Praying the News: Disrupted

“Life (as usual) Disrupted” 


God of continuity, God with us in disruption.
We come to you claiming your Name as a Being of Love,
not a being of destruction.

We call to you as the force of Good,
Redemption,
Hope,
and Life.

We call to you as the God who is present in loss,
confusion,
shattering
and disruption.

We recognize Your presence in the rays of Light,
As neighbors connect to neighbors,
As help and relief come together and are offered,
As four-year-old’s learn what it is to be without electricity,
As front loaders roll through rivered streets,
picking up grandmothers off of porches,

As we watch the news on our laptops,  from our cozy  homes in Indiana, Colorado, California and Montana and we pause,
and connect to those we know and do not know,

As priorities are examined,
And we hold those we love close,
As we slow and bow in awe and humility at the force that Nature is,
As we wonder, the parts we play in the interconnected world we live in,
As we are interrupted,
Disrupted.

Disrupted.

Disrupted.
1. to cause disorder
2. to destroy the normal continuance or unity; interrupt.
3. Break apart
4. Broken apart


When we are disrupted,
Shine Your Light into our hearts and lives,
Show us Your Way as you bring healing in the cracks and crevices,

May we notice,
pause,
and be present to,
the precious,
the sacred,
to
Life.


When disruption comes,
May we use it,
to
Breakthrough our apathy,
Crack our stagnancy,
Shatter our certainty,
Crumble our consumerism,
and slice through our isolation.


May we be present
alongside our fellow sojourners on this planet,

present to the interconnectedness of all,
conscious in our actions and thoughts,
purposeful in our choices and intentions,
awake to life.


Awaken us, O Holy One,
When life is disrupted.

 

Praying the News

Last night in class my professor used the term “praying the news”. We were discussing the devastating effects of the hurricane and our various reactions. Drop everything and get in our cars and go help? Retreat into the overwhelm of our own end of semester worlds of papers and coursework? Pray the news? She offered the idea watching/listening/reading the news with a prayerful heart and noticing if there is a specific story that tugs on our hearts and then to hold that story in Light and prayer.

I’ve been praying in paint recently.

An expression of “praying the news” today.

The story of the babies in the NYU Medical Center Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that had to be transfered during the hurricane has been lodged in my heart since the storm.  

Sitting with the loss and chaos,
the fear and uncertainty of the storm,
and the fragility and vulnerability of each tiny baby. 

Picturing Light and Warmth surrounding those that are vulnerable.
Offering honor and thanksgiving for the medical and emergency staff.
Honoring the tenacity and strength of human life–even the tiny-tiny ones.
Praying for comfort and healing for families.

O Holy One, hear our prayers.