Lent is a time to remember Jesus’ sojourn in the desert. What was it like? This short children’s teaching shares a bit about it, including the animals who live there.
Children’s Time: “We March” by Shane W. Evans
The Sunday before Martin Luther King Day is one of my favorite of the year at church. We have honored it in different ways over the years, including using King’s words in our worship, singing songs of the Civil Rights movement, praying for our enemies, and preaching on the themes of racism, poverty, and militarism. This year, our worship included the reading of this picture book by Shane W. Evans. It includes illustrations based on photos from the March on Washington. See if you can spot Dr. King, Rabbi Joachim Prinz, and John Lewis.
Prayers during a Pandemic: For Protestors
Our family is taking time daily to pray about the current global health crisis. Our prayers will likely reference the Christian tradition, but we’ve written with an ecumenical and agnostic audience in mind.
If you’d like us to pray for you, let us know. If you’d like us to write a prayer for you or for a concern you have and share it here, just ask. You don’t have to share your name if you don’t want to, and we won’t share it or any other identifying details about you here or elsewhere.
Today we pray for people around the globe who are protesting racial violence in the US.
Today we pray for all those who are protesting racial violence in the US. We pray for those motivated by grief, anger, frustration, compassion, solidarity, and a quest for justice.
We pray for those we do not know as well as those we do, including ourselves. [Name the names of protestors now.] We honor the lives that inspire them to action. We mourn with them over the deaths that draw them to protest. We are grateful for their courage, their fortitude, and their leadership.
We think of all those who support protestors, including their family members, medics, clergy, and trained legal witnesses, lawyers. We are grateful for the solidarity of bus drivers who refuse to move those arrested into detention and for police officers who turn over their badges in protest of a culture of violence and silence. We rejoice for every one trained up in violence, who swims in the American sea of white supremacy and yet who rejects it like a shepherd who finds his lost lamb or a widow her lost coin. We are grateful for the activists being made right now, for those who are joining the movement for social justice for the first time.
We pray for those who are afraid, attacked, and injured. We pray for them calm and resilient spirits and bodies quick to heal. We pray for those who are taking big risks; we pray for them support. We pray for those who will face persecution and backlash because of their willingness to guide us toward justice; we pray for them steady friendships when times are difficult. We pray for those who are crossing their families and their faith traditions to protest; we pray for them joy that compels those they love to join them.
We pray for ourselves, wherever we are, to join in protest against racial injustice in body and in spirit, in word and in deed, every day as needed–forever if needed.
We are thankful for those who cry against injustice. We are thankful for their voices and their presence.
Above, Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin by Christo and Jeanne-Claude shows the German Reichstag wrapped in cloth.
Prayers during a Pandemic: For those who mourn
Our family is taking time daily to pray about the current global health crisis. Our prayers will likely reference the Christian tradition, but we’ve written with an ecumenical and agnostic audience in mind.
If you’d like us to pray for you, let us know. If you’d like us to write a prayer for you or for a concern you have and share it here, just ask. You don’t have to share your name if you don’t want to, and we won’t share it or any other identifying details about you here or elsewhere.
Today we pray for people who are mourning the loss of a loved one.
Today we pray for all those who mourn the loss of a loved one. We pray for those whose losses are recent as well as those who have lived long with grief.
We pray for those we do not know as well as those familiar to us, including [Remember now the names of those who are grieving, including ourselves]. We honor the lives and memories of those they loved and miss, and we stand as witnesses the the challenges of complex grief over the loss of people whose actions were often hurtful or harmful.
We think of those who work with grief daily, including counselors and therapists, chaplains and pastors, doctors and nurses, funeral directors and death doulas. We are grateful for their training, labor,and dedication. We pray for them strength, stamina, and love for those they serve.
We pray for those struggling with the complexity of grief, for those who feel they are drowning in it, for those caught off-guard and pushed off-center by its sudden appearances, for those expressing grief as anger, for those feeling orphaned, for those feeling abandoned, for those feeling alone. We pray for them focus, rest, stable footing, insight and peace, comfort and good memories, companionship, and connection.
We mourn with those who mourn, without end; we pray that we can be brave to enter the grief of others when invited.
