Prayers for Italy

Migration across the Mediterranean is the thread running longest through the prayers for Italy, with rescue at sea, closed ports, and asylum seekers awaiting welcome. Earthquakes, a bridge collapse, drought in the north, and the pandemic are named too, along with thanks for work against trafficking.

From a Distance: A Prayer for a Connected World in Lockdown (March 19, 2020)

From a distance the world looks blue and green And the snow capped mountains white From a distance the ocean meets the stream And the eagle takes to flight* Holy One, during this time of social distancing and lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, remind us that we are still connected to one another. We […]

Like Grasses Showing Tender Faces: A Prayer as the Pandemic Circles the Globe (March 12, 2020)

Every little thing is sent for something, and in that thing there should be happiness and the power to make happy. Like the grasses showing tender faces to each other, thus we should do, for this was the wish of the Grandfathers of the World. Black Elk, (1863-1950) Oh God, we read these words […]

A Prayer at the Turn of the Decade: For Nations at War and Hearts in Despair (January 2, 2020)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. James 1:17 Oh Lord, there are many things that concern us and call us to prayer. We open our hearts to you in gratitude and wonder. We pray for those who rage and are quick to anger, for those who seem to be eaten up […]

Are We Nearly There Yet: Albania’s Earthquake, Floods in France and Italy, and Thanksgiving (November 28, 2019)

Father God, are we there yet? We are between the last Sunday of the year and the first – are we nearly there yet? “The days are coming” (book of Jeremiah) – are we nearly there yet? We are between the new beginning and end of the last new beginning – are we nearly there […]

A Great and Awful Time: Prayers for Venice’s Floods, Ebola in DR Congo, and Violence in Gaza (November 13, 2019)

Great justice-seeker of the universe, You know that we live in a great and awful time. You have opened our minds to the secrets of nature, but record flooding in Venice, Italy, and raging fires from the United States to Australia, give us reason to pause about having the power of sub-atomic particles placed into […]

Precious Lord, Take My Hand: A Prayer for a Melting Glacier and a Warming Ocean (September 26, 2019)

Precious Lord, take my hand. Lead me on, let me stand. I am tired, I am weak, and worn. Precious Lord, there are times when the news of the world – your world – seems only to abuse and abase us, when it seems indeed to assault us. When a large clump of the Mont […]

Can We Dare to Love Like You: Prayers for Migrants Stranded off Italy and for the Righteous Few (August 15, 2019)

There is a Love that is deeper than love, that fills the world, that fuels the world. O, give thanks and sing. From Genesis 18:16-23 (Paraphrased): The Lord, having heard much outcry about the sins of the two cities, was prepared to destroy them, and all the people in them. But Abraham challenged the Lord: […]

The World Is About to Turn: Prayers for Hong Kong, Moscow Arrests, and Separated Families (August 1, 2019)

My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great, and my spirit sings of the wondrous things that you bring to the ones who wait. You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight, and my weakness you did not spurn, so from east to west shall my name […]

Every Stranger a Bearer of Gifts: Prayers for Migrants, Cyclone Fani, and Attacked Houses of Worship (May 2, 2019)

This week’s prayers begin with music. Music composed in the late 18th century by an Austrian composer, using an ancient Latin text. Music sung, this past Sunday, by a touring Russian ensemble, at the beginning of worship in an Episcopal church in California, U.S. But perhaps a bit of background is in order. The members […]

One of Those Days When It Is Hard to Pray: For Kabul, the Genoa Bridge and the Kerala Floods (August 16, 2018)

God, today is one of those days when it is hard to pray. One of the days when life feels so overwhelming that shutting down might seem like the best option. And on days like today, we have this community of prayer that lifts us up. Right now, we pray for each one reading this […]