Here
is a pastoral prayer for the season in which we find ourselves. It was
submitted by Reverend Brenda Torrie, First United Methodist Church in Newcastle,
Wyoming.
Caring for Our Neighbors: A Pandemic Pastoral Prayer
In these days of knowing, not knowing,
We, like the buds on the trees,
Are eager to burst forth into the world.
Hold us gently in place
Until we are certain in the ways of loving our
neighbor.
Let us not toss ourselves and neighbor into
thoughtless harm.
Let us recall that all life is sacred in your eyes,
not only that of the unborn child,
but also those with lines of life lived etched upon
their hands and faces,
and including those whose immune systems are
compromised.
These, too, are your beloved, whose care we are blessed
to bear.
And we seek blessing upon those
who have answered a call to care for us
in our times of physical healing,
no matter our opinion, our ideology, our hardship,
Lord.
These, we hold in our care as neighbors.
Help us to hear that caring for one another
is your command on our lives.
Open our ears to hear the tragedy in this time of
coronavirus,
and not only our own anxiety and grief
that may come on blustering words and tired
rhetoric.
Instead, let us think on how we will make the world
a better place.
Instead, let us think on what kindness, however
small,
we might offer someone.
Instead, let us remember that our life is not our
own,
but belongs to you.
Instead, let us dream how we might enter our
communities
to be a beacon of hope for those living in disorder
to come alongside them while they find order;
alongside them while they reorder their lives.
Help us always, Lord, to remember our promise to you
that we will care for our neighbor as ourselves. Amen.
~
submitted by Reverend Brenda Torrie, First United Methodist Church in Newcastle,
Wyoming
