Navigating Collective Grief: Finding Faith, Resilience, and Solace in our Shared Struggles

And so , as we continue to read the news , as we continue to check our social media feeds , as we continue to connect with our friends , our family , our loved ones , we can be reminded how small the world actually is and how closely we are impacted by war , by natural disaster , by grief , by death , by loss , and that , as a part of the human experience , we

often have collective grief . It doesn't even have to be for one particular thing or for one particular person , but sometimes the culmination of so many things , of the experience of human suffering , can gather us together in this collective grief .

And so today , as I was reflecting on what to share with us , I turned to a book I have been turning to frequently over the last couple of months . It's a book I'm really enjoying . It's called the Lives we Actually have 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days .

It's by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie , so I wanted to read this blessing called Four Collective Grief , and I share this with us , for whatever is going on in our lives , whatever is going on in our world that is touching us so deeply , it can be external , it can be internal , it could be both .

We are really living in some both , and space where we are experiencing things that are happening in our world far away and things close by . So , friends , hear this blessing for collective grief . This world , impossible , unthinkable . We are brought to our knees , God . Today there is no true north , and when I last checked , the sun did not rise at all .

Today , the innocent still suffer , buildings still fall , families still grieve . A world has ended without any reasonable fanfare . This is the way of tragedy , how it breaks in and robs us while we sleep . Help us to know what to feel , what to do , how to grieve together .

Blessed are we who try to see things clearly , though the truth of it all feels unimaginable . Blessed are we who ask and wait and ask again for answers that may not come , for hope that seems hard to find , for comfort that is not easily offered Along the way , show us how to live when we've lost the things we cannot get back .

Remind us that you , o God , are our home and our refuge when life's unthinkable fragility is too difficult to hold . Take my hands as we let this blessing for collective grief marinate in this space , marinate in our spirits and our bodies . I offer this prayer .

Oh God , it seems like everywhere we look in our world today , there is violence and destruction and trauma , fires and floods and earthquakes and war . It is overwhelming . It can be easy to fall into despair and hopelessness . So much violence , so many innocent victims . We are all your children , creator , and we know you value each of our lives . The same God .

We pray for our Jewish siblings , near and far , who are experiencing devastating grief and terror . We pray for our Palestinian siblings suffering destruction and death . God , we pray for those who are suffering in ways often unfathomable . When peace feels like an impossibility , remind us of your peace that surpasses all understanding .

When the darkness feels all-encompassing , remind us of the light that shines in the darkness . Remind us of your love and your grace and your mercy . Give your Holy Spirit upon us to fan the flame of love and justice in our hearts and in our world Through your son Jesus . We know that you are with us and are suffering , and you hear our cries .

Help us lean on one another during these difficult times , so that we can be comforted in our community of faith . For us is your hands and feet in the world to enact justice and righteousness . Hold us fast , o God , thy kingdom come , lord , have mercy Christ . Have mercy , spirit . Have mercy , amen .

Friends , we hope and pray that this season of blessings and prayers has been meaningful for you , and , of course , they are available for you to go back and re-listen to at any point . You need something a little inspiring , a little motivating or something that just bears witness to our collective lives .

I'm excited to let you know that next week we are going to be launching a six-week series using our sermons that we preached earlier this fall . The series is the Gospel according to Taylor Swift . We had so much fun doing this sermon series earlier this fall and we are excited to share it with you .

We had a great conversation with myself and Pastor Dave and our worship and arts director , nancy Reeves , and the producer of this podcast , janice McQueen , and so we're excited to share that conversation with you , where we talk a little bit about the series and what our experience was of doing it , and then you'll be able to hear the sermons in this podcast as

well , so something to look forward to beloveds . I hope you enjoy it . Know that you are always in our prayers and that we do this podcast for you . Please feel free to check out the Brentwood Presbyterian Church website , bpcusaorg . You can check us out on Facebook , on YouTube , on Instagram , we do webcast our Sunday morning service .

If you are not local to Los Angeles , you can worship with us virtually every Sunday morning at 1030 . Thank you for being a part of our resilient faith community , our community of faith . God bless you .