Modeled on Psalm 46 (NRSV and The Voice, adapted by Rev. Todd Atkins-Whitley)
Read in a gathering, the community is invited to sign or say aloud the words shown in bold and supply the words in pink.
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
…in a pandemic
…in isolation
…in illness
…in shelter-in-place
Goddess is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
…in [name aloud when God is a help to you]
Therefore we will not fear,
though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
…though a virus wreaks havoc on communities
…though we are isolated from one another
…though we practice spatial distancing
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
…though in-person gatherings are suspended
…though shelves are bare
…though we know not what lies ahead
We are sure and fearless!
We are sure and fearless!
There is a river whose streams
make glad the city of God,
…make glad the lonely
…make glad the isolated
…make glad the anxious
God is in the midst of the city;
…the hospitals
…the shelters
…the sites of quarantine
…the places we name home
God will help us when the morning dawns.
God will help us when the morning dawns.
The nations are in an uproar,
the kingdoms, the stock market,
livelihoods, systems totter;
God’s voice thunders and the earth shakes.
God, known by many names, is with us.
[The name you call God] is with us.
Come, gaze, fix your eyes on what the Eternal can do.
Goddess can stop wars anywhere in the world.
…can interrupt viruses
…can make a way out of no way
…can protect the downcast and downtrodden
God can make scrap of all weapons:
snap bows, shatter spears, and burn shields.
God can relieve anxiety,
interrupt isolation,
and heal the sick.
“Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.”
Be still, and know that God is God.
God is with us. [The name you call God] is our refuge.
Amen and Ashe