We lament our year of sickness.
God who both forms light and creates darkness,
we saw our world covered with sickness,
and that sickness continues yet.
Heal us, those we love and all who have been afflicted,
that we may all be restored.
We lament our year of death.
God of eternal life,
we saw our world plagued by the shadow of death.
Give comfort to those who mourn,
those whom we know,
and those whom we do not,
that we may all find hope in your promise of resurrection.
We lament our year of isolation.
God of table and feasting together,
our homes are lonely,
and we have been unable to welcome guests in.
Sustain us with hope for crowded tables,
where there is room and enough for all,
that we may have a taste of the final table in your kingdom that is yet to come.
We lament our year of worshipping apart.
God of community and communion,
we miss worshipping together in one place,
and we have been deprived of an embodied community.
Draw us together once more,
with a renewed vision of what your community should be,
that we may experience earth as it is in heaven.
We lament our year of injustices becoming even more stark.
God of justice and righteousness,
we have seen the rich get richer, the poor get poorer,
and widespread unemployment.
We have watched our neighbors of color die in the streets,
and heard the anguished cries for justice.
We have endured division and hatred,
unable to find a neighbor anywhere.
Instill in us a vision of your kingdom,
where all are safe and have enough,
that we may co-labor with you
until it is accomplished.
We celebrate the light we see in the darkness.
God of new life and resurrection,
we celebrate that we can now see an end
to the sickness, death and isolation.
We are thankful for the global community
that has worked together to bring about vaccines,
for the essential workers who have cared for us,
and for all the ways that we have been neighbors to each other.
Shine your light brightly and overcome the shadows,
that all shall be well,
and all shall be well,
and all manner of thing shall be well;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Keith Dove is the Sid & Cathy Batts Pastoral Resident at First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina.