We are thankful for the vulnerability of those who grieve. We are thankful for lives of love.
Above, Death in the Sickroom by Edvard Munch (1893) shows seven people in a room, a bed at the center, several cups, including one of a bright red liquid on the nightstand next to it. At right, a man leans his hand against the wall. At right, a woman sits in a chair facing the bed. Several figures have their hands clasped as if in prayer, their heads bowed.
Prayers during a Pandemic: For those who are hungry
Our family is taking time daily to pray about the current global health crisis. Our prayers will likely reference the Christian tradition, but we’ve written with an ecumenical and agnostic audience in mind.
If you’d like us to pray for you, let us know. If you’d like us to write a prayer for you or for a concern you have and share it here, just ask. You don’t have to share your name if you don’t want to, and we won’t share it or any other identifying details about you here or elsewhere.
Today we pray for people who are hungry or who live with food insecurity, unsure of a steady source of food.
Today we pray for all people around the globe who are hungry, who fear hunger, or who live with food insecurity.
We pray for those we don’t know and for those we do, including [names of people we know who are hungry, including ourselves].
We pray for relief from the pain of hunger and for the fear it creates. We pray for peace in the face of anxiety about having enough. We pray for dignity in times of need. We pray for generosity to flow through communities and societies, but, more, for solidarity. We pray that the hunger pang that one person feels is felt by all.
We pray for those who work in agriculture and for those who work in food processing, production, and distribution. We pray for fair, humane, and safe treatment of all those who labor to feed others. We pray for farm laborers, meat packers, grocery store workers, and all others who participate in our food system. We pray for just food systems, ones that honor work, the environment, and animal life. We pray for a system that places human need above profit.
We pray for those who serve in soup kitchens, food pantries, WIC and SNAP offices. We pray for them tender hearts and encouraging words. We pray for those who prepare and share school lunches with children and families. We pray for them stamina, good health, and generous spirits.
We pray for those who hunger around the world, from those who are first encountering it to those who are long acquainted with it. We pray for the 821 million people worldwide who are chronically hungry and the many more who are at risk of a hunger pandemic related to the spread of the coronavirus. We pray for those in the Horn of Africa, where drought, flooding, and locusts have decimated crops. We pray for those in Yemen who face hunger due to war. We pray for those in North Korea, where drought and lack of farming supplies shrunk agriculture production last year. We pray for for farmers, policy makers, and families, especially pregnant women and young children, in Afghanistan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, and Syria. We pray for their bodies and their spirits, for them as individuals who are at risk of hunger, for families where the risk of violence and abuse increase because of hunger, and for societies vulnerable to violence due to hunger.
We pray, too, for those for whom a return of hunger or the threat of it is a reminder of past famine, suffering, or abuse. We pray for them comfort, confidence, and assurance.
We are thankful to live in a world where there is enough to meet every need. We seek to make a world where every need is met because every life is valued.
Above, Antoine Wiertz’s Famine, Madness, Crime (1853) shows a woman seated on the floor between a hearth and a table. An overturned basket on the table is nearly empty of food; a turnip or beet has fallen to the floor below. The woman’s left breast is revealed, as if she has been nursing the child on her lap. She holds a bloody knife in her right hand. The child is bundled in a cloth, a red stain has soaked through it. The first beneath the hearth is fed by what appear to be wooden chair legs–perhaps of the chair she should be sitting on rather than on the floor. The infant’s leg sticks out from the pot.
Prayers during a Pandemic: Victims of Anti-Asian Hate
Our family is taking time daily to pray about the current global health crisis. Our prayers will likely reference the Christian tradition, but we’ve written with an ecumenical and agnostic audience in mind.
If you’d like us to pray for you, let us know. If you’d like us to write a prayer for you or for a concern you have and share it here, just ask. You don’t have to share your name if you don’t want to, and we won’t share it or any other identifying details about you here or elsewhere.
Today we pray for people who are targets of anti-Asian hate in the US and elsewhere.
Today we pray for all people who have been victimized by anti-Asian hate, especially ethnocentric attacks related to the spread of COVID-19. We pray especially for Chinese Americans, Chinese immigrants, and Chinese international students in the US.
