Justice Prayers - April 28, 2021

Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. - Proverbs 4:26

India’s Covid-19 Crisis

Covid-19 cases in India have overwhelmed the country's medical system.  People are amassing outside of hospitals and the deaths are too numerous to handle in timely fashion.  Into this place we pray:

Healer, move in and amongst the hospitals and medical providers throughout India but especially in the centres feeling the most strain.  Speak peace into hearts who are not able to get medical help.  Open up supply lines for oxygen and other necessities to help all those who are sick.  Give your wisdom to medical staff as they navigate this devastating time.   

More reports of unnecessary deaths by police in same week as Chauvin’s guilty verdict

Even as the guilty verdict was being brought in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the second degree murder of George Floyd, the death of 16 year old Ma’khia Bryant, who was shot by the police she had called to help her, was being reported.  

The deep pain of these stories cannot be denied or glossed and so we pray:

Father, 

You weep at every loss.  How could it be otherwise?  You who know hearts and thoughts and inmost parts.  As we hold these stories of unnecessary death and brutality, we ask for your spirit to move in our midst – revealing where we need to repent, and revealing where we can join in solidarity with others.  Equip us as Christ’s body to bear one another’s pain with genuine love and to heal with one another and our communities in all the truth telling ways that need to happen.

We need your help. How could it be otherwise? Help us Lord to follow your ways even in these times of pain and protest.  Help us to see where you are already working to heal and embolden us to join in your work.  

MAID legislation and Physician Conscience Rights

While MAID legislation in Canada has passed, calls for strong protections of physician conscience rights are being made.  We pray into this situation:

Lord of Life, 

We ask for your spirit of wisdom to be present in these deliberations across Canada.  May the rights of physicians and health care professionals to not assist in these procedures, if that their decision, be weighed and legally protected.  We pray for your guidance and for your life affirming presence in these rooms and we pray that the consciences of your people in these professions would be protected from recrimination.  

Reunification for Refugee Families

Canadian Council for Refugees is advocating for establishing a 6 month standard for reuniting newcomers/refugee parents with their children. Currently the wait can be long, with children left with other family members or in vulnerable situations while their parents claims are being processed.  With delays due to the pandemic travel restrictions the backlog of reunification cases is growing.  

Lord, we are grateful for the people who work in the refugee resettlement systems to improve them daily so that real families can thrive.  We pray for all the components of the system to move forward smoothly so that procedural standards can be put into place.  We ask for your help to remove barriers for families to be reunited with their children as they seek refuge in Canada. 

Becoming (part of) the Answer to our Own Prayers

Faith In Action: Refugee Advocacy Webinar

When you speak out, you reflect the biblical call to work towards a just world where structures and institutions give all of creation the opportunity to thrive! Advocating for just and compassionate ways to welcome refugees during the pandemic can make a real difference in how many refugees are able to travel to Canada this year.  Register here.

Behind the Book: Stories that inspired 'Defending the Arctic Refuge'

Join us to hear the story of advocacy to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Author and professor Finis Dunaway will share the stories behind his latest book "Defending the Arctic Refuge: A Photographer, an Indigenous Nation, and a Fight for Environmental Justice."  Register here.