Keeping Vigil

My congregation keeps a prayer vigil each Saturday for the Covid19 situation around the world.
These prayers are inspired by their love, care and commitment.

Opening

Source of Life, how do you weep?

In lonely rooms,
in crowded camps,
in anxious waiting zones,
in offices and assessment areas,
we join with the voices of those who try to find words...
What shall we say?

I ask for mercy...
Mercy for those who fear to sleep, in case there is no waking,
Mercy for those who lose hope, while life and possibility is put on hold.
Mercy for those who are turned away or left behind,
Mercy for those who long for touch or contact.

I ask for peace...
Peace for those whose hearts are hardening, as they try to cope with daily stress,
Peace for those whose anxieties have turned to anger and ugliness,
Peace for those whose terrors and tensions creep into physical outpourings of grief and horror,
Peace for those whose current trauma feels as if it will never end.

I ask for Hope...
Hope for those who are wounded - for healing, of bodies and hearts,
Hope for those who despair - for signs of light in our experiences of darkness,
Hope for those who face the loss of potential, loss of work, loss of wonder and delight,
Hope for those who long for love and connection in their isolation.



Meditation    

On this ANZAC Day, we remember those whose spirit remains.
We remember
- stories of humour
- stories of perseverance
- stories of parents, grandparents, heroic and ordinary...
- stories of far-distant places and stories from the backyard...
- stories of call-ups and enlistments, of service, of shattered lives,
Of sacrifice...

I pick up my piece or rosemary...
And remember...
I bring to mind those who are gone from us.
What would they say to us in this time of global concern?

I try to listen for their voices, whispering encouragements,
then shouting and cheering us on.
I contemplate images - faces, hands, smiles, twinkling eyes, warm breath.

For some, it is memory that must carry us through:
Memory of you,
Memory of better times,
Memory of past and memory of promise.

I wait upon you, lighting a candle that speaks of mystery...


Intercession

Tonight I pray for nurses and carers.

I pray for one who offers care by phone and online.
I pray for her patience and wisdom, for creativity and imagination.
I ask you to keep her healthy and energized.
I ask your blessing on her work and her home.

I pray for one who manages others.
Give her discernment as she nurtures her team and brings out the best in them.
Give her skills to translate and interpret as she liaises and enables and supports.
Keep her motivated and fit. Keep her safe.

I pray for one who coordinates clinic and cases, who supports specialist practice.
As she deals with professionals and amateurs, as she faces down the terrors of those around her,
Fill her will calm, compassion and the joy of knowing she is making life so much better for so many.
Watch over her family and may her home be a haven of love.

I pray for those who are training and mentoring nurses and carers and paramedics transitioning into new ways of doing things.
I pray that learning and understanding come together, woven into the best care possible and the knowledge that this is indeed vocation.
May such calling come with a deep sense of life purpose - the realization that we are interdependent - and this is a good thing!

Tonight, I pray for Emergency Workers and those who did not expect to be Emergency Worlers:
- for GPs and their staff
- for Clinicians and Pathologists
- for Ambos and Paramedics,
- for Posties and Pharmacists,
- for Triage and Testing Centre staff,
- for Parking Attendants and Security Personnel,
- for Nurses, Nursing Aides, Porters, Transport staff,
- for Phebotomists (clinical vampires!) who take blood and those who collect swabs.

I pray for those who are afraid to come to work, but come anyway.
I pray for those who are tired and anxious.
I pray for those who suffer hesitation or self-doubt.
I pray for those who are daily learning new ways.

Tonight, I pray for those who fight the battle of despair and depression.
I pray for those who mourn.


Thanksgiving

I give thanks.
Thanks for those who have served.
Thanks for those who serve now.
Thanks for the possibilities that call us all forth.
Thanks for memories that sustain and offer comfort.
Thanks for sunrise and sunset, for music and art and good food.
Thanks for laughter and tears.
Thanks for understanding.


Blessing

God bless us in the night and in the morning.
Gift us with your creative energy, as we seek your story to be written into our souls.
Gift us with your strange way of Humanity and Divinity... may we learn to follow your Way.
Draw forth your Spirit in all we are and all we do.

And so we pray, in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, One God.
Amen


More prayers for this season

Easter Saturday

I can’t breathe...
It’s not Covid-19.
It’s grief.

Every time I try to take a breath,
my body responds with the deep sob and groan that racks my soul.

Today the absence is in every step and every glance
Or lack thereof.
He filled my world, leaving me without reference points today.
I go through the motions of daily activity - wondering why bother?
What is so important anymore?

I cannot even lay his body to final rest.
Regulations and social distancing, the quarantine of Sabbath rest,
Prevents the intimate, even the private goodbye.

People are dying and being buried without ceremony, without rites,
as if humanity is taking a holiday in our quest for isolated living.
I am not complaining - the sacrifice is shared -
But it is not easy and I will not pretend it is so.

