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The Reverend Dr. Katie Snipes Lancaster

Ineffable God, incomprehensible mystery, we turn toward you, our bodies ready and awake to the possibility of your presence.

We go about our daily lives, some days oblivious to your presence, but on a day like today, even walking the dog, preparing breakfast, or the very act of swinging our legs out of bed feels holy, a testimony to the light and life within and around us.

Your presence is manifest again when we taste and see your goodness: blackberries, broccoli, brussels sprouts, corn, cucumbers, chives…straight from the garden, straight from the farmers market, into our bodies, nourishment and joy hand in hand.

Yet it is not just pleasure and blessing that reveals holiness: when our bodies are weighed down, failing us, pain riddled or bearing ailment unexpected, the echo of your embodied incarnation draws near.

Our cry of lament reverberates, meeting yours, the nuance of grief and heartache known so deeply to you that again and again we implicitly turn to you.

Hold today’s laments. Hold today’s sorrows. Hold our tears, our questions, our wondering why. Hold us, O God.

Our hearts expand and break in equal measure as we remember those across the globe who suffer grief untold and bear the weight of crisis beyond imagining. Today we pray for the people of Afghanistan under Taliban rule for a year now; for young women and girls and all who fight oppression; Lord hear our prayer. For all refugees, internally displaced persons, and exiles, Lord hear our prayer.

For places of war across the globe, especially Ukraine, where no measure of prayer or diplomacy has yet brought any semblance of peace.

For global food shortages, and economic uncertainty stemming from war, water scarcity, or the continued impact of the coronavirus. Lord hear our prayer.

We lift up to you our whole hearts and ask that you might transform us as we bring before you our worries: form us, change us, mold us, ignite in us your creativity, imagination, energy and love which might buoy us toward Christ-like action.

Be and abide with us, O God. And hear us as we pray the prayer Jesus teaches us, saying…Our Father…Amen.