Litanie voor Oekraine (Dutch translation of Litany for Ukraine)

March 8, 2022 Fran Pratt

Hello friends, below is a version of my “Litany for Ukraine” translated into Dutch by Anri van Toor. Many thanks to Anri for sending this along.

Terwijl Rusland doorgaat met zijn onuitgelokte en kwaadaardige invasie van Oekraïne, bidden we tot de Heer voor onze broers en zussen daar.
Dit gebed is bedoeld om hardop te worden gebeden in gemeenten of samenkomsten van welke omvang dan ook, met bronvermelding.

God, onze harten zijn gebroken voor onze Oekraïense broers en zussen
Voor allen die lijden,
Voor allen die ontheemd zijn,
Voor allen die vechten,
Voor allen die sterven,
Voor allen die angstig zijn,
Voor allen die vastberaden zijn,
Voor allen die zich hopeloos voelen.

We zijn verdrietig en onze harten draaien om
Dat er opnieuw oorlog wordt gevoerd tegen onschuldigen, tegen iedereen.
We klagen en rouwen om deze rampspoed
en wijden ons tot het geven van onze kracht en liefde aan wie vechten,
terwijl wij vragen of al het bloedvergieten ophoudt.
En gelijk Christus gispen* wij geweld.

Wij vragen om een snelle oplossing voor deze oorlog en een einde aan deze invasie.
We vragen om vrede en veiligheid voor alle Oekraïners.
Wij vragen om wijze en moedige leiders, slim en creatief, die zich inzetten voor het welzijn van allen.
Wij vragen om vrede op het Europese continent.
Wij vragen in woord en daad om een wereld waarin oorlog en agressie nooit een optie zijn.
Wij vragen om ware gerechtigheid en dat er vrede heerst over de hele aarde.

God, dwarsboom de bloeddorstigen en machtsgeilen (1).
Geef de hebzuchtigen geen kans.
Vernietig de plannen van de goddelozen.
Verwar de gedachten van de kwaaddoeners.

Ergens weten we dat we de vijand van Oekraïne samen met hen moeten liefhebben (2).
Ergens moeten we ons verbinden aan het infuus van Gods mededogen voor deze indringers.
Ergens weten we dat we de vrede en vergeving van Christus moeten belichamen (3).
Ergens mogen we het kwaad niet laten winnen. Help ons.

O, God, een oorlog vergt het uiterste van onszelf –
De grenzen van onze eigen menselijkheid;
Een oorlog brengt ons zo ver dat we niet anders kunnen dan dat we ons herinneren uit Wie wij voortkomen, Wiens beeld wij dragen.
Als we tenminste in de Liefde willen blijven
Christus liet zijn vrede bij ons achter (4),
Laat de mensheid haar nu vastgrijpen.

Amen

Psalm 57:3
Mattheus 5:44
Johannes 20:22,23
Johannes 14:27

* Gispen = sterk afkeuren

Vertaling uit het Engels door Irene Plas (Limwierde Taaldiensten) & Anri van Toor (Inside Out Publishers)

Ash Wednesday (Year C, 2022): Litany for Reconciling to God

March 1, 2022 Fran Pratt

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You can find archived litanies here, and purchase my book here.
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See also Litany for Ash Wednesday (2016)

This Ash Wednesday, we find ourselves in the midst of yet another tricky, dangerous global situation. It’s nothing new. There’s always a war somewhere. I began writing litanies in 2013 because I couldn’t find congregational prayers that addressed the war in Syria. I’ve written litanies about wars and tragedies more than just about anything else. Par for the course. I wish I could stop helping people pray about war (not whining, just saying).

But I can’t. It’s here and we need to keep consciously aligning (reconciling) ourselves with God about it. So we keep praying, and I keep writing.

Still, when the Psalmist pleads with God to “Have mercy on me!” we feel that in a different way from the brink of major global conflict, don’t we? Our nearness to dust, to death, is that much more in our awareness.

When St. Paul entreats us to “On behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God!” we can pray that same intention: Russian aggressors, be reconciled to God! Heads of state, be reconciled to God! Military leaders, be reconciled to God! Arms manufacturers, be reconciled to God! And so on.

So this year, we start our Lenten practice with this intention, and we commit to buckling down and praying through the storm of war and bloodshed, and doing as much justice and mercy as we can; and over and over, reconciling ourselves to God within us.