How dare the sun shine again after the darkness of the hour of death?
Does not eternity continue to despair?
Is not the very fabric of creation torn like a curtain?
What will tomorrow bring? Who cares?
For now, I cannot breathe.

Six Faces of Easter - Holy Week - adapted for our Circle in Parramatta

Maundy Thursday Story
https://youtu.be/28Vy4dLJaZQ

Good Friday story
https://youtu.be/u-kbFqaquUo

Easter Sunday story
https://youtu.be/4-33L1iylF8

Prayer for Quarantine

The practice of quarantine, as we know it, began during the 14th century in an effort to protect coastal cities from plague epidemics. Ships arriving in Venice from infected ports were required to sit at anchor for 40 days before landing. This practice, called quarantine, was derived from the Italian words quaranta giorni which mean 40 days.

These lines could be broken up over fourteen days of quarantining...
.....

1
Let me begin with you, O God,
For you are every beginning, the Author of all life.

2.
As I take a breath and plan the coming days,
Guide my thinking and my planning.

3. 
Remind me who you are 
and what you have done
And what you promise...
Mostly, let me remember your promise of eternal Life!

4. 
As I wonder what is still to come, I humbly ask:
Please don’t let me be sick. 
Built if I do, help me get through it 
without putting others at risk.

5. 
Give me grace when I get cross with others.
Give me patience when I get frustrated with myself.

6. 
Let me celebrate this day - it was given by you 
- and you have placed me in it.
May this day be a day of blessings.

7. 
May I rest in your arms, O God.

8. 
As I approach the phases of continuing this discipline 
I take the opportunity to spiritually stocktake my life.
Show me, Lord, your ways - teach me your paths.

9.
How can I reflect you today, Lord?
What if your creativity finds a place in my soul?

10.
Are you doing a new thing today, O God?
What has died in the life I once knew? 
What must I bury and leave behind?
What will emerge from these days (and weeks)?

11. 
So many questions, O God...
So few answers...
I struggle with the way forward.
I wonder. I wait.
I wait upon you.

12. 
Is this my time of rest and renewal.
It feels a little frustrating, but I have entered a new rhythm.
Is this a new form of monasticism.
Did you like that era, O God?
Are you inviting us into a deeper companionship?

13.
In this Baker’s dozen, I am trying something new today.
I pray - I wait - I listen for the sounds of holiness and sanctification.
Are you changing me? Is my body strengthening?
Do I feel cleansed? 

14. 
I have had a detox of sorts.
I have learnt to be with myself and you.
I did not know their intimacy and even now I am unsure what this holy friendship means.
I rely on you to take us forward - you and I.
Bring me into tomorrow.

Amen

Prayer for Isolation

On my own...
I stand by the window, my own community,
wondering what it means to be relational in isolation.
In this time and space, I see a faint reflection in the glass.
Eyes look back into mine, searching my soul, wondering what is there?
I consider my predicament, my identity, my desires.
I understand there must be more to life than this...

So, I pray:

What did it mean for you, Emmanuel,
to depart and break away from the community of holiness?
What did it mean for you to come here, leaving Heaven, to be Human?
What is it for me, one of your creatures,
to discover myself, apart from you, Yet, loved by you?
What is it for me to follow your footsteps
in discovering my life’s purposes,
not in self, but in being yours?

I cannot see others, yet they are on my heart.
I wonder if others remember me?
Lord - I feel alone.
Sometimes - I feel forgotten.
Is this a prison? Are my curtains the new version of prison bars?
O God - I feel grief and the panic rises inside me.
I place my faith in you.
Please calm my speedy heartbeat.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy

In the confusion of my disturbed spirit,
I ask you, in your Holy Spirit,
To come and bless me.
Fill my spirit with your wisdom and strength.
Fill my mind with your thoughts.
Guide my praying and guide me to be still.

I breathe ....
And pray you give me air in my lungs,
even as I pray for those who struggle to breathe.
In their isolation, I pray your make yourself known to them.
Guide me also to find ways of making your presence known to others through me being me.

In this isolation,
help me to know you better,
help me to know myself better,
help me discover your place for me in this new strange world.

In this isolation,
Be my Holy Friend.
Don’t leave me alone.
Help me remember you are always there.
Amen

Prayer for Waiting for a Covid Test

Holy God,
Are you there?
Do you see me? Waiting?
Do you see anxiety and wondering?
Do you see into my cells?
Do you see what is happening in my body?
Are you issuing any directions on my behalf?

Spirit of God,
Surely you could be merciful to me.
Look upon me and have compassion,
For I am afraid and I do not want to show my fears to others.
I want to be strong. I want to be courageous.
I want to enable my body to be well and to fight off any illness.
Please let this just be a cold or a mild flu...

