This prayer is inspired by the array of faces of men I love on a Zoom call. It is, in fact, a poetic version of the blessing that Steve Stanley — a ritual elder in the ManKind Project — gave to the men of ManKind Project Israel on our first virtual Community Tent, a meeting of all MKP Israel men. The idea is his; the words are (mostly) mine. Use this prayer to open Zoom calls. This is my second prayer inspired by the new reality of living with coronavirus. The first is called “Sheltering in Place.” Links to my health-related coronavirus prayers are below.
The Blessing of Faces
So many beautiful faces,
So many radiant souls,
Shining forth
Into our hearts.
Look at those eyes.
The smiles.
The hopes. The fears.
The yearning. The questioning.
The compassion.
The love.
Take it in.
Take it all in.
The tenderness.
The humanity.
The blessing of faces
Arrayed before you.
The blessing of faces,
Given,
And received.
© 2020 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com
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Postscript: See also: “On the Front Lines of the Pandemic,” “Healing from Coronavirus“, “Coronavirus: A Prayer for Medical Scientists” and “Traveler’s Prayer in a Time of Pandemic.”
Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and my two CCAR Press books: This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.
Photo Source: Zoom Help Center