Prayers in a Time of Pandemic
Prayer For a Pandemic
by Cameron Bell, an amateur poet living in Alliston, Ontario
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 and paying their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close
Remember those who have no such options.
May we who have to cancel our trips
Remember those who 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 settle in for quarantine at home.
by Cameron Bell, an amateur poet living in Alliston, Ontario
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 and paying their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close
Remember those who have no such options.
May we who have to cancel our trips
Remember those who 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 settle in for quarantine at home.
Lockdown
by Fr. Richard Hendrick
March 13, 2020
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and gray and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other across the empty squares,
Keeping their windows open so that those who are alone may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the west of Ireland is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know is busy spreading flyers with her numbers through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today churches, synagogues, mosques and temples are preparing to welcome and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting.
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way.
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality.
How big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To love.
So we pray and we remember that - yes - there is fear
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul.
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
the birds are singing again.
The sky is clearing, spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by love.
Open the windows of your soul
and though you may not be able to touch cross the empty square,
Sing.
by Fr. Richard Hendrick
March 13, 2020
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and gray and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other across the empty squares,
Keeping their windows open so that those who are alone may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the west of Ireland is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know is busy spreading flyers with her numbers through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today churches, synagogues, mosques and temples are preparing to welcome and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting.
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way.
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality.
How big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To love.
So we pray and we remember that - yes - there is fear
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul.
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
the birds are singing again.
The sky is clearing, spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by love.
Open the windows of your soul
and though you may not be able to touch cross the empty square,
Sing.
A prayer from Rev. Dr. Richard Bott during the Covid-19 Pandemic
In this time of COVID-19, we pray:
When we aren't sure, God, help us be calm;
when information comes from all sides, correct and not, help us to discern;
when fear makes it hard to breathe, and anxiety seems to be the order of the day,
slow us down, God;
help us to reach out with our hearts, when we can't touch with our hands;
help us to be socially connected, when we have to be socially distant;
help us to love as perfectly as we can, knowing that "perfect love casts out all fear."
For the doctors, we pray,
for the nurses, we pray,
for the technicians and the janitors and the aides and the caregivers, we pray,
for the researchers and theorists, the epidemiologists and investigators,
for those who are sick, and those who are grieving, we pray,
for all who are affected, all around the world... we pray
for safety,
for health,
for wholeness.
In this time of COVID-19, we pray:
When we aren't sure, God, help us be calm;
when information comes from all sides, correct and not, help us to discern;
when fear makes it hard to breathe, and anxiety seems to be the order of the day,
slow us down, God;
help us to reach out with our hearts, when we can't touch with our hands;
help us to be socially connected, when we have to be socially distant;
help us to love as perfectly as we can, knowing that "perfect love casts out all fear."
For the doctors, we pray,
for the nurses, we pray,
for the technicians and the janitors and the aides and the caregivers, we pray,
for the researchers and theorists, the epidemiologists and investigators,
for those who are sick, and those who are grieving, we pray,
for all who are affected, all around the world... we pray
for safety,
for health,
for wholeness.
