Here’s another new coronavirus prayer, to help support and encourage you during the continuing crisis.
Lord,
somehow as a country we need to find a way of returning to some semblance of normality;
of allowing shops, businesses and the like not simply to reopen,
but to do so in a way that is economically viable,
that offers them the prospect of meaningful transactions
and survival into the future.
We need to find ways to give people greater freedom of movement,
while at the same time doing so in a manner that is safe;
that will not lead to a second spike in coronavirus cases
but will continue rather to see incidence of this disease definitively decrease.
We need to find ways of helping people to return to work when it is safe to do so;
of integrating social distancing into our way of life,
and of providing the facilities needed to ensure that people are protected,
as far as possible,
from any risk of infection.
We need to find ways of opening playgroups,
schools,
colleges,
universities,
attempting to ensure that young people’s education and prospects are not adversely affected,
especially that of those who are socially disadvantaged to begin with,
while at the same time protecting teachers and other support staff.
We need to find a way of restarting sporting fixtures and events,
of reopening theatres, cinemas, concert halls and the like,
both for the future of those professionally involved in them
and for the enjoyment of fans, audiences and aficionados.
We need to find a way of returning to life as we once knew it;
to a world in which families can share together again,
in which they can hug, and enjoy each other’s company,
in which friends can meet and socialise once more.
We need to find better treatments for Covid-19;
to provide proper protective equipment for those working in our hospitals
and our care homes;
and, most of all, to speedily discover an effective vaccine
that will finally allow us to put this dark time behind us.
The challenge is clear enough
but how best to meet is much less so.
Give wisdom and guidance to those in whose hands the response lies:
those entrusted with making vital decisions that will affect us all.
Give them insight,
honesty
and courage;
and above all, give them the resources they need to set us on the best path,
for the benefit of all.
Amen.