by Rev. Terri Hord Owens on February 22, 2021
Oh, Lord, our Lord, we end this day with heads bowed and bodies bent under the weight of great sorrow. 500,000 lives have now been lost in the US to the COVID-19 virus and 21,000 in Canada.
Our mothers, fathers, spouses, sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends–each loss has left a space that has altered our realities forever. We cannot gather to grieve as we want and need. The celebrations of life that should have been witnessed by so many in person have been shared via cyberspace.
We pray, O God, for the US, Canada, and nations around the world, that we might love one another in the midst of this crisis, masking up and keeping our distance. Give us the desire to show our love for our neighbor, to give to each other this gesture of respect.
We give thanks for vaccines, and pray that all the world might have access, quickly, soon–now. May justice prevail in the administration of the vaccines so that marginalized communities are not sacrificed as though we do not matter.
May the US commit to economic relief caused by the pandemic. May we commit to love in radical ways to lift each one up as worthy of respect, worthy of making provision, worthy of having enough to thrive. We remember each one we have lost, we speak their names, we hold their memories close, we tell their stories. We commend their souls to you, O God. May they rest in power, in peace. Amen.