God, on this Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season, we seek to reconcile ourselves to you .
We want the whole earth to be aligned with your goodness,
Such that all violence and war ceases,
All the needy are nourished and cared-for,
All oppression ends,
And every person is filled with joy and gladness ….

get the full litany

Letanía por Ucrania

March 1, 2022 Fran Pratt

Aqui esta una versión de mi “Litany for Ukraine” en Español, generosamente traducido por Rubén Ortiz

Dios, estamos desconsolados por nuestros hermanos ucranianos.
Por quienes están sufriendo,
Por los desplazados,
Por quienes están luchando,
Por quienes están muriendo,
Por quienes tienen miedo,
Por quienes son audaces,
Por aquellos a los que les falta la esperanza.

Estamos tristes y enfermos de corazón.
Otra guerra nuevamente contra inocentes, contra cualquiera.
Nos lamentamos y enlutamos por esta tragedia.
Nos comprometernos a prestar nuestra fuerza y amor por los que están luchando,
Incluso mientras pedimos que cese todo derramamiento de sangre.
Tal y como Cristo se avergüenza de la violencia, así también lo hacemos.

Pedimos una pronta resolución de esta guerra y el fin de esta invasión.
Pedimos paz y seguridad para todos los ucranianos.
Pedimos líderes sabios y audaces que sean inteligentes, creativos y comprometidos con el bien de todos.
Pedimos la paz en el continente europeo.
Pedimos, y promulgamos con nuestros cuerpos, un mundo donde la guerra y la agresión nunca sean una opción.
Pedimos que la verdadera justicia y la paz reine sobre toda la tierra.

Frustra a los sanguinarios y hambrientos de poder, Dios (1).
No tengas a bien a los codiciosos.
Destruye los planes de los malvados.
Confunde la mente de los malhechores.

De alguna manera, sabemos que también debemos amar al enemigo de Ucrania (2).
De alguna manera, debemos buscar compasión de Dios para los invasores.
De alguna manera, sabemos que debemos encarnar la paz y el perdón de Cristo (3).
De alguna manera, no debemos permitir que el mal gane al final del día. Ayúdanos.

Oh Dios, la guerra nos lleva a los mismos confines de nosotros mismos -
Los bordes de nuestra propia humanidad;
Nos lleva tan lejos que no tenemos más remedio que recordar nuestra divinidad, que somos imagen de Dios, Imago Dei,
Si descansamos en Aquel que ama a todos.
Cristo nos deja su paz con nosotros (4),
Hagamos que la humanidad se agarre de ella.

Amén

1) Salmo 57:3

2) Mateo 5:44

3) Juan 20:22,23

4) Juan 14:27

Litany for Ukraine

March 1, 2022 Fran Pratt

As Russia continues its unprovoked and evil invasion of Ukraine, we pray to the Lord for our siblings there.
This prayer is intended to be prayed aloud in congregations or gatherings of any size, with attribution.

God, we are heartbroken for our Ukrainian siblings
For all who are suffering,
For all who are displaced,
For all who are fighting,
For all who are dying,
For all who are fearful,
For all who are resolute,
For all who feel hopeless.

We are sad and sick at heart
That war has once again been waged on innocents, on anyone.
We lament and mourn this tragedy
And commit to lending our strength and love to those in the fight,
Even as we ask for all bloodshed to cease.
As Christ has shamed violence, so do we.

We ask for a quick resolution to this war and an end to this invasion.
We ask for peace and safety for all Ukrainians.
We ask for wise and bold leaders who are clever, creative, and committed to the good of all.
We ask for peace on the European continent.
We ask for, and enact with our bodies, a world where war and aggression are never an option.
We ask for true justice and peace to reign over all the earth.

Thwart the bloodthirsty and power-hungry, God (1).
Deny the greedy.
Lay waste to the plans of the wicked.
Confuse the minds of evil-doers.

Somehow, we know we must love Ukraine’s enemy with them (2).
Somehow, we must tap into the compassion of God for these invaders.
Somehow, we know we must embody the peace and forgiveness of Christ (3).
Somehow, we must not let evil win the day. Help us.

Oh God, war brings us to the very ends our ourselves -
The edges of our own humanity;
It takes us so far that we have no choice but to remember our divinity, our Imago Dei,
If we are to continue in Love at all.
Christ left his peace with us (John 14:27),
Now let humanity take hold of it.

