We want to die with our loved ones around us;
we want to die loved, secured, supported, cherished;
we want to die upheld by our faith community;
we do not want to die alone.
We do not want you to die alone.
But these are troubled times, these are COVID troubled times,
and we know that COVID is a reality and in this immense force
aloneness at death may appear to be reality.
Take heart!
All your loved ones may be kept away from
you, but God’s love is there no matter what.
God’s love will surpass the love of your best friend,
your most caring family member.
As if your hand was held by a loved one,
as if your words though few are cherished,
as if you are blessed by a member of your faith community,
as if a close circle of those nearest and dearest is around you.
You are not alone, God is ever-present;
God is ever-loving and is with you now;
God’s love will never leave you. Never.
Amen.
—By David Sparks, United Church of Canada minister