Good Morning All,

On this fiftieth Earth Day we reflect on the awareness more present now than ever of how interconnected we all are in this our common home. And there are few places on earth right now that are not under the same cloud of fear and uncertainty as we are. I find in times like this, words are hard to come by, and I always appreciate that poets and writers are there to help give expression to our stirrings and longings in our hearts and minds.

Today, I invite you to take a few moments to read the prayer below and to imagine different people and places each time – perhaps the first time a prayer for those nearest to you, in your department, on your floor, in your area of this community. And then another time to expand the circle of who this prayer is enfolding, to our entire HHH community, to Concord, to NH, our nation, and on to the interconnected community of the earth.

As Dr. King once put it: “In a real sense all life is inter-related. All are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be... This is the inter-related structure of reality.”

A Prayer for the Medical Community, adapted from a prayer by Alden Solovy

Source of all life,
We are those
Who dedicate their lives to health and healing,
Preventing disease, reducing pain,
Prolonging lives, providing hope.

Source of life,
Watch over us
And all who work in the healing professions,
As we serve during times of health and In the times of our deepest needs,
As we struggle with decisions none should have to make,
Bless our hands with kindness and compassion,
Our eyes with clarity,
Our hearts with courage,
And our souls with love and forgiveness,
So that we can carry on in the midst of what might be
Choices that may conflict with doing no harm.

Bless us with fortitude and strength.
Source of life, we pray that there will come
A time when we can embrace an end to pain and suffering,
So that as physicians, nurses, and members of the care team, we may find rest in You.

Source of all life,
Bless our team members in this community
With peace that surpasses all understanding.

Friends, we know that life is short and we have too little time to gladden the hearts of those who travel with us. So be swift to love and make haste to be kind and may the blessing of God or all that sustains you, keep you safe, grant you peace and fill you with all that you need, just for today.
Amen...

Rev. Joel Eaton
Interfaith Chaplain
Havenwood Heritage Heights