Amen

Psalm 57:3
Matthew 5:44
John 20:22,23

Advent 2021 Year C

November 23, 2021 Fran Pratt

An Introduction to this year’s themes:

The Christian religion traditionally places an emphasis on the virtue of waiting with patience and hope and dedicates an entire month of its calendar to pursuit of that virtue. “Have patience ... wait for the Lord ... wait with hope,” the scriptures urge us. But when we witness the words of Christ in the texts, he embodies an immediacy - the kingdom of God is near! It’s within you! - that contradicts our churchy teachings on waiting and the traditional and Psalmic norms. A paradox.

Each year in Advent, I try to come to the season with fresh perspective, looking for something I haven’t seen before. But the truth is, I get bored by the same old Advent themes. Hope, peace, joy, love - every year the same. The boredom makes sense: Advent is a season created for waiting and waiting is often boring.

Like other worthy spiritual pursuits such as grief, shadow/ego work, lament, repentance; waiting is one we would mostly rather avoid. It feels pointless until it isn’t. And every year the wait feels longer. Not the wait for Christmas, psssht ... the wait for a better world, for the things Jesus spoke of to become our lived reality. And every year our griefs pile up.

This year I’m contemplating the boredom I personally feel toward a church ritual that can sometimes ring hollow … You know, what with murderers routinely getting off scot-free, climate emergency breathing down our necks, the deep grief of the pandemic and all the loss of life it has caused, ongoing hate and division that feels insurmountable, ongoing racial injustice and oppression, plus a million other deeply discouraging problems - given all this, having hope/peace/joy/love feels like a denial of reality. It feels less like subversion and more like insanity.

And I’m thinking about the grief so many of us feel, the grief road we walk daily. The stages of grief: Denial -> Anger -> Bargaining -> Depression -> Acceptance.

We who follow the Christ are invited onto a path of paradox, to live into many contradictions: contradictions between what we see and what we hope for, but also that contradiction between the tradition’s emphasis on waiting for “someday” and Christ’s insistence that someday is now; the tradition telling us we are waiting for a “savior” and Christ telling us that we are “it” alongside him (“greater things than these” he says we’ll do, and so forth).

How can we, in the same season, the same moment even, be present to both grief and joy, both longing and gratitude, both lament and hope? I don’t have any satisfying answers to this question. But I know I want to find them. I want to get better at living peacefully inside those tensions. And I want to be aware enough of the world around me to do at least some good here. With all this in my mind, I’m creating this year’s Advent series with a robust acknowledgement of these tensions and the paradoxes in which we live a life of faith. I’m facing the stages of grief* - denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, and depression, culminating in acceptance - head on; right alongside the traditional virtues celebrated each week during Advent: hope, peace, joy, and love, culminating in what we perceive as the Gift - God With Us.

I’m using this framework in part to state the obvious: life is a mixed bag. And in part to offer a prayerful start to doing the hard work of keeping faith in the midst of the messy mixed bag, the tension of which takes some emotional maturity to keep company with.

If this is more complexity than you bargained for (lol), no worries; go check out my litanies from 2018, where I take a more simple approach.

Advent 1 (Year B, 2021): Denial and Hope

A note on denial

No stage of the grief process is bad. Each serves its purpose. In the context of grief, Dr. Ross and Dr. Kessler note that the denial stage serves as a necessary survival strategy in the midst of shock and loss, allowing the person’s body and mind time to catch up with the new reality.

I think this also applies to our denial of problems in life - sometimes we need a little time to wrap our heads around things. But trouble starts when we stay in denial and numb ourselves to pain and decline to do anything to help. Trouble also starts when we allow pie-in-the-sky religious hope to insulate us from reality, which I judge to be bad/unhelpful behavior and I think we are reaping the rewards of that now in many areas, as anyone who is paying attention to the problems plaguing the US Church of late can observe. I suspect you Canadian and overseas friends can attest as well.

All that said, here is my litany for week 1 of Advent 2021. It feels like now is not the time for platitudes; so I’m going right in here.

God, we find ourselves with the challenge of living hopefully in a world full of pain.
We have seen how religious hope can become a toxic thing
That numbs us to reality,
Suppresses expressions of grief,
And declines to do anything to create change.
This denial is not what we want to practice …

get the full litany

An Interfaith Litany for Trans Day of Remembrance

November 15, 2021 Fran Pratt

The Human Rights Campaign reports that 2021 has been the most deadly year on record so far for our Transgender siblings in the USA. This year 45 Transgender people have been murdered as a result of anti-trans violence. November 13-19 is Trans Awareness week, and November 20 will mark the 22nd annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. Read about Transgender Day of Remembrance here.

