Messages of Love and Solidarity

Prayer for a Pandemic
By Cameron Bellm

May we who are merely inconvenienced
Remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors
Remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home
Remember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close
Remember those who have no options.
May we who have to cancel our trips
Remember those that have no safe place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market
Remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at home
Remember those who have no home.
As fear grips our country,
let us choose love.
During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other,
Let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbors.
Amen.

Originally Published on Krug the Thinker.

Submitted by Dick Galusha, Countryside Community Church

Prayer for Uncertain Times
Blessed are you, Lord, our God, creator of all we are capable of knowing, and more that is beyond our senses.

Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of all the worlds, who made the rules by which our world functions.

Blessed are you, Lord, our God, whose world provides both great bounty to sustain us and great challenges to strengthen us.

Blessed are you our God, who gave us families that we can turn to for strength and support in times of challenges.

And now, we ask you, Lord, to fill us with your love, and let that love help us find our courage, our strength, our stamina, our wisdom, our creativity and our compassion. Help us be grateful for the challenges that make us strong. Help bind us together to care for ourselves, each other and all those in our community who need assistance as we face this challenging time.

And with this we say, Amen.

Submitted by Lou Lucas, Temple Israel

A Message of Love
So listen. This is an uncertain time and most of us feel unsettled. In the last few days, I found out that a good friend has tested positive for the coronavirus and I, with many of my closest friends, are quarantined for two weeks. My church, which is also my workplace, is “closed” and we are having live-steamed sermons for the foreseeable future. But, in spite of that, I’ve had a pretty good day. My church today feels more alive to me than ever after spending the day checking on others, having others check on me, discussing putting systems in place to look out for each other and a planned zoom meeting with some of my closest friends a little later this evening. As corny as it may sound, I just have no idea what I would do without this community, my church family, my confidants, my closest friends who, outside of my family, are everything to me. I’m worried about people that don’t
have the same support system in place and I encourage you that when this passes, and it will, find yourself a place like this for the next hard thing that happens… It’s truly priceless. And if you need a place, come and find us……where all are welcome and you will find that you are loved beyond your wildest imagination.

Submitted by Diane Scott, Countryside Community Church Member