May 2020 Prayer Points
At this time of global upheaval and loss, we join in lament. With Christians around the world, we bring before God the difficulties and traumas we, and our local and global neighbours face. But as we pray for the present, we pray also for the future.
The Coronavirus has caused an unprecedented shock to the world’s social and economic systems. As Cristiana Figueres, former head of the UN climate talks, said, “Moments of crisis, such as the one we are living, are deeply painful in ways that cannot be underestimated. The social and emotional impacts of Covid-19 will be felt even after we return to normal global health conditions.” But, she noted, “We will emerge, albeit more slowly, from the unprecedented economic paralysis. The question is how we emerge: whether we return to the ways of the past or whether we derive valuable lessons, to emerge wiser and better equipped to continue to deal with our longstanding emergency of climate change.”
She is not alone in hoping that we can rebuild in a way which both addresses the issues caused by the Coronavirus and protects the future of all who share our common home..Our prayers this month reflect on these questions, beginning with Pope Francis’s wonderful reflections on the links with the resurrection story, and continuing to look at a variety of comments and new developments.
The prayer points are found below.