I have written this litany for interfaith gatherings happening this week. And my particular hope is that Christians will wake up to the plight of our Trans siblings, made in the image of God, and lend their collective weight to the effort of creating a safe world for them.

Also, I write this prayer to be read aloud among gatherings of people, most of whom I assume will not be trans. Where noted, please us alternative “we/our” pronouns in place of “they/their” if that makes more sense for your group. I could not figure a way to pray for and about my trans siblings without it feeling at least somewhat “othering” toward them - toward you my beloved human family. It is not my intention to other, but to embrace. If I have misstepped in any of the language in this prayer, I sincerely ask for correction.

It is with great joy that we celebrate our transgender siblings (1),
And great grief that we mourn the violence done to them.
We give thanks for each of our trans kindred
Who embody the uncategorizable and boundary-defining nature of the Divine.
Like all of humanity, they* too are made in the Divine image,
Reflecting the Divine imprint.

We remember our trans siblings who have been lost to violence,
Unjustly sacrificed on the altar of society’s hatred and intolerance.
[We confess our society’s indifference and un-love,
And our own complicity in allowing these tragedies to continue.
We ask that forgiveness and justice bear fruit in us.
We are sorry. ] (1)
We honor them and send love to their spirits,
With prayers for their peace and well-being.

We set the intention to do better:
Provide safety and care,
Nourishment and acceptance,
To the most unique and vulnerable among us,
And to normalize their* place in our communities,
Cherishing the ways they* teach us (2) about goodness and love.

We ask for wisdom in going about creating a world
That is safe and welcoming for humans of all kinds,
Knowing that when the world is safe for trans people,
It is safer for all of Earth’s children.

We ask that the minds and hearts of all people on Earth
Will be open to practicing kindness, hospitality, friendship, and love
Toward those among us who bear the Divine image in uncommon or surprising ways;
And that our governments and systems will work for their protection,
Undoing patterns of oppression and violence,
Fostering liberation and joy for every human being.

May our transgender family be safe, healed, provisioned, and happy,
Sharing in the abundance of Earth,
The blessings of nature, joy, community, and freedom,
And the blessing of home.

May it be so.

*Exchange they/their pronouns for we/our pronouns if the group praying the prayer is made up of primarily Trans people.
1) Exchange “our transgender siblings” for “our community” if the group praying the prayer is made up of primarily Trans people.
2)Omit the bracketed section if the group praying the prayer is made up of primarily Trans people.
3) Exchange us for “the world” if the group praying the prayer is made up of primarily Trans people.

Proper 28 (Year B, 2021): Litany for Faith in Spite of Chaos

November 10, 2021 Fran Pratt

See also: “Litany for You’re Enough a.k.a. Litany for Hannah” from 2018 for Proper 28 of Ordinary Time.

This week’s texts come with a strong sense of the temporality of our time here on the earth. The passage from Daniel 12 has an apocalyptic feel, and Christ’s words in Mark 13 have been fodder for many an end-times enthusiast and fear-monger.

But when I read the Psalm…

“I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit. You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

...I feel the answering steadfastness of the Divine.

We may hear of wars and rumors of even more wars, we may be afraid that our society is crumbling before our eyes, we may be staring catastrophic climate emergency in the face. I hear Jesus’ frank admission, with an accompanying shrug and an incline of the head, that we are going to encounter a lot of chaos here. But we who share in the Divine Image and Presence (all of us who are willing and awake to it) “rest secure.” We don’t need to be ok to be ok. We are still ok, still safe, still cared-for, even when the world is burning down. There is nowhere else to go but the love of God.

The writer of Hebrews invites us to “consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.” And these passages provoke me to greater faith and commitment to doing those good deeds.

God, when the world is burning down,
When we are reaping the rewards of avarice and injustice,
When we are beset by calamity,
When we are at odds with our neighbors,
When our society’s obsessions and prejudices are revealed
When nature and history are rebuking us…

get the full litany

Proper 18 (Year B, 2021): Litany for Solidarity and Service

September 2, 2021 Fran Pratt

This week’s Lectionary texts are quite the kick in the pants. If you were asleep to the plight of the poor, WAKE UP, it tells us. If you’re unaware of the priorities of the Divine, be enlightened.

