Prayers of the People: July 12, 2020

I recorded the prayers of the people today for Sunday's worship.

O God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast,

And our eternal home.

We gather together, virtually, 

even in the midst of mourning,

even in the midst of the collective traumas we are experiencing,

We gather with a spirit of gratitude,

knowing that you are with us,

and knowing that you will continue to be our guide while troubles last.

And our troubles do last. 

And last. 

And last.

We cry out to you, O God, 

because crying out to our elected officials is not working,

for they have grown numb 

to the suffering and death 

in our nation, 

in our state, 

in our city.

We cry out to you, O God, 

because we know that you do not grow numb.

and we ask you to cut through the numbness.

We worry - we are filled with anxieties.

We worry about what to do about school in the Fall.

We worry about what to do when our businesses can’t make ends meet.

We worry about what to do when unemployment relief runs out.

We worry about what to do when rent is due.

We worry about what to do when our grandmothers need surgery

while the hospitals are overflowing with covid cases.

We worry about what to do when the hospitals run out of beds.

We worry, 

and we worry, 

and we worry, 

until we can’t sleep at night.

But as much as we worry,

we also know that, while everyone is impacted by this global pandemic,

not everyone is impacted equally.

About 40% of Shelby County residents are white,

but only 17% of those who have tested positive for COVID-19 are white.

And so we want to lift up our Black and Latinx neighbors,

for we know that they are disproportionately impacted by this pandemic.

But COVID-19 is not the only trouble we face.

Disaster follows hard on disaster, says the prophet Jeremiah.

We know that one day the COVID-19 pandemic will pass.

And when it does 

the pandemic of racism that lives 

in our political system, 

in our legal system, 

in our criminal justice system, 

in our education system, 

and, yes, in our churches, 

that pandemic of racism will be with us still.

And so we come to you, O God, with hearts heavy,

mourning all the life COVID-19 has robbed us of,

and mourning Black lives in particular.

And we ask with the prophet Jeremiah,

Is there no balm in Gilead?

Is there no physician there?

O that my head were waters,

And my eyes a fountain of tears,

That I might weep day and night

For the slain daughter of my people!

With souls hurting, O God,

but with gratitude for your presence,

and with comfort in the knowledge that your soul hurts with us, 

we pray as Jesus, the anointed one, has taught us...

Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Amen.