sustain:if:able kiwi

God like a warm blanket: prayer for the Winter Solstice

Sunday was the Winter Solstice. Being the shortest day and longest night, people were invited to bring a blanket to church. I wrote a winter solstice prayer, working with the image of God as being like a warm blanket.

Photo by Amin Hasani on Unsplash.

God, you are like a warm blanket. We know this because you offer us your Spirit, promised to us in John 15 as parakletos, translated into English as Comforter.

And so now in prayer we imagine in our minds and bodies wrapping ourselves all tight and snug into your blanket of grace. We enter in prayer the warm and comforting embrace of your Spirit, the promised comforter.

God, as we imagine wrapping ourselves in your warm blanket of grace, we ponder how some blankets are made of wool. They are lightly woven, breathable in summer, yet holding in body heat to warm us in the winter. God who is like a warm woolen blanket, we say thanks for wrapping us warm in protection, grace and comfort.

God as we imagine wrapping ourselves in your warm blanket of grace, we appreciate how some blankets are weighted. They use plastic pellets or glass beads to add weight and wrap us in pressure therapy. We say sorry for the times this week we have acted to increase our pressure; run ahead of you, engaged in needless conflict and what ifs. God who is like a warm weighted blanket, may we experience rest and contentment in your kindness. We say thanks for the way you encourage us to live in the moment and place our future worries in your care.

God as we imagine wrapping ourselves in your warm blanket of grace, we appreciate how some blankets have memories. They are gifts from parents or knitted by grandmothers. We say thanks for these gifts, thanks for the way generations in the past have invested care and craft, time and prayer into us. God who is like a warm memoried blanket, as we have received gifts from the faithful from the past, may we find ways to share warm in the present and future.

God, who is like a warm blanket, there are people in our city who lack warmth. We say thanks for the people and organisations like the Dunedin Bedding Bank and The Nest Collective Ōtepoti, who care for the homeless and provide families with free baby essentials. May these people and organisations inspire us to find ways to play our part in wrapping your warmth and care not only around us but around others in this community and beyond.

We pray these prayers in the name of God, the Spirit who is comforter,
Who is like a warm blanket for us and our communities, Amen.