We pray for those we don’t know and for those we do, including [names of people we know who have been victimized or who fear being victimized.]
We pray for people who have been traumatized by hate, harassment, discrimination, and abuse. We pray for them security, safety, peace of heart, the ability to forgive if they seek it, justice, and fairness.
We pray for those who live with the consequences of generations of oppression, those whose lives and whose family trees have been shaped by oppression. We pray for memories of connection and comfort.
We pray for those who live in fear of abuse because of their ethnicity or appearance. We pray for them bravery, protection, and friendship.
For those of us who live without such fear, we pray solidarity with those who suffer, the courage to intervene, and life-long commitments to justice.
We pray for perpetrators of hate, that they would be released from their fears and anger. We hope for them accountability, hearts ready for reconciliation, and opportunities for restitution.
We remember the cruel history of anti-Asian sentiment and policy in American history and recognize the ways that our nation has failed to provide safe haven for those in need or to live up to its promises to Asians and Asian Americans, including the internment of Japanese Americans and others during World War II. We seek correction of our collective past and present failures.
We are thankful for all people of Asian descent, strangers and friends, and hope for them safety and peace wherever they are.
Hung Liu’s Chinese Profile II (1998) shows the profile of a Chinese woman. She large earrings and her long hair is drawn up and held by an elaborate comb.
Prayers during a Pandemic: For Those who Feel Alone
Our family is taking time daily to pray about the current global health crisis. Our prayers will likely reference the Christian tradition, but we’ve written with an ecumenical and agnostic audience in mind.
If you’d like us to pray for you, let us know. If you’d like us to write a prayer for you or for a concern you have and share it here, just ask. You don’t have to share your name if you don’t want to, and we won’t share it or any other identifying details about you here or elsewhere.
Today we pray for people experiencing loneliness.
Today we pray for people who feel alone. We pray for all those who live in isolation, for those who feel lonely even if they live with others, and for those who fear loneliness.
We pray for those we don’t know and for those we do, including [names of people we know struggling with loneliness.]
We pray for those who miss friends, family, neighbors, and community members. We pray for those who are or feel unseen. We pray for those who are in regular contact with others but feel misunderstood, ignored, or unimportant. We pray for those who, because of physical distancing, are unable to have their regular needs for face-to-face socialization met.
Our hope for all is kind relationships; deep, meaningful, challenging, and lasting friendships as well as friendships that are light and easy. Our hope is gentle, encouraging interactions with every stranger and neighbor. Our hope is that we remember that our words and tones carry weight in the lives of others. May we remember to be responsible for each interaction we have with others, that we treat each opportunity to be with others as sacred.
We are thankful for each person, known and unknown.
Above, Melancholy (1801) by Constance Marie Charpentier shows a women in a dress, a long scarf wrapped around her waist, sitting near a weeping willow tree.
Prayers during a Pandemic: For Lost Opportunities
Our family is taking time daily to pray about the current global health crisis. Our prayers will likely reference the Christian tradition, but we’ve written with an ecumenical and agnostic audience in mind.
If you’d like us to pray for you, let us know. If you’d like us to write a prayer for you or for a concern you have and share it here, just ask. You don’t have to share your name if you don’t want to, and we won’t share it or any other identifying details about you here or elsewhere.
Today we pray for people experiencing losses related to the passage of time: missed opportunities that will not return.
Today we pray for people who are missing life events that will not return.
We pray for those who cannot share the first days of their child’s birth with their extended families and their friends.
We pray for high school seniors who will miss the rituals of prom and graduation.
We pray for those for whom all the rituals of adulthood–getting a driver’s license, getting a first job, preparing for college–are now delayed.
We pray for all those for whom the lasts–the last day of school, the last day of work before retirement–happened without their knowledge.
We pray for those celebrating birthdays and anniversaries–especially milestone ones–without friends to celebrate with them in person.
We grieve with others canceled trips to see old friends or new places, pilgrimages that won’t begin, and family reunions that will be delayed–and, for some, not celebrated.
We pray for those we don’t know and for those we do, including [names of people we know who are grieving lost opportunities].
We recognize that sadness of these losses, not the life-shaping grief of losing a loved one but the challenge of making sense of what life is when we expected and yearned for it to be different.
