In this book with 46 contributors that I have been sharing this week, From the Psalms to the Cloud, there are many, many prayers about relationship to the Internet – from joy in its connectivity to desperate addiction. For this day in this CASA family that is intention church in digital space I offer two prayers that reflect this dynamic – the first by Lynne Frith of Auckland, Aotearoa (New Zealand) and the second by my co-editor Maria Mankin.
I hold in my heart those who have hundreds of friends
in cyberspace or on Facebook
But no one to walk with on the beach;
Those whose Internet social networks are vast
But have no one to hug them when they are down;
Those who have hours stretching out in front of them
And only a computer screen for company;
Those whose tweets, twitters and FB messages are witty and clever
But who are afraid of closeness with a real human being.
May they be released from need and fear,
Freed to love and be loved.
May they be touched by grace and enfolded in peace,
Now and everyday. Amen
—Lynne Frith
Does it matter, God,
if my faith has walls,
or if I walk alone?I can love justice,
seek kindness, walk humbly,
God, all on my own.What is this aching
though, God, this regret
when I always pray alone?
—Maria Mankin
There is no need to ever pray alone connected in this CASA, this community of faith. Blessings surround you all.
