A Prayer by Rev. Marcus Hartlief

(photo credit: Meghan Kelly (MUUGs facilitator & Common Ground Council Member)

Spirit of life, and also of death,
Great spirit of love,
We gather together to shelter and be sheltered by one another.
A new virus evolves and reminds us of the precarious nature of life, that we are vulnerable.
Tiny cells we cannot see, passing invisibly in ways are greatest minds are still uncertain of, remind us of our bodies’ fragility.
Spirit of life, and love, hold us in our vulnerability.
May we be sheltered by warm homes and soft clothing.
May we be sheltered by families and friends, near or far, face to face, or by facetime, zoom and phone.
May we be sheltered by those who work to stock the shelves of the grocery store, sheltered by delivery drivers and those who keep the lights on and the water running.
May we be sheltered by nurses and doctors and social workers, may they be sheltered by gloves and masks in adequate supply.
May we be sheltered by the blue green hills of earth, by birdsong and drifting cloud.
May we be sheltered by starlight and moonshine, by sun and rainbow.
May we be sheltered in the arching beams of care of this community, sheltered by its sturdy foundation of leaders and volunteers, sheltered under a vast canopy of connection, and faces and voices reaching out to shelter one another across the planet.
Help us to stay open to the world, open to one another, despite our uncertainties and fear.
Remind us that our capacity to be hurt, to have our raw vulnerabilities exposed to the world, is the same capacity to be moved by the world. That to feel, taste, see, smell, hear all that surrounds us requires bodies that can be damaged and broken.
But when our fears and anxiety overwhelm us, breath in us spirit of life. Bring us back to our senses, our feet that know the good earth below, our ears that hear the reassuring breaths of a loved one nearby, our sight that gazes on a green planet, still yet providing all that we need.
Bring us back to our senses, our bodies, vulnerable and deserving of exquisite care.
May it be so and amen.

Spirit of life, and also of death,
Great spirit of love,
We gather together to shelter and be sheltered by one another.
A new virus evolves and reminds us of the precarious nature of life, that we are vulnerable.
Tiny cells we cannot see, passing invisibly in ways are greatest minds are still uncertain of, remind us of our bodies’ fragility.

Spirit of life, and love, hold us in our vulnerability.
May we be sheltered by warm homes and soft clothing.
May we be sheltered by families and friends, near or far, face to face, or by facetime, zoom and phone.
May we be sheltered by those who work to stock the shelves of the grocery store, sheltered by delivery drivers and those who keep the lights on and the water running.
May we be sheltered by nurses and doctors and social workers, may they be sheltered by gloves and masks in adequate supply.
May we be sheltered by the blue green hills of earth, by birdsong and drifting cloud.
May we be sheltered by starlight and moonshine, by sun and rainbow.
May we be sheltered in the arching beams of care of this community, sheltered by its sturdy foundation of leaders and volunteers, sheltered under a vast canopy of connection, and faces and voices reaching out to shelter one another across the planet.

Help us to stay open to the world, open to one another, despite our uncertainties and fear.
Remind us that our capacity to be hurt, to have our raw vulnerabilities exposed to the world, is the same capacity to be moved by the world. That to feel, taste, see, smell, hear all that surrounds us requires bodies that can be damaged and broken.

But when our fears and anxiety overwhelm us, breath in us spirit of life.
Bring us back to our senses, our feet that know the good earth below, our ears that hear the reassuring breaths of a loved one nearby, our sight that gazes on a green planet, still yet providing all that we need.
Bring us back to our senses, our bodies, vulnerable and deserving of exquisite care.
May it be so and amen.

-Rev. Marcus Hartlief (minister at UU Congregation of Marin & Common Ground Council Member)