Interfaith Day of Prayer – Prayer from Geoffrey A. Black

God of all seasons, times and places, Holy One of ages past, present moment and eternal future,

it is you to whom we bring our sorrows and our joys,

it is you to whom we listen for consolation and guidance.

So, here we are before you in this moment – amazed and perplexed at how suddenly our lives have changed.

Loving Creator, we bring to you our children, their lives and learning interrupted, their play and joyful discovery reframed.

In nursing homes, in rehab centers and hospitals, in the isolated rooms, death touches life with a frequency we have not known.

In refugee camps and migrant encampments, in the makeshift shelters of those who have no homes, death touches life with a frequency we have not known.

On ships at sea, and in prisons, throughout the world, death touches life with a frequency we have not known.

A virus invisible to us, yet very present with us brings sickness. We cannot ignore or avoid its presence.

Now we are awakened to the uncertainties of time and place.

We are stranded in the midst of the calendar, lost in the flow of days.

We witness loss of employment, our own or that of others near and far.

We wrestle with isolation and loneliness.

We suffer with anxiety and fearfulness, while this painful pause reminds us how intertwined our lives really are.

In our bewilderment we yearn for your blessing and your encouragement.

Holy One guide us to build a future that is more just, more compassionate than our past and present.

Loving Creator inspire us to be like trees firmly rooted in the nourishing soil of your love, that love made known to us in the life, the teachings, the death and resurrection of Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Geoffrey A. Black

Former General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ (2009-2015)