God, so many in our world are experiencing hardship and suffering,
From poverty, from environmental destruction,
From sickness, from conflicts outside our control,
From overwhelming grief, from trauma…..

get the full litany

Proper 17 (Year B, 2021): Litany for True Religion

August 25, 2021 Fran Pratt

In addition to this new litany below, I’d like to point you toward my Litany for the Heart, which I wrote for Proper 17 of Year B in 2018, and still like a lot.

In this week’s Lectionary scriptures there is a distinct theme: DEFILEMENT. James is translated as using words like “sordidness” and “rank growth of wickedness,” along with an exhortation for “keep yourself unstained by the world.”

Mark tells a story of some Pharisees criticizing followers of Jesus for eating with “defiled” (unwashed) hands, which prompts Jesus to reflect on what *actually* might cause a person to be defiled or otherwise considered unclean.

James (according to translators) and Jesus (according to Mark, according to translators) don’t seem to agree on the particulars: James says that true religion is to care for orphans and widows (that would have been the poor and marginalized of his time and place) and stresses the importance of “keep[ing] oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27). But Jesus says there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile." Holy Moses! A contradiction!

Regardless of what we do with this seeming contradiction, I can accept James’ advice to be a “doer” not just a “hearer” of good news, and to turn my religion from abstract thought to concrete action (like, say, wearing a mask in a global pandemic). And I can accept Jesus’ counsel to give attention to my heart, my inner being, so that what comes out of me - what I DO - is good and just. True religion.

God, in this challenging and overwhelming time on earth,
We know that we must tend ourselves and our resources well.
We don’t want to get bogged down in frivolous disputes
Or distracted by what isn’t ours to manage.

get the full litany

Litany for Afghanistan

August 19, 2021 Fran Pratt

This is a prayer for Afghanistan as that nation is in the midst of great turmoil and fear, in light of the US withdrawal after 20 years of occupation and war, and the return of the rule of the Taliban.

God, we remember to you those suffering in Afghanistan:
Non-combatants in fear for their lives and livelihoods,
Women and girls historically abused and oppressed by the Taliban,
Troops and workers watching the dissolution of decades of work,
Soldiers mourning lost comrades,
All who have worked and hoped for a better future for Afghanistan.

We don’t claim to understand everything about what’s happening there,
But we know pain and chaos when we see it.
The people of Afghanistan are our family;
When they hurt, we hurt.

God, bring peace and comfort to the Afghan people.
Let the land no longer be a place of war and conflict.
Bring just government and leaders who are fair and upright.
Let inequality and oppression be relics of the past.
Upend the cause of the unjust and destroy the plans of the wicked.
Restore the nation of Afghanistan to its truest beauty, it’s sacred home.

Forgive us for ways we, our government, our military, have been complicit in the chaos there.
Guide our government and military authorities in the path of insight (1).
May they learn to wield power in ways that help and not harm,
To prevent war rather than perpetuate it,
To know when to intervene on behalf of the vulnerable,
And when to mind their own business.

We pray, here and abroad, for people and governments
That act justly and love mercy,
That work persistently for the good of all,
That protect and serve the vulnerable,
That uplift the oppressed,
That root out injustice.

May God’s good community, your Kin-dom family,
Come on earth as it is in heaven.

Amen

1) Proverbs 9:6

Proper 15 (Year B, 2021): Litany for Going Out and Coming In

August 12, 2021 Fran Pratt

In this week’s reading from 1 Kings 2, Solomon speaks to God in a dream. God asks Solomon what he wants, and Solomon explains that he is (or feels like he is?) “only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in…” and asks for “an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil…”

Scholars believe that Solomon was only 12 when he became king of Israel; a young child faced with a vast responsibility. I read that frank admission of young Solomon’s: I’m just a whippersnapper who doesn’t know hardly anything; and I feel such resonance with him.

Especially in Covid days, when cases are increasing and ICU’s are at capacity in the area where I live. Especially when I consider that my kids are starting school in a red zone in which the local authorities have left us with virtually no ways to ensure their protection. Especially on weeks when the UN releases a devastating climate report calling it a “code red” for humanity. Especially when the political divide is a veritable chasm of difference.

I am disheartened. And I am praying to God: I am a little child. I don’t even know how to go out or come in. I need wisdom for how to do life in a way that makes any sense in these trying days.

So this week, in light of these scriptures and this life situation, I’m translating that prayer into something I hope will be useful congregationally. If this more raw version is not up your alley for this week, I invite you to check out Litany for Wisdom, which I wrote for Proper 15 in 2018.

