Collect — For Those Suffering in Mind and Spirit
For use at the Eucharist, at Morning or Evening Prayer, or in pastoral visitation.
Gracious God,
you are nearer to us than our own breath,
and you know the weight that the mind can carry
when the body still stands:
look with mercy upon all who suffer in mind and in spirit,
upon those who walk in shadows they cannot name,
and upon those who have grown weary of asking for help;
steady them with your presence,
give them honest companions and skilled care,
and bring them, in your good time, to a quiet mind
and a sure hope in you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows.
Amen.
Collect — In Recovery, In Community
Offered with thanksgiving for the witness of those who have walked the Twelve Steps.
Loving God,
you have made us for one another
and you call us out of every isolation:
we give you thanks for the fellowships of recovery,
for the rooms where the truth is told without shame,
and for the friends who have learned to keep the light onuntil the next one finds the door;
grant to all who struggle this day
the courage of a first step,
the honesty of a tenth,
and the steady comfort of an eleventh,
that we may know you as the strength we lacked
and the company we long for;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayers of the People — A Litany for Mental Health
In the manner of the Prayers of the People in the Book of Alternative Services. A reader leads; the assembly responds.
Sisters and brothers, let us pray to the God of all consolation, who knows the heart and hears its silence.
For those who live with depression, with anxiety, with the long grief that does not lift; that they may
know they are not alone, and that the darkness has not made them less beloved of God.
God of mercy, hear our prayer.
For those who carry the wounds of trauma — first responders, soldiers, and survivors of violence; that
their stories may find safe witnesses, and their bodies a true rest.
God of mercy, hear our prayer.
For those bound by addiction in any form, and for those who love them; that the gift of fellowship, the
courage of honesty, and the steady hand of recovery may be near them this day.
God of mercy, hear our prayer.
For those who have lost a loved one to suicide, and for those who have been visited by such thoughts
themselves; that they may find the patient company of one trusted person, and the slow return of hope.
God of mercy, hear our prayer.
For those who mourn the death of a loved one, and for those who keep vigil as death draws near; that
they may know the steadiness of your presence in the quiet hours, and the comfort of those who keep
faith with them.
God of mercy, hear our prayer.
For the workers in mental health — physicians, nurses, psychologists, chaplains, counsellors, peer-
support workers and crisis lines; that they may be sustained in their labour, and shielded from the
secondary weight of what they carry on behalf of others.
God of mercy, hear our prayer.
For the families who keep vigil, the friends who answer the late-night call, the sponsors and elders who
walk beside; that they may be given rest enough for the journey, and the wisdom to ask for help
themselves.
God of mercy, hear our prayer.
For our parishes, that they may be places where it is safe to say, I am not well; for our diocese, that we
may match our compassion with concrete care; and for ourselves, that we may not turn away from the
suffering nearest us.
God of mercy, hear our prayer.
The presider concludes:
God of the broken and the breathing,
you do not flinch from any sorrow we bring you:
receive these prayers,
receive our hopes even when we struggle to know what to ask,
and let your Spirit supply what we cannot name;
through Jesus Christ, our wounded and risen Lord.
Amen.
On Source and Voice
These prayers are original compositions, written in the contemporary liturgical register of the BAS and
consonant with its theology of healing as set out in the pastoral offices for ministry to the sick. They draw, with thanksgiving, on the wisdom of the Twelve Steps as a lay spiritual tradition that has shaped pastoral practice across our communion. They are offered freely for use, adaptation, or further refinement by the compilers.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin+
The Reverend Robin Major