Light one candle

When the pandemic broke out in March 2019 Barbara and I began a ritual which we have kept to this day. Each night at dinner we would light a candle and pray a prayer before we ate. Our first prayers were for the victims of the Coronavirus and for a speedy discovery of a vaccine. As time went on we would pray for friends and families struggling with particular issues.

We lifted prayers of thanksgiving when we got our first shots in January 2021, followed by our second shots in February 2021.  Similar prayers were offered when we got our booster last September here in Cornelius.

Now that the war has come to Ukraine we offer different prayers each night. For peace and protection for the courageous citizens there, for the frustration of the plans of the Russian invaders. 

I suggest that you light a candle at your dinner table each night. It would be heartened to know that all of us from CPC are praying together at about the same time each day.

God of mercy, justice, and peace
Our spirits are heavy with sorrow, our souls shocked
At the sudden and breathtaking violence,
the invasion of Ukraine by their neighbor, Russia.
We pray for lives caught in the grip of war,
who hear the bombs in the night,
the ominous movement of troops on the road into town
the whistle of incoming shells,
for a cry from a desperate neighbor or a shout of warning.
For those who huddle in subways and basements
or flee for the borders, clutching their children’s hands
We pray for families separated from fathers, brothers, and sons
who must remain to fight and protect their homeland.
We pray for neighbors in Eastern and Central Europe
As their hearts and doors open to these refugees
That strained resources will become an abundance of hope
That fears and struggles with racism will yield to a generosity of profound welcome
That communities of faith within Ukraine will be protected from harm
and sustained in their efforts to feed and shelter their neighbors.
That peacemakers and protesters in Russia will be heard and their lives preserved.
May we undergird our prayers with tangible resources to help.
May we reach deeply, give generously, and welcome extravagantly.
May we lift our voices in a strong and unified advocacy.
May we all, even as we breathe in lament, breathe out mercy, hope, and peace.
And in this Lenten season, when we walk the way toward death and resurrection, repent our complicity in cultures of violence and renew our efforts toward justice and peace. Amen.