Praying for our critical workers

Today is day 6 of our 21 days of prayer and fasting. We invite you to pray for our critical workers, many of whom work under very difficult circumstances.

Sandra Ackerman
Nick Carr
Tracy Carr
Denise Chambers
Paul Chambers
Val Dock 
Lisa Eade
Lorna Earle
Mickey Earle
Kevin Finniear
Annie Hamilton
Catherine Nolder
Sara Petronijevich
Clare Slater
Helene Thomas
Lucy Usher
Tracey White
Phil Wilkinson

Here are the prayer requests we received:

Sandra Ackerman
School is exceptionally busy with teachers juggling their time between online lessons and lessons with children actually in school. The days are very long and exhausting, and we're working late into the evenings. Please pray for safety, stamina and a sense of peace for all the children and staff amidst the restrictions, the virus and changing procedures. Thank you, everyone, I'm very grateful for your thoughts and prayers.

Val Dock
In particular that I make wise decisions about the management of the people who ring 111; for the smooth running of the vaccination clinics and that people remember to continue to social distance even after being vaccinated. Also that I'm not tempted to take on too much work! It would be easy to agree to every request that comes through: not good for Robin… or me!

Helene Thomas
Please pray for the team I work with. I work at The Evelina children's hospital (part of St Thomas's). We have opened a 20 bedded adult ITU on one of the paediatric wards which our team of paediatric ITU nurses is staffing. It's very challenging as this is a new area for us working with adult patients. Please pray for strength, resilience and unity when staff are stressed and working outside of their comfort zone. Please pray for the patients who are scared and not able to have their family members with them.

Lisa Eade
Please continue to pray for our local hospitals St Richard's and Worthing. We are caring for a large number of patients and sadly staff are getting COVID which makes the wards short of staff - it is so busy and stressful. I am a specialist nurse in the palliative care team and we are in huge demand. Please pray for us as we support staff and patients.

Kevin Finniear
Could pray for students who still don't have clarity over whether exams are going ahead.  They've said they aren't but the picture is still very unclear when you look at the detail. Pray for those struggling and disconnected. A boy called whose father very ill. A girl called J having to change schools during lockdown.  

Annie Hamilton
Please can the church pray for all the staff at St. Richard's hospital and Worthing hospital - the staff are tired, anxious, and scared for their patients, their families, and for themselves. Please pray for added energy, for peacefulness and for good, settled sleep.

Phil Wilkinson
I am so glad to have been able to start vaccinating people in Bognor, both at the hub at the Health Centre and also starting to go to nursing homes locally, where we are able to vaccinate residents and staff. Please pray that we continue to have a regular and sufficient supply of the vaccine, as currently there is not enough and this is limiting the rollout.

I have spoken with people in some faith groups who have refused to have a vaccine, and there are still rumours circulating that it is not safe. This is not true, and making a decision not to have an injection when offered would be harming ourselves and others, and we need to stand against false beliefs. Please pray that there will be a real enthusiasm and desire to follow the science not social media!

I recently read what Martin Luther said in 1527 about how we should live as Christians in a pandemic, then it was a series of plagues without the opportunity of vaccination: 'I will pray to God that He may be gracious and preserve us. Then I will fumigate to purify the air and take medicine and avoid places and persons where I am not needed to be in order that I may not abuse myself and that through me others may not be infected.' Maybe we can all take these words as prayer of our own.