A prayer for a time of chaos and uncertainty

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This article was published 27/03/2025 (556 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I have been thinking a great deal about Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s contention that the followers of Jesus can confess sins of their society/nation that they themselves have not engaged in. This prayer dances on the edge of that idea.

O Lord, we live in a time of chaos and anxiety.

We confess to you, O Lord, that our fear in the face of the threats uttered by the President of the United States, is greater than our trust in You and your grace and justice.

We confess to you, O Lord, that even as we criticize the ways the Trump Administration has treated and is treating the Ukrainian people and nation, our country Canada has been slow in delivering promised support to Ukraine.

We confess to you, O Lord, that we and our leaders have been quick to say of Mexico “they are worse than us” in trying to avoid the actions threatened by the White House. We recognize that in doing that we sought to be bystanders watching while another nation was hurt.

We confess to you, O Lord, that this crisis has revealed long-standing divisions in our own country, shining a light on contexts where we have made trade and mobility difficult, and where we have exhibited our distrust of one another in this country.

We confess to you, O Lord, that the language used by the President of the United States and the Trump Administration has drawn from us equally angry and disrespectful words. We confess that with our words we have failed to acknowledge that they, like us, are human beings made in the image of God.

We confess to you, O Lord, that in this moment we have become so focused on our needs and our own anxieties that we have become inward looking, protective of what is ours, holding with tightly clenched fists what we can grasp, rather than reaching out and looking towards the needs and anxieties of others.

O Lord, we are sorry for those ways we have failed to live as your people in this moment.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

As part of our Religion in the News project, the Free Press invited faith leaders to share their reflections on the United States’ trade war with Canada.

Peter Bush was formerly the minister at Westwood Presbyterian Church in Winnipeg. He is now the minister at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Fergus, Ont.

faith@freepress.mb.ca

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