Prayers for Staff Support during the Covid-19 crisis

Prayers written or adapted by chaplains from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

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 hospital With peace that surpasses all understanding.

A Prayer for Team Members Struggling with Medical Decisions
Creator God,
I have done all that I can within this horrific time of crisis and lack of resources, to provide what our patients need for healing.
I know that I am not alone.
I am surrounded by compassionate and wise medical experts, who are doing their best within their power and abilities, as well.
We all are doing everything we can to help those who are struggling for life.
I trust in you, Merciful One, to know my heart and have compassion on me. You are with me.
Release me, from any guilt or fear, as I look to you for wisdom in these awful times.
Help me to honor each life, even as I may sometimes, have to let it go.
I trust you to carry each one into your loving embrace.
May they all, rest in your peace And I as well.
Amen

A Prayer for a Respiratory Therapist
Source of all life,
I have done all that I can to provide the oxygen that each patient needs to breathe.
I know that all of us
have done what was within our power and abilities to help our patients in their struggle for life.
Release me, from guilt or fear,
as I have made difficult decisions with our team members in this time of great crisis and unimaginable circumstances.
Help me to honor each life,
even as I have to let some go,
trusting you to carry each one into your loving embrace.
Amen

Daily Mantra for the Care Team
In all that we do today,
through every encounter,
with patients, with family members, with hospital staff, with each other,
and with ourselves,
may we be guided by wisdom and compassion.

Daily Blessing for the Care Team
As we start our day, let us remember these words, with a slight adaptation at the end, from an18th century poet, Henri-Frederic Amiel:
“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

A Prayer for the Environmental Service Staff Member
Be present, Merciful Creator,
with those who labor on this day,
especially those who keep this facility clean and orderly.
Give them strength to endure hardship, courage to overcome fear,
and protection against all harm.
We thank you for the work they do, and pray that they find times of rest and peace in the midst of their days.
May they know the importance of their work and the value of their service
to each and every patient and family.
May they be surrounded by your love and care. Amen

A Prayer for Physicians
For the physicians -
To that Spirit that brings unity with all beings -
We beg...
...Give us wisdom to see what is mindful and just in chaos.
...Give us peace that passes understanding even as we work in hell.
...Give us patience to wait and watch when the need feels so immediate.
...Give us knowledge that rightly engages the intellectual and then moves beyond, when needed, to encounter our souls.
...Give us courage to move forward in paralyzing fear and doubt.
...Give us physical and emotional strength to persevere in the face of crippling hours and dire circumstances.
...Give us a binding connection to all those we encounter that acknowledges our oneness.
...Give us sight beyond what is immediate to what may be eternal.
...Give us discernment to remember and interpret our Hippocratic Oath with much grace for ourselves in our unrelenting situation.
...Give us a community that brings encouragement, vulnerability, and safety. ...Give us a love for self and others that is authentic and evident.
...Give us a hope that convinces us that what we are doing matters in each unfathomable moment and in those moments we have yet to know.
...Give those that we love the most peace as futures are contemplated; even as it feels our continued health may be in peril.
Amen

A Prayer for Nurses
Holy One, my call to nursing was born out of compassion and hope to bring health and healing to those in my care.
In times when I feel weak, connect me to my strength.
In times when I am afraid, connect me to my courage.
In times when I feel lost, connect me to your presence.
On days when it feels overwhelming, remind me to breathe deeply and do the next right thing.
Reveal to me each day the beauty that comes from my work; The healing that comes from my hands;
The comfort that comes from my presence;
The hope that comes from my soul.
As I fulfill this sacred call, please keep me safe from harm. Amen.