Epiphany Week 2, Year C: Litany for Flooding Love

This week’s Epiphany litany is up on Patreon! If you haven’t checked in in a while, you may be feeling curious about why I’ve made a shift this year to making most new litanies exclusive to Patreon subscribers. This post should help satisfy your curiosity.

The short answer is: SUSTAINABILITY. The long answer is: GROWTH. I’ll have more to say about these in the coming weeks, but for now I hope you can feel the love I’m sending you, and have always sent out into the world in each and every post on this website. The whole point of this work is and has ever been to FLOOD THE WORLD WITH LOVE. It’s the long game and the short game. The means and the ends.

You can also drop me a line via the contact link on the SUBSCRIBE page above if you have more questions. Got an idea? Send it my way. Got feedback? I’m all ears.

Oh, and don’t forget The Book! It’s compact and lovely to hold. It fits nicely in pew pockets. It smells like real paper. And its chock full of thoughtful modern call-and-response prayers. Grab one here in paperback or ebook.*

love,
f

*The ebook does not smell like real paper.

Litany for the Floods of Texas 2017

As Christ spoke peace to a raging storm and a group frenzied with fear, so we speak peace into the floods of Texas. In using the phrase, "peace, be still" I am not implying inaction or laziness. Rather I am asking us to pray for a deep sense of calm and care, of soul-level stillness before God, and of valiant faith and strength in the midst of danger and distress. We grieve with our sisters and brothers who are losing so much in this disaster. Lord, hear our prayer.

God, we see your creation and its power,
Both to heal and destroy.
You have shown us the limits of our control;
In your mercy, you are teaching us hard lessons of trust.

Despite our best efforts
We can’t always avert disaster.
Despite our plans and schemes
Storms and flood sometimes find us.
But you are there,
Your voice is over the waters (1).

We speak in the pattern of Christ:
Peace, be still (2).
To the rising waters, we say:
Peace, be still.
To all who are in distress:
Peace, be still.
To all who are awaiting rescue:
Peace, be still.
To all who have lost possessions and homes:
Peace, be still.
To all who are displaced:
Peace, be still.
To all who are losing hope:
Peace, be still.
To all who are exhausted:
Peace, be still.
May the peace of Christ enfold you, and the provision of Christ support you.
May the love of Christ encircle you.

We stand in the eye of the storm,
Anxiously awaiting your help, Oh God.
We stand in solidarity with our neighbors,
Looking for ways to be your hands and feet.

God sits enthroned over the flood;
You, Lord, sit enthroned as ruler forever.
May the Lord give strength to afflicted people!
May the Lord bless them with peace! (3)

Amen

1) Psalm 29:3
2) Mark 4:25-41, Matthew 8:23-27
3) A paraphrase of Psalm 29:10-11

Litany for Natural Disaster

I am a Texan now, but a good-sized chunk of my heart lives in Louisiana. I half-way grew up there. I have many friends and family there still, and reports from them along with news reports and images that are coming out are terrible. So many homes lost and lives disrupted by a natural disaster which is not a hurricane or an earthquake; just a hell of a lot of rain. Seems so crazy and so sad. And completely devastating for so many. Animals and livestock are dying, entire farms flooded and crops lost, towns completely flooded and abandoned. This story has not been well-covered by mainstream media, and we need to help get the word out about the folks who are in need of help in Louisiana.

My cousin Collin Wade, an attorney based in New Orleans, has compiled a list of items needed for donation that are being accepted by various relief organizations servicing flooded areas of Lousiana. HERE IS THE LINK. Sharing this post and this link helps raise awareness of the needs our brothers and sisters currently have.

In addition, you can pray. By yourself. At your dinner table with your family. With your small groups. In your congregations. Here is a prayer. Join your voice with us.

(This is a litany for Louisiana, here in the floods of 2016, but it can also be prayed for places and people who are victims of natural disasters elsewhere, such as the wildfires in southern France, and recent mudslides in Mexico.)

God, we lift to our brothers and sisters whose lives have been disrupted and devastated by natural disaster.
You are an ever-present help in times of trouble.

We mourn with them for what has been lost:
Homes
Businesses
Possessions
Lives
Hope

For those whose homes have been destroyed
Shelter them.
For those whose possessions have been lost
Provide for them.
For those whose means of making a living has been disrupted
Sustain them.
For those who have lost loved ones in the chaos
Comfort them.

We pray for the people who are at hand, working to help:
Give them strength
That they may have the fortitude to do hard things
In the ministry of compassion.
We pray for state and government officials:
Give them wisdom
That they may see problems and envision solutions
To care for the people.
We pray for the people as they work to rebuild their lives:
Give them hope and perseverance.

May the rain stop
And the waters recede quickly.*
And may the heart of the Church, the body of Christ on earth
Be aroused to compassion and care;
And remember that we are all connected near and far,
Beloved by you.

Amen

*These two lines are optional, depending on the situation