And yet, I know, Jesus came and understands my humanity.
Give me hope when things feel hopeless.
Give me light when things seem dark.
Give me an encouraging word and let me live my waiting well.
Comforter, draw near to me,
Hold me safe in your arms.
Amen

Recipes - Koh’s Kitchen

Welcome to our online Cooking with a Chaplain series.

What I am trying to do is teach students how to survive on basic staples made interesting and palatable with some tiny luxuries - and keeping the costs to a bare minimum. This is a passing on of knowledge from my two grandmothers who were children in the Depression - one in Australia and the other in Malaysia and China. They passed their knowledge on. BTW - Koh was my ‘maiden name’.

Once upon a time, I was a student supporting myself in a foreign country and struggling to survive. I was studying in France where food is important but also pretty expensive. I am trying to help people see they really can make nutritious meals for $2-$3 and enjoy them.

My best advice to you is to learn 5-6 basic recipes that can be modified according to what ingredients you can get hold of. A few spices can make things more enjoyable and make you feel as if you are still exploring adventures.

If you are struggling to find ingredients, I will make suggestions about what you can substitute. AND - I can send you some mini ziplock bags with samples of spices and herbs so you can try them out. Note: I pack these myself out of my own stock, so these will be in limited supply and depend on my capacity to do this myself.

Some weeks I am hoping to get guest cooks in... Cooks and Youth workers from all over the place.

Hoping you can join in!

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Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/472329307?pwd=RGpaeHlhQnBpN3VIdlQ4YkFJL0FKQT09 
Meeting ID: 472 329 307 Password: 055802 

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Week 3 Thursday 16th April

Tuna Pasta - 2 variations

Version 1 (tuna, peas, lemon verbena and garlic)

Version 2 (tuna, tomato, Italian herb pack or fresh oregano and garlic)

Any kind of cheese can be grated on top.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 large cloves garlic minced
• 1 (5 ounce) can tuna or sachet
• Version 1 - lemon verbena, a squeeze of lemon if available
• Version 2 - tomato pasta sauce, Italian Herbs, fresh oregano if available
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 4 ounces uncooked pasta (I used spaghetti)

Instructions

1. Boil a salted pot of water for your pasta and cook it al dente according to package directions. Prep your other ingredients while it cooks.
2. When the pasta is close to being ready, add the oil to a small pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and cook it for 30 seconds.
3. Version 1 - Stir in the tuna, lemon juice, and lemon verbena. Let it heat through. 

   Version 2 - Stir in the tuna, tomato, Italian herbs or oregano and garlic. Heat through.
   Note - Thanks to Craig Mitchell in Melbourne who heard about our project and sent us Fresh Herbs From his garden!!! What a legend!
4. Once the pasta is done, add some of the pasta water (a couple tablespoons) to the sauce and then drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Season with salt & pepper as needed. Optional: serve pasta with freshly grated parmesan (or other) cheese and lemon zest.

Tuna pasta with peas and Lemon verbena 

Tuna pasta in tomato and oregano sauce

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Week 2 Thursday 9th April with a TENEBRAE Service(Easter Week)

CHANGE OF RECIPE - because some students didn’t get soup mix!

DAAL (or Dahl) and Rice

Note: I use a commercially available Garam Masala mix in a box packet. The most common spices in the mix are:

• Cumin
• Coriander
• Cardamom
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Cloves
• Bay Leaf
• Peppercorn
• Fennel
• Mace
• Dried Chilli

(Some mixes have other things)

All this tends to be toasted and then ground up into a powder... it is time consuming to make, which is why I buy it in a pack pre-done.

• Red Lentils (or other lentils)
• Dried Fried Onions (or fry some up)
• Garlic (can also be fried up)

Variations

• A small spoon of yoghurt
• A dessert spoon of Tomato paste or a tomato
• potato or sweet potato or carrot
• Mushrooms or peas
• Whatever other veggies you can get
• Meat or Fish or Tofu or nuts can be added as you like

 

I will also teach you how to make an Easter egg with an egg, some string and some tea!

METHOD

Generally,  I rinse any lentils and rice before cooking...

Boil water (1 part lentils to 4 parts water) - add lentils and stock/coconut milk powder/spices packet
Simmer for 15-20 mins

Prep any other veggies to add

Put on rice (1 part rice to 4 parts water) to boil
Simmer for 10-12 mins - then drain

(If you are cooking any meat or fish or nuts, now is the time to do it, but these are not needed to make this dish nutritious and yummy.)

Cook Veggies - these can be added to the Lentils OR fried for more flavour.
I will show both methods

Add Onions and Garlic and Methi (Fenugreek leaves) And anything else you wanted to add and cook/heat through for the last couple of minutes...

Serve


Here is a good link for decorating Easter eggs with tea...
https://blog.numitea.com/tea-dyed-easter-eggs/

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