A Prayer on the Cusp of a Pandemic

By Emily Bruce
UUAC First Parish at Sherborn
March 1, 2020

Holy Presence – that of many names and no name at all, we bring our big, big feelings into this sacred space this morning. 

We bring our joys, those moments and people that call forth happiness and celebration and deep peace in our lives. Let the smiles and laughter sing through our hearts and fill our bodies with warmth and light, as we hold fast to the everlasting truth that we deserve joy. 

We bring our fears, fears for the well-being of our families and friends amidst a growing health epidemic, anxiety about the vicious partisan divide between and within our political parties // but also the numerous smaller fears that punctuate the moments of our daily lives. Give us the grace to breathe through all of our fears, big and small, mighty and seemingly insignificant, for they all speak of the longings that rest on our hearts. 

We bring our anger, sometimes righteous, sometimes misdirected, always real. May our anger find clean and healing expression, not as poisonous venting but as energy that can channel action. May we learn to respect and reckon with our anger, and let it fuel our desires for understanding, justice and peace in our world. 

And we bring our sadness, the many griefs that live in our bodies and spirits today. The world is full of such grief, it often seems too big to hold. May our sadness continue to remind us that we are alive, that we are capable of loving and being loved, that our losses are proof of the joy we have lived and the belonging that we all yearn for.  

May we bring all of our big feelings to this space, those held up today and those that remain unspoken. May we know our own wholeness, that we are all of these feelings and so much more. May we remember that we are loved, that we belong to each other and the earth, and that we are never – never - truly alone. 

May it be so. Let us now be still together.