God, in this time of pandemic,
Political extremes,
And global unrest,
We are overwhelmed….

get the full litany

Epiphany 3 (Year B, 2021): Litany for a New Day

January 21, 2021 Fran Pratt

In Jonah 3, a group of people turn from idolatrous and evil ways, repenting (turning away from) their old, exploitative ways.

Psalm 62 exhorts us to look to God - not to any earthly thing. Not to riches or wealth. Not to powerful people. To the Divine Within.

In Mark 1, John the Baptist is arrested and imprisoned. Jesus is assembling a group of followers - disciples, they’re called. His unifying message is: the Kingdom of God is near! Repent!... In other words: Turn away from your old ways of thinking about success, about victory, about what is really happening, and what is really important in the world; and believe instead in the good news of God - that all divine resources are yours for the taking, that the commonwealth of heaven is a place where you and every other person belongs. Re-wire your brain with the understanding that all are one, all are Beloved, all are welcome, and all are forgiven for whatever they did before they understood that.

I write this litany immediately following the inauguration of the new president and vice-president of the US. We (some of us) in the US are tentatively hopeful, anxiously expectant. It is a moment in which we have the opportunity to listen to this week’s scriptures in an open-minded way - to hear of the Ninevites repentance, the Psalmic call to trust in God and not in economies or rulers, and the invitation of Christ to turn our attention to the Kingdom of God, which is near at hand and available to us as we move forward, working for change. I hope this prayer inspires and offers some hope. . .

Epiphany 2, Year B 2021: Litany for Truth-Tellers

January 12, 2021 Fran Pratt

Y’all. I can’t make this up. This is the lectionary for this week.

Synopsis of 1 Samuel 3 and the preceding events:

Eli the priest has scoundrels for sons. His sons are, by their lineage, also priests; they are thieving and lying and raping - doing immeasurable damage to the priesthood and the nation - and Eli, though he pleads with them, cannot (will not?) control nor contain them. They are allowed to wreak havoc. A “man of God” gives Eli a message that his sons have doomed their whole family to destruction and penury.

Young Samuel is Eli’s acolyte. God isn’t often heard from, but one night Samuel hears a voice, which he and Eli figure out to be the voice of God. God gives Samuel a message: Eli’s family will be punished for the iniquity of the scoundrel sons - they’ll lose everything, confirming the other, earlier message.

Samuel is hesitant to tell his mentor the bad news - that injustice will and must be held accountable, if not by the priesthood, if not by the society, then by God; that the ones who have lied and thieved and assaulted WILL be held responsible. But he tells Eli the truth of the prophecy God has given him. Eli meets it with acceptance, and Samuel gains a reputation as a Truth-Teller.

Flip to the Gospel reading from John 1….

Jesus is in the process of gathering disciples. He’s got Philip, Andrew, and Peter. And from a distance he sees Nathanael. Jesus immediately identifies Nathanael as “an Israelite in whom there is no deceit,” as a Truth-Teller. Nathanael is a Truth-Teller and Jesus wants him.

Aaaand relate it to today...

Last week we had a mob, incited by the lies of political leaders and conspiracy theories, ransack the US Capitol, killing 5 humans, endangering countless others, and proving that years of lies and deceit are bearing evil fruit and that, like the sons of Eli, those responsible must be contained and held accountable lest they bring the whole country down into their eventual destruction. OK!

I wait to see what will be done. I pray that faith communities will awaken to their duty as Truth-Tellers. And that we, as individuals, will be those “in whom there is no deceit.” Our theology matters, and conflating the message and work of Christ with deceitful narratives of Christian Nationalism, Christo-fascism, White Supremacy, and violence is bad theology that leads to harm.

This litany is inspired by these texts, but I have thrown a lot of other references in.

God, we pray for our faith community,
As a whole and as individuals,
That we will have the courage to hold fast to truth,
Even when truth is inconvenient,
Even when truth convicts us,
Even when truth is difficult,
Even when truth is not what we’d hoped,
Even when truth is hard to tell …

get the full litany

Proper 29, Year A (Reign of Christ): Litany for Pandemic Response

November 17, 2020 Fran Pratt

Hi! In 2019 I moved much of my work over to Patreon
as part of my effort to make this work sustainable.
So thanks for reading and subscribing.
You can find archived litanies here, and purchase my book here.

