Dear Church,

Like all of us, I woke to the news out of Ukraine this morning.  My heart is aching for a people and a nation under siege. It is a perilous time.

Prayer is where we go in times of crisis or uncertainty. As Christians, it is our touchstone. It is one way we work with God to mend, and participate in the healing of the world. Madeline L’Engle calls it an act of love. One of the gifts of prayer is that we can take it with us wherever we go as we move throughout our day. I encourage each of us to pray without ceasing.

I invite you to pray with me alongside our siblings at the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Manchester. They are our only Ukranian congregation in NH. Our neighbors there will be particularly impacted by this news.

Our Facebook page is keeping an ongoing list of congregations who are gathering together virtually, and in person to pray together this evening. We recall know the words of this prayer from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer:

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen.

May the peace that passes all understanding guide and protect us all.

Blessings,

Rev. Heidi