Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Matthew 5:4

Loving Father,

We pray for all who woke this morning to the loneliness of bereavement;

for the families and friends of the 36,793 who have died in the UK from COVID-19.

God of mercy, hold them close, be with them in their unanswered questions

and the added sorrow of not being able to be with a loved one

as they died or mourn together with others at a funeral.

Where everything seems dark, hearts broken,lives incomplete

and bodies and minds exhausted, cover them with your peace

and use these sun-lit days to bring your hope and blessing.

Please bring compassionate friends to listen and support them

through the long grief journey to a ‘new normal’.

Thank you that we are never alone, your presence a constant companion;

be with them in their sorrow and lead them through this dark valley

into the light of thanksgiving and treasured memories.

Lord have mercy,

Amen.

‘Christ is the morning star who,when the night of this world is past,

brings to his saints the promise of the light of life

and opens everlasting day.’ Bede 673-735

Amen.