This week’s litany is specifically focused on the pandemic, as is the attention of most of the U.S. with 247,000 dead, and over 1000 per day losing their lives to uncontrolled COVID-19. When I hear the words of Christ here in Matthew 25 saying, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me..,” all I can hear is the pleas of doctors and nurses to please wear a mask, don’t go to gatherings or bars, keep your distance. These are small acts of love that, lamentably, so many people who say they follow Christ are neglecting.

This parable is a powerful critique on this moment. On how we are responding collectively to this crisis and those most in danger of harm from it. On how willing or unwilling we are to do concrete but simple acts of love.

Honestly, I can’t get it out of my head. I have trouble understanding the world right now. It’s hard to write liturgy for these times, y’all.

God, help us to see that even the tiniest actions we do or don’t do
Can be a testament to love:
Wearing a mask,
Staying home instead,
Visiting outdoors at a few paces distance,
Taking measured precautions…

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Lament for Breonna

September 24, 2020 Fran Pratt

This lament is in response to the murder of Breonna Taylor by police officers in Louisville, KY on March 13, 2020. As of Wednesday, September 23, the officers who killed her have received no indictments for her wrongful death, nor any repercussions at all. Another in a long line of Black bodies killed by the state.

God, this is not the world we want to live in:
Where murderers go free,
Where the state kills innocents,
Where the political system justifies lynching,
Where the system protects the powerful and leaves the innocent to their fate.
Where justice is not done.

This injustice is not new. No.
It is an old, old pattern:
Of racism,
Of white supremacy,
Of power-hoarding,
Of greed,
Of theft,
Of ego.

We cry out for the abolishment of unjust systems.
We cry out for an end to police abuse of power.
We cry out for an end to the state-sanctioned murder of innocents.
We cry out for an end to the abuse and murder of Black lives.
We cry out for an end to political stalemate that does not legislate protections.
We cry out for Breonna’s family and loved ones.

We lament Breonna’s lost future here on earth.
We lament her life cut short.
We lament the trauma of her death.
We lament the corrupt officers who got off without consequence.
We lament the pain and grief of all who mourn her.
We lament the long line of martyrs Breonna joins.

Give us strength, oh God, to continue the work.
Strength to be struck down but not destroyed,
To be persecuted but not forsaken,
To be mystified but not despairing (1).

Give ear to our voices, God,
Hear the pleas of the righteous.
Cast down the mighty from their thrones.
Lift up the lowly (2).

2 Corinthians 4:8,9
Luke 1:52

Lament for Climate Change

September 24, 2020 Fran Pratt

God, we find ourselves in a grievous position:
On a warming planet,
Wildfires burning,
Icecaps melting,
Soil degrading,
Waters poisoning.

Consumerist capitalism has so dazed and bound our society
That we cannot perceive a way forward;
We cannot get ourselves out of the trouble we are in.
We have waited long and late.
We are reaping the rewards of our inaction,
Our efforts frustrated by corporate greed.

We are sorrowful
For the ways we have harmed our earth-home
With our societal excesses and apathies,
Our hunger for more, more, more,
Our neglect of the needs of the poorest and least powerful,
Our disregard for ecosystems.

We lament the corporate greed that drives environmental destruction.
We lament the industrial farming practices that harm the soil and waterways.
We lament the industrial extraction of natural resources that destroys ecosystems.
We lament the pollution with chemicals that harm humans, animal, waterways, and soil organisms.

Help us now to do what we must
To mitigate further harm.
Help us to sacrifice convenience for the greater good -
The good of future generations,
The good of all humanity - not just a privileged few,
The good of all of Earth’s inhabitants.

We know this work won’t be easy:
It will require a revolution of consciousness.
We know it won’t be quick;
It will take decades of effort.
We know it won’t be popular;
It will mean people have to make sacrifices.

But, oh God, give us fortitude to do it anyway,
To come back into alignment with Nature as you created it,
And with your Spirit, who teaches us
And inspires us to the good work of wholeness and justice.

Amen

Lament for the 200,000

September 24, 2020 Fran Pratt

On Tuesday September 22, 2020 the United States passed the milestone of 200,000 deaths due to Covid-19. This is a lament for those we’ve lost.

God, we hold up to you these lives:
These 200,000 lost to us.
We know they are not lost -
You hold them in your mercy and love.

We commend to you their care.
Heal them there,
Close to your inimitable light
And your unfailing Love.

We grieve alongside their families and loved ones.
They have departed, but will not be forgotten.
For we know that death is not an end to their story,
Only of this human chapter.