Our hope for for peace of heart, acceptance of that which is hard, compassion for those who feel this sadness acutely, and lives of meaning.
Above, Self-Portrait with Her Daughter Julie (Maternal Tenderness) by Vigée Le Brun, (1786) shows a mother and daughter of perhaps 6 or 7 years old embracing. The little girl hugs her mother’s neck, and the mother holds her daughter around the waist. May we be as tender to each other and to ourselves.
Prayers during a Pandemic: For Those in Prisons and Jails
Our family is taking time daily to pray about the current global health crisis. Our prayers will likely reference the Christian tradition, but we’ve written with an ecumenical and agnostic audience in mind.
If you’d like us to pray for you, let us know. If you’d like us to write a prayer for you or for a concern you have and share it here, just ask. You don’t have to share your name if you don’t want to, and we won’t share it or any other identifying details about you here or elsewhere.
Today we pray for people who live in prisons and detention centers or who are currently in jail.
Today we pray for people who are incarcerated. We pray for all those in prisons, jails, and detention centers.
We pray for those we don’t know and for those we do, including [names of people who we know are incarcerated].
We pray for those who are new to incarceration and those familiar with it. We pray for all of them hope for themselves and compassion for each other.
We pray for those who have done the hard work of making meaning in their lives and for those who seek it. We pray for them peace of heart and clarity of vision.
We pray for those who need kindness. We pray that they experience it, feel it, show it.
We pray for those who are afraid. We pray for them comfort.
We pray for those who are in ill-health or who fear it. We pray for them strength.
We pray for all those who miss people who miss incarcerated loved ones. We pray for the families, friends, and loved ones of those who are imprisoned. We pray that their memories of loved ones comfort them and that the time and connection they may have with ther incarcerate loved ones comfort them.
We pray for communities disrupted by incarceration. We pray for communities harmed by crime. We pray for them liberation and justice. We pray for them safety and dignity.
We pray for all those who care for people who are incarcerated, including prison guards, nurses, food service staff, wardens, chaplains, teachers, and volunteers. We pray for them tender hearts and consciences, an unwavering orientation to justice, and bottomless wells of hope.
We are thankful for all those who are incarcerated. We seek their welfare and remember that it is our own.
Above, Prison Scene (1808-1812) by Francisco Goya, shows men in prison. In the foregrand, one stands, using an aid of some kind, wrapped in a shawl. Another lies on teh floor, his feet bound. A third is in the background, seated.
Prayers during a Pandemic: For those Celebrating Holidays
Our family is taking time daily to pray about the current global health crisis. Our prayers will likely reference the Christian tradition, but we’ve written with an ecumenical and agnostic audience in mind.
If you’d like us to pray for you, let us know. If you’d like us to write a prayer for you or for a concern you have and share it here, just ask. You don’t have to share your name if you don’t want to, and we won’t share it or any other identifying details about you here or elsewhere.
Today we pray for people experiencing sadness around Holy Week (for Western Christians who have already celebrated it, for Eastern Christians who celebrate it this week) and Passover (for Jews).
Today we pray for people who are experiencing sadness, grief, and loss around their sacred days and traditions. We pray for those who are finding joy in these moments, too.
We pray for those we don’t know and for those we do, including [names of people we know who are struggling with holidays, including ourselves].
We pray for those who miss celebrating with friends and family. We hope for them companionship across distance.
We pray for those missing their sacred spaces. We hope for them dignity wherever they are.
We pray for those who are unable to participate in tradition as they might want. We hope for them good memories of times past, inventiveness and assurance in this moment, and hope for future times.
We pray for those who feel disconnected from their own lives, communities, and traditions. We hope for them grace for themselves.
We pray especially for Christians and Jews around the world who have recently, are currently, or will soon celebrate holy days. We pray for them peace of heart as they engage these sacred days. We hold in our hearts those for whom these days are hard.
We are thankful for people of faith in our lives and in our communities. We are thankful for the rich traditions they share with us. We are grateful when we can share their stories, insights, art, and other traditions.
Above, artist James Tissot’s vision of ancient Jerusalem (1890s).
Family Foxhole 