"Blessing for a Face Mask"

We share with you a reflection from Emerge: Blessings & Rituals for Unsheltering, from the Stillspeaking Writers' Group, a group composed of "United Church of Christ ministers and writers who collaborate on resources for people in the church, outside the church, and not sure about the church."

Blessing for a Face Mask

God of health and wholeness,

of neighbor love and kindness,

bless this mask, my slight shield

against great ills:

Bless the fabric that repels the drops,

the ties that go behind my ears,

the wire that fits snug against my nose,

the folds that cup my chin.

Make me grateful for my mask

even when it makes me hot,

even when I look funny in it,

even when I'm dying to take it off.

Bless me also, and everyone

who for their own and others' sakes

put on this holy inconvenience every day

our minds made up to love.

~Mary Luti