Description
Book SynopsisAn interfaith collection of prayers, blessings, and poems offering comfort and hope to the healthcare workers that give so much.
The COVID-19 pandemic has left few of us unaffected, but our healthcare workers have borne the brunt of its impact. Chaplains and clergy across all lines of faith have ministered to those caregivers through prayers and blessings.
This curated collection of interfaith prayers, blessings, and poems was written by those who minister to healthcare workers. It’s a beautiful resource that those who work on our medical front lines can carry with them or keep at their workstations for daily inspiration. It can also be used by chaplains and pastors who offer support to medical personnel.
Many of the prayers were written to meet specific needs during the pandemic, yet they speak to the shared grief and hope we all have carried as we continue to navigate this extraordinary time. Contributors include The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, Rev. Barbara Crafton, Catherine Meeks, Jennifer Grant, Rev. Ineda Pearl Adesanya, and Rev. Gayle Fisher-Stewart.
Trade Review“This beautiful and inspiring collection of prayers and blessings provides words for those of us who were left speechless by the pandemic. It is a must-read for anyone who wishes to mark this difficult moment in history with light and hope.”
—Amanda Held Opelt, writer, musician
“In these pages you will encounter restorative, life giving words that speak to the commonalities of our journeys, and you will find affinity in their beautiful reminders of love’s perseverance. A much-needed exhale for the world.”
—John Pavlovitz, author of A Bigger Table
Table of ContentsIntroduction
A Note about Language and Editing
For Your Grounding
Front and Center / Nathan Brown
A Love Song to All the Helpers / Rev. Laura Martin
Prayer for a New Day / Rev. Dr. Sarah Griffith Lund
A Prayer Before Commencing a Shift / Rabbi Brian T. Nelson
Blessing for Donning and Doffing / Rev .Hadley Kifner
For Those Who Walk in the Footsteps / Rev .Paula A. Wells
For Parents Who Leave Their Children at Home to Care for Others and You Feel as Though You Are the Cobbler and Your Children Have No Shoes / Rev. Traci Smith
Prayer for Those Who Step into the Mess / Rev. Elizabeth Felicetti
Blessing in a Pandemic / Rev. Ruth McMeekin Skjerseth
For Those Who Keep the Ceiling From Falling In and Floors From Falling Out / Rev. Sonya Gravlee
A Blessing for Caregivers / Rev. Kathy Bozzuti-Jones
Prayer for Leaning / Rev. Mark Wingfield
A Prayer for All During Coronavirus / Dr.Virgil Fry
Reminders / Rev. Keith A. Menhinick
For Your Hands
A Prayer for the Young Man (Who Makes Not Much an Hour for Hazardous Duty) / Rev. Kevin M. Roberts
Blessing for Your Hands / Rev. Hadley Kifner
A Tuesday Afternoon in 2020 / Rev. Laura D. Johnson
Vespers / Rev. Molly Bolton
Bedside Prayers / Leslie Deslauriers
Blessing of Nursing and Caregiving Hands / Rev. Ally Vertigan and Rev. Mishca R. Russell-Smith
COVID Collects / Rev. David Finnegan-Hosey
Prayer for an EMT / The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry
Seen All Along: A Sestina for the Helpers / Jennifer Grant
For the One I Cannot Visit / Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton
Remembrance Gathering: A Way to Honor and Release Patients Who Have Died / Rev. Katherine K. Henderson
A Meditation for Releasing Those Who Have Died / Rev. Ellen M. Swinford
Blessing for the End of This Year / Rev. Laura Martin
For Your Heart
A Prayer in Times of Grief / Rev. Chelsea Brooke Yarborough
Ora Pro Nobis / Catherine McNiel
A Prayer for Naming When It Hurts / Rev. Molly Brummett Wudel
Lament / Rev. Molly Bolton
Blessing for Anger / Rev. James Adams
Prayer for Grief’s Lessons / Rev. Dr. Sarah Griffith Lund
Wilderness (How Hagar Felt) / Rev. Dr. Danielle J. Buhuro
Intercessory Prayer for Pandemic Frontline Workers / Heather Bachelder
A Lament for Composting Hard Truths / Rev. Kelly Gregory
A COVID-19 Compline / Catherine McNiel
Embracing Humankind / Rabbi Deborah Jill Schloss
I Pray / Rev. Ineda Pearl Adesanya
Prayer for the Dead / Rev. Randy Lewis
A Litany for Those Who Have Cared for COVID-19 Patients and Their Families / Rev. Hadley Kifner
Written on Your Heart / Rev. Drew Phillips
Healers Needing Healing / Hayden Dawes
Metta Meditation: A Practice of Loving-Kindness / Rev. Ellen M. Swinford
Two Blessings for Troubled Times (and Troubled Hearts) / Rev. Katherine K. Henderson
For Your Breath
My Lord, What a Morning / Rev. Molly Bolton
Breath Prayer / Rev. David Finnegan-Hosey
They Say This Time Is Invaluable / Leenah Safi
It Is OK to Scream / Rev. Gayle Fisher-Stewart
A Blessing for the Weary / Catherine McNiel
Blessing for the Night / Rev. Dr. Sarah Griffith Lund
A Prayer for Pandemic Times / Rev. Paul Roberts Abernathy
Here / Rev. Kari Pellegrino
A Collect for Parents Working on the Front Lines / Rev. Traci Smith
For Those Who Wait / Rev. Sheila P. Spencer
If Words Could Heal / Jessica Covil
A Prayer for a Long Shift / Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey
InFINITE / Rabbi Deborah Jill Schloss
Companioning One / Rev. Arianne Braithwaite Lehn
God of It All / Rev. Hadley Kifner
A Prayer at the Conclusion of a Shift / Rabbi Brian T. Nelson
An Invitation to Breath & Mystery & Courage / Rev. Ellen M. Swinford
Slow Exhale / Rev. Martha Spong
For Your Becoming
Instructions for Anxious Days / Rev. Laura Martin
Litany for Incarnation / Claire Repsholdt
Sunrise / Jamie R. Rivera
Invocation of Opening the Curtains / Rev. Jessica Stokes
An Invitation / Dr. Catherine Meeks
Life Prevails / Rev. Randy Lewis
Prayer for the Covering / Rev. Dr. Sarah Griffith Lund
God Is Everywhere / Rev. Malcolm L. Marler
As You Love the Only World We Have / Rev. Keith A. Menhinick
Beloved, You Are / Rev. Ginny Wilder
Contributors
