Prayers for the Week of April 19

We invite you to join us in the prayers lifted up in worship this past Sunday, April 19. Please pray with us:

Holy, Risen Christ,

When the disciples gathered behind closed doors,

you appeared in the midst of them,

and breathed your Spirit into them,

and said, “Peace be with you.”

We welcome your presence with us

here and now,

and we give you thanks and praise.

You are present with us,

and with the whole world,

alive in and loving

every bit of your creation.

And so we bring you

our questions, and our longings, and our doubts,

the concerns, and the ache, and the bewilderment of our hearts,

and our loves.

We pray for those who are sick,

from COVID19 and from every type of illness,

we pray for your healing comforting presence,

help us to be a part of your healing work.

We pray for nurses, doctors, and health care workers --

every week with thanks for their courage,

and this week for their humanity and their tender hearts.

How hard it must be to stand in the midst of critical care

to see what we can only imagine,

to tend the sick, to watch with the dying,

and to walk back into their work the next day.

Bless and love and mend their tender hearts,

cover them with strength,

help us surround them with

whatever healing they may need

for the living of these days and into the next.

We pray for all who suffer, caught in the midst of

oppressive systems, now breaking in ways that seem beyond repair.

For too long, we have participated in and endured

systems that provide unequal access to healthcare

and shelter and food and economic resources of every kind.

Teach us better ways, give us clear thinking,

to create and embody systems

that ensure

shelter for those living on the streets,

enough food for everyone,

a living wage that honors the work of all people,

and access to healthcare that honors the dignity

of every body and every person.

Help us to see your presence in our midst.

Help us to be present for and with each other.

Help us to transcend the walls that give us shelter,

so that we might live brave lives,

that help you mend and heal the world.

Each from behind the closed doors of our shelter,

we join together with open hearts,

lifting our prayers to you,

joining our voices,

with the voices of everyone in every time and place

who has ever called on you,

in the prayer Jesus taught, saying:

Our Father/Mother, 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 sins, as we forgive those who sin 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. Amen.