THE PANDEMIC, WORK AND REDUNDANCY
Creator God, you have called us
to do your will in the world.
You have called us to be shop assistants and social workers,
truckers and teachers,
carpenters and chemists,
engineers and electricians,
labourers and lawyers,
and much else besides.
We pray with all people in their daily life and work: enjoying fulfilment in a purposeful job or challenging vocation, staring in the face of the pandemic, and the uncertainty of redundancy or dismissal, holding immense responsibility and facing testing decisions, feeling exploited by injustice in trade, caring for others, unpaid and unsung.
We pray with people for whom time passes slowly: seeking employment,
frustrated by repeated refusals,
unable to work through illness and incapacity, retired, now wondering where they are still wanted,
finding their work a drudge,
dreading each new day.
Enabling God, we commit to you the insights of our minds, the labour of our hands, and the love of our hearts, as we share in daily community life and shape the future of your created world. Amen
[John Bell]
An uncertain future
In an uncertain world, where tomorrow brings ever-new difficulties as well as new hope, we pray for all who work with the land and sea, feeding an ever more hungry world.
We remember suppliers and hauliers,
all those connected with the infrastructure of agriculture, industry and fisheries. We pray especially for the many whose livelihoods
are becoming increasingly fragile
and insecure.
We pray for those in desperate need of help: those who have lost jobs,
the young, facing uncertain futures: families and businesses close to bankruptcy; the many who need to retire but cannot.
We pray for farming families experiencing stress; for businesses, garages and shops. We give thanks for neighbourly gestures, and all that counters isolation.
Prayers for those affected by redundancy or restructuring
"Redundant"- the word says it all - "useless", "unnecessary", "without purpose", "surplus to requirements".
Thank you, Heavenly Father, that in the middle of the sadness, the anger, the uncertainty, the pain,
I can talk to you.
Help me to think clearly, and calm my soul. As life carries on, may I know your presence with me each and every day. And as I look to the future, help me to look for fresh opportunities,
for new directions. Guide me by your Spirit, and show me the way forward.
Amen.
Prayer for those remaining in the workplace Life has changed: colleagues have gone - redundant, out of work. Suddenly, what seemed so secure is now so very fragile.
It's hard to know what I feel: sadness, certainly, guilt, almost, at still having a job to go to, and fear of the future: who will be next? how will I cope with the increased pressure of work?
Lord Jesus, in the midst of this uncertainty, help me to keep going: to work to the best of my ability, taking each day at a time, and taking time each day to walk with you
for you are the way, the truth and the life. Amen.
O Christ, the Master Carpenter,
who at the last, through wood and nails,
purchased our whole salvation,
wield well your tools in the workshop of your world,
so that we who come rough-hewn to your bench
may here be fashioned to a truer beauty of your hand.
We ask it for your own name’s sake. Amen