We lament the failed leadership that did not keep them safe.
We lament the state of a government willing to let people die needlessly.
We lament the political system that makes it expedient to sacrifice human lives.
We lament the lack of regard for vulnerable people.
We lament the lack of regard for human life.
We lament the inaction and apathy of people in political power.

We know, despite everything, that death is always a risk,
That safety from death is an illusion;
And also, we know that we are safe in your care every moment.
You catch us as we fall.

Bring us now into the necessary awareness
To make change,
To create a more just world,
To care for the least powerful,
To prevent further suffering and loss of life,
To endure this season of grief,
To heal the trauma we have collectively sustained,
To comfort those overwhelmed by suffering.

Hear the voice of our pain, oh God.
Amen

Proper 14 (Year A): Litany for the Impossible

August 4, 2020 Fran Pratt

This week’s Gospel reading is Matthew’s account of Jesus doing the impossible: walking on water. Peter asks to join him on the water, and when he looks down, sinks, Jesus says incredulously, “you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

(see also: Litany for Solitude)

Western civilization has overcivilized our imaginations. We are so stuck in our economic and political status quo that we consider - have been conditioned by powers that benefit from it to consider - a better world to be impossible. Our apathy and lack of imagination are well on display in this current moment.

Will we revise our expectations? Will we do the impossible? Will we bring the Commonwealth of Heaven, to which Jesus so often referred and on which he staked his reputation and actions, here to earth, following in his imaginative footsteps?

God, we know that we are programmed and conditioned -
By society and culture,
By religion and expectation -
To distinguish the possible from the impossible.

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Proper 9 (Year A): Litany for Welcoming the Prophets

June 25, 2020 Fran Pratt

The Lectionary gospel for this week is from the end of Matthew 10. “Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward...”

The prophet is never a comfortable guest. The prophet is the one who disturbs, stirs, unsettles, disarranges the accepted narrative. The prophet is the one we often want to ignore.

The prophet, with her anger and passion, her drive for change, her vehemence, her intolerance of equivocation, her blazing eyes, her piercing voice; is often unwelcome in polite society. Her behavior doesn’t suit the proper standards. She disrupts the norms. Her insistence grates our nerves. Her power threatens our egos...

Or. Her silence condemns us. Her sullenness discomforts us. Her lack of agency convicts us. Her vulnerability repels us.... or some combination that causes us to not want to hear.

I notice prophets all around these days. Speaking to us of the snags in the fabric of our society, the holes in our safety nets, the injustice of our laws, the abuse of our leaders, the power-mongering of our enforcers, the idolatry of our obsessions, the disorder of our priorities...

Specifically, I’ve been thinking of various people groups who are prophets speaking to me in this time, such as:
Those murdered by police
The poor and uninsured,
The Indigenous/First Nations peoples
The 14% of the US population that is Black/African-American
The LGBTQIA+
The immigrants
The Dreamers
The houseless
The veterans of war
The victims of abuse and/or trauma
The planet herself
The imprisoned
The minimum wage workers
Those children orphaned or in foster care
Those children who are survivors of school shootings
… and more.

Are you listening? Who are the prophets you notice and what are they saying? Are you amplifying or stifling their voices?

God, we perceive the words of Christ:
Whoever welcomes us, welcomes Christ.
Whoever welcomes Christ, welcomes God.
In this, we embrace our Oneness with Christ, and with you. …

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Proper 8 (Year A): Litany for God Who Sees

June 17, 2020 Fran Pratt

This week’s Lectionary Torah selection is from Genesis 21, the story of Hagar and Ishmael in the desert, runaways from their oppressive masters.God saves Hagar and the child from death. But in writing for this moment, I have intuitively backed up in the chronology of the story, back to the moment when Hagar, in another runaway moment, meets the angel of God who encourages her. She becomes one of the first to give God a name, the God Who Sees Me.

The story of Hagar is powerful in its themes of slavery and oppression, of marginalized peoples gaining a voice, of violence against women, and of the God Who Sees oppressed people. The God Who Pays Attention to the most vulnerable. The God Who Cares for the Needy. These themes of God’s heart are reinforced in other Lectionary passages for this week, particularly Psalm 86 & Jeremiah 20.

I hope you’ll humor me in this deviation from the Lectionary text, but I think it's a worthwhile move, given the cultural and historic moment.

God, more people are waking up to ways our society has failed,
Failed those in the minority,
Those experiencing economic scarcity,
Those imprisoned,
Those on the margins of the predominant culture,
Those who don’t live inside the status quo…

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