Prayer for Southern California’s Earthquakes

God, the earth stirs and the lamps shake;
the highway breaks and fires flare.
The fans flee Dodger stadium
and the elderly frail
and those with heart disease
are filled with dread.
First responders go out
wherever they are needed.

We pray for those affected directly
by the Mojave foreshock,
Ridgeway mainshock,
and many in California and Mexico
injured, frightened,
dealing with cracked buildings,

dealing with anticipation of cracks
in something far deeper —
their sense of stability
tomorrow and the next day.

And we pray for those
who have felt recent quakes —
in the Philippines and Alaska,
in Venezuela and Zimbabwe,
in Indonesia and Nevada —
whose sleep is filled
with dreams of the world shaken,

that they may have a stillness within
that only you can give,
gratitude for those willing
to go into danger every time
and the deep-neighborness
which helps us care for one another.
amen.