Lent 1: Reflection

Today marks the National Day of Covid Reflection - five years since the Pandemic.

Covid had an impact on all of us, across the globe. 

Rev Steve Finamore, the current President of the Baptist Union, has written this prayer for today. I find it to be a helpful reflection, and reminder to pray for those who are still struggling

Our loving and gracious God,
As we look back on the pandemic and the lockdown
We each have our own thoughts and memories
And we all carry the sense of disruption we experienced
And are conscious of the things we learned
about You and about ourselves
 As we pause to reflect
Help us to consider the people and places where the scars are deepest
Those who lost loved ones without a goodbye hug
Or a final conversation, or a fitting farewell service
With the comfort of friends and family
 Those who live with long covid, who feel constant tiredness
 And who cannot escape the brain fog that looms over everything
 The young people whose education was disturbed
 So that significant learning and important life experiences
 Were lost forever
We think of those whose sense of confinement
And feelings of dislocation
Have brought lasting anxiety and depression
 We recall the people whose businesses were lost
 or have never truly recovered
 And whose livelihoods are damaged
 Or who lost their job and cannot find another
We remember all the people whose roles were deemed essential
But who now feel forgotten and even betrayed
As the rest of the world has moved on
 And in the midst of all that, we are grateful too
 For the acts of kindness of neighbours
 And the bravery of health workers
 And the brilliance of scientists
 And the organisational skills of the vaccination teams
 And the resilience of communities
 All signs of your presence with us
 In the midst of such great suffering and difficulty
May we, great God, as we reflect, learn a deeper trust in you
May we learn compassion,
May we learn love for you and love for neighbour,
May we use the lessons of adversity
To become more and more the people you call us to be
Though Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.