Feeling Overwhelmed
A poster from Red Letter Christians Wake-Up
We’re all looking for wisdom and courage “for the living of these days,” as Harry Emerson Fosdick’s hymn goes (“God of Grace and God of Glory,” United Methodist Hymnal No. 577). Thankfully, additional resources are available as the continuing marathon of crises weighs heavier upon our spirits.
One of the first to offer daily prayers and meditations during the coronavirus pandemic was the National Council of Churches. Now the NCC has added weekly prayers on racism, part of its “Uniting Prayer and Action” initiative. The NCC has been working against racism specifically for several years now and has gained support for its efforts from United Methodist bishops such as Bishop LaTrelle Miller Easterling of the Baltimore-Washington Conference and Bishop Bruce Ough of the Dakotas-Minnesota Area.
Another longtime resource that has pivoted toward the coronavirus pandemic is Red Letter Christians Wake-Up. Its June 26 entry features a meditation by the Rev. Jennifer Dawn Watts, MA, a certified professional counselor and an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Rev. Watts counsels that one way to get through so many challenges at once is to look daily for small signs of healing. “Nothing is too small,” she writes (see the prayer poster accompanying this meditation). Personally, I’m finding that sitting with my husband on our patio, watching local wildlife, brings rest and renewal.
Two United Methodist agencies also have started prayer efforts to help cope with the uprising over racism in America.
The Upper Room, a unit of Discipleship Ministries, is publishing a new prayer book, Rally: Communal Prayers for Lovers of Jesus and Justice for faith communities and Christian activists “searching for words to respond to the injustices around them.” To promote the book, Upper Room is offering a free download of a litany “Here Lies Love” written by author and antiracism activist Osheta Moore.
Discipleship Ministries has set up a new page on its website, Praying for Change: Daily Prayers for Anti-Racism. The prayers are short, making them easy to pray often and anywhere during a challenging day. They come via email subscription.
In addition to large-scale efforts, many United Methodist congregations have set up online prayer sessions. For example, St. Stephen United Methodist Church in Mesquite, Texas, the sponsor of United Methodist Insight, holds daily prayers at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on its Facebook page using the book, “Celtic Daily Prayer” from the Northumbria Community, a modern monastic association in northern England. Send news of your church’s online prayer sessions to United Methodist Insight.
Infections are still rising
We need all the prayer resources we can muster because coronavirus infections are still rising, especially across southern states, reports NPR. “According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center, 40,390 new COVID-19 cases were recorded June 25, surpassing the previous one-day record set in late April. The U.S. continues to lead the world in both reported cases and deaths from the coronavirus.”
Even more distressing, NPR cites a new estimate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that “millions of Americans have been infected with the coronavirus and don’t know it.” The CDC estimates that the real total “could be at least 20 million — 10 times the number of cases officially diagnosed.”
Hard as it is, let’s continue to shelter, mask, sanitize, wash our hands and pray.
Okay, now I’m really ticked off
Since this column focuses on prayer, I ask your prayers for me to hold my temper, because I’m really ticked off at news out of Washington, D.C., that St. John’s Episcopal Church has been fenced off from Black Lives Plaza by the city’s edict. The Washington Post reports that Episcopal leaders, including Washington Bishop Mariann Budde, were told the entire street was to be fenced off for safety reasons, but to date only the church has been separated from the site of protests. In addition, the entire area has been swept clean of protesters, sometimes by force, for health and safety reasons, according to city bureaucrats.
I get it; I’ve walked in demonstrations on Dallas streets where homeless people have defecated and urinated on sidewalks and in building alcoves similar to what has happened along Black Lives Plaza. I get the safety reasons, too, as St. John’s is a historic structure made mostly of wood and vulnerable to fire. But St. John’s has become a key site for faith-based witness, including a segment of the UMC’s June 24 “Service of Lament” featuring our own Washington Bishop LaTrelle Easterling. I find it highly suspect that access to such a visible witness of faith-based justice should be fenced off by the government.
A note about future columns
Friends, I’ve been trying to keep these collections of news briefs separated into two categories: the coronavirus pandemic and the uprising over racism. As the days and weeks go on, I’m finding it increasingly harder to do so because the two crises weave in and out of one another every day. So I’ve decided to combine the topics into one “crisis watch” column that will appear at least three times a week. I promise to keep the focus on how United Methodists are affected by these concurrent crises and how the church is responding, because these challenging times require us to be out in the world caring for the people God loves. Please use the comments to pull me back if I get too far afield. Thanks for your understanding and support.
Media Mentions as of June 26, 2020
Now fenced in, church across from White House is at the center of a new controversy – The Washington Post *
‘Your fight is my fight’: Latino clergy and faith leaders rally behind Black Lives Matter – Religion News Service
Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.