Merciful God, hear our prayers for a world that continues to grapple with a relentless virus, and our gratitude for the light beginning to emerge at the end of a long and deadly tunnel.
As vaccines are at last becoming available for COVID-19 and as people begin to be inoculated around the globe, we give thanks for all whose tireless labors have brought us to this day: technicians, scientists, medical personnel, biotech companies and government agencies that have worked together to find a cure that will restore our communities to wholeness and health.
We pray that the reach of these vaccines will encompass the world, especially those places where medical resources have far too often been inadequate to the need — places where histories of colonialism have left abiding scars and where underresourced medical systems are overwhelmed by the essential work of caring for those who have been infected.
We continue to pray for healthcare workers around the globe who are running ragged after months of high-risk essential work on the frontlines of this pandemic. Grant them strength, endurance, wisdom and courage for the living of these days. We pray for all who are desperately ill, for those who grieve the loss of loved ones and for those whose physical, mental and economic well-being have been most severely impacted by the havoc wrought by the pandemic. Grant wisdom to all entrusted with civic leadership as they discern and negotiate just ways in which to aid those most afflicted. Move our hearts to put partisanship aside for the common good, so that safeguards against the coronavirus will not be ignored and that our communities may be restored and revitalized.
Let us live in the Spirit of Christ for one another and for our world.
God, in your mercy, hear our prayers. Amen.
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