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A time of song, reading and prayer in the wake of Katrina
September 20, 2005
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by Lyne Stull-Lipps
Lyne Stull-Lipps, a student at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind., put together the following prayer service for Friday, Sept. 1, immediately after Hurricane Katrina had devastated the Gulf Coast region of the United States. The service consists of material adapted from the National Council of Churches web site (words for worship and lament in the aftermath of the Asia tsunami in December 2004; see <http://www.ncccusa.org/resources/tsunami-worship-resources.htm>) and from resources provided to United Methodist pastors, as well as some original material.
Gathering
Leader: When willows bow and snap under the weight of the wind... .
People: Lord, we come to you with broken hearts.
Leader: When the words "catastrophic event" describe a current event rather than the movie of the week...
People: Lord, we come to you with broken hearts.
Leader: When congregations of raindrops become inland streams flowing where they will...
People: Lord, we come to you with broken hearts.
Leader: When the streets are littered with wet teddy bears, broken dishes and shattered dreams...
People: Lord, we come to you with broken hearts.
Leader: When the wind blows both the substance and potential of our lives in giant swirls...
ALL: Lord, we come to you with broken hearts. Hear us calling as we share the brokenness of those who are suffering in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Reading
Job 3:1-11, 24-26
Song
Suggestion: "In the wake of new disaster"
Reading (inspired by Psalm 137)
By the waters of the levee we sit and weep as we remember our homes.
Having lost our accordions,
our fiddles,
our family pictures,
our journals where we recorded the stories of our lives,
we huddle in arenas waiting for food and water to arrive.
Our rescuers ask us to be patient,
help is on its way,
sing a song to bide the time.
But how can we sing songs
when all we have,
our past and our future, is buried in the deluge?
How can we play our zydeco and our jazz
when around us lie the dead and the dying?
Let our hearts sorrow-
in time they will be healed.
We will remember our cities;
we will honor our towns;
we will rebuild our neighborhoods.
And one day, when the crisis has passed,
we will tell again the stories
and play once more the music of our city.
(original psalm written by Lyne Stull-Lipps)
(Silence)
Meditation and Call to Prayer
Matthew 18:20: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."
Announcing itself with shrieking 145-mph winds, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast just outside New Orleans on Monday, August 29, submerging entire neighborhoods up to their roofs, swamping Mississippi's beachfront and blowing out windows in hospitals, hotels and high-rises. The night before landfall, the mayor of New Orleans said that this was the One. The One we had all feared. The perfect storm. He even described it, on Sunday night, as a catastrophe of biblical proportions.
Even though the brunt of the storm just missed New Orleans and it appeared the city would be spared, the levees broke and waters came rushing in on Tuesday. The worst-case scenario had come true. South Mississippi and Alabama were swamped by the storm surge, New Orleans by levee failure. At times like these, we need to take heart and remember these words: "For where two or three come together in my name, there I am in the midst of them."
"Where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
When we come together in pain: Christ is with us.
When we come together in compassion to help: Christ is with us.
When we come together to pray: Christ is with us.
Pray with groans.
Pray in silence.
Pray with actions
Together, let us pray:
(Pause)
For the families of those who perished in the storm...
(Silence) (During each silence, light a water candle and place it in a bowl of water. I was able to find a large blue bowl and blue candles in the candle section of Michaels, a craft and hobby store.)
For those who are displaced by the storm, living in shelters or with friends...
(Silence)
For those who continue to be lost in the wreckage...
(Silence)
For those involved in search and rescue operations...
(Silence)
For all the other volunteers, who offer themselves in service now and in the weeks to come...
(Silence)
For those who loot and commit other acts of violence against their own community...
(Silence)
For city, state and national leaders who must find ways to help communities rebuild...
(Silence)
For those of us who dwell in safety, may we open our hearts and our treasure to those who are in need.
Reading
Psalm 69:1-3, 13-17
Song
Suggestion: "O Lord hear my prayer" (repeat 3 times) (from Songs and Prayers from Taizé, GIA Publications 1991; see <http://www.giamusic.com/scstore/P-266.html>)
Reading
Psalm 46:1-3
Song
Suggestion: "Come and fill our hearts" (from Songs and Prayers from Taizé, GIA Publications 1991; see <http://www.giamusic.com/scstore/P-266.html>)
(During the singing of this song, you are invited to light a prayer candle, stand it in the bowl of sand and silently offer your prayers of intercession, confession and praise.)
Reading
Romans 8:35, 37-39
Song
Suggestion: "In the Lord" (from Songs and Prayers from Taizé, GIA Publications 1991; see <http://www.giamusic.com/scstore/P-266.html>)
Benediction
May the God of healing empower us to do all we can to alleviate pain and suffering in this world. Amen
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