine
and a cure. And we pray for those
whose hands and eyes and hearts and minds
are caring and healing, the weary ones
in whom we place so much hope and trust.
We pray that this prayer will go to them,
Like a small touch of encouragement
To sustain them on this long, hard journey.
Amen
(Source: Ann Siddall, Being Present,<\/a> September 2020<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A HYMN GRIEVING 200, 000 DEATHS FROM CORONAVIRUS<\/strong>
We Grieve 200,000
PASSION CHORALE 7.6.7.6 D (“O Sacred Head, Now Wounded”)
We grieve 200,000 – yet we can’t understand;
we cannot grasp how many have died throughout this land.
We cannot see their faces or hear the stories told
of all the ways they blessed us – the young ones and the old.

O God, we grieve the struggle of those who died alone –
so far from friends and neighbors, from all they’d ever known.
We grieve for precious people who could not say good-bye;
we weep for those, now mourning, who sit alone and cry.

O God, we grieve for millions who now are unemployed
who cannot feed their families – whose hope has been destroyed.
We grieve that needed workers must worry for their health
while some with lives of privilege stay home and build their wealth.

O God of love and mercy, we cry to you, “How long?”
In troubled times remind us: Your love is ever strong.
Now as we grieve the suffering, Lord, show us how to be
A healing, loving presence in each community.

Tune: Hans Leo Hassler, 1601; harmony by Johann Sebastian Bach, 1729 (“O Sacred Head, Now Wounded”) Text: Copyright \u00a9 2020 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Email: carolynshymns@gmail.com New Hymns: www.carolynshymns.com
PLEASE SHARE this hymn with permission for its FREE use with pastors, church musicians and other worship planners. Thank you.
We grieve that the number of those who have died in the pandemic keeps increasing so rapidly. You are welcome to change the hymn as needed, in a way that fits the meter of the hymn:
\u2014 We Grieve the Many Thousands
\u2014 We grieve 200,000 (as, sadly, the numbers seem to be going in this direction)
You are welcome to make this change without asking my permission to do so, as the need arises.
We all need to be as responsible as we can \u2014 wearing masks, social distancing, staying home when we can, and working for a more just and healthy world \u2014 to slow the spread of this disease. May God bless you and those you love in this challenging time.
Carolyn Winfrey Gillette
Some pastors and church music leaders have asked for permission to use my hymns in worship services that they are streaming live, or in other ways they are reaching out to their congregations from a distance. During these difficult times, you have my permission to go ahead and use my copyrighted hymns in these ways for FREE. See details on the home page of my web site: www.carolynshymns.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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