Prayers in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina,
blended with the singing of the Hymn/Prayer,
“Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life”
Sarah M. Foulger, 9-4-05 Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor
This morning,
we will focus all of our hopes,
all of our compassion,
all of our prayers
on our devastated neighbors on the Gulf Coast.
Because cities have been so direly affected,
a particular hymn came to mind,
a hymn about finding God in crowded needful cities:
“Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life.”
We will sing each of the 6 verses
and pause between each one
for prayer, both spoken and silent.
With love for our neighbors
and a desire to respond to their need,
let us sing verse 1 of:
“Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life.”
O God,
You are present where 2 or 3 are gathered
and you are present where thousands cry out for help.
Watching the situation on television,
race and clan and poverty are evidently factors
when it comes to who has been
most affected by this catastrophic storm.
Sometimes, dear God,
we think we have made great progress
in not allowing skin color or social status
to affect how we treat one another
but it is clear that we have more work to do
within our culture
and within our own hearts.
Help us to see one another
from the inside out.
Selfishness, too, has reared its ugly head
as looters have made a terrible situation
even worse.
O God,
hear our prayers for all of our neighbors affected by this storm.
Help them to hear your voice above the strife.
Verse 2:
O God, you know better than we can
how wretched this situation is
how great the need,
how dark the fears.
Surround our neighbors in New Orleans and Slidell
and Gulfport and Biloxi
and so many overwhelmed communities
with the knowledge of your presence.
May that presence be made manifest
in acts of kindness and generosity.
Grant that we may catch the vision of your tears
in the tears of children and parents and grandparents
and neighbors.
Verse 3:
O God, as we hear of helpless children,
grief-stricken and burdened adults,
enlarge our hearts.
Fill all famished souls with your mercy.
Strengthen the faith-hearted and discouraged.
Be with counselors and community leaders,
with police officers and soldiers,
with doctors and nurses,
with drivers and rescue workers,
with engineers and repair workers.
Through the din of sorrow’s stress,
may the beating of your heart be heard,
your heart that has never known recoil.
verse 4
May our humble attempts to offer a cup of cool water
to those who are so desperate for clean, cool water
be effective, O God.
As we join with faith communities across the country
may our care hold something
of the freshness of your grace.
May our collective efforts show the sweet compassion of your face
so longed for by multitudes of desperate neighbors.
verse 5
Send your healing, O God,
to hearts racked with pain.
Surround the sick and the sorrowful,
the injured and the homeless,
the angry, the frustrated, and the fearful
with your spirit of restoration and hope.
Send faith and compassion to restless and weary throngs
and tread the battered streets of every affected city.
verse 6
Amen.