Dear God,

 you are the shepherd who leads us 

   through this time of turmoil and discord and danger

   to water and stillness and safety;

 you are the host who spreads the bare table of our lives 

   with cloth and plates and cups and good things to fill them;

you are the One enthroned on the other side of the ordeal

  where there is no hunger and no thirst,

  no sunburn nor sorrow, no tears and no fears,

  and we gather round to sing praise

  with our robes washed clean in the blood of the Lamb,

  and you will wipe away 

  every tear from our eyes, every sadness from our lives -

Dear God,

  if "Tabitha" can mean "Dorcas" in Greek,

  could it also mean Charlie, or Sally, or John, or Judy....

  and could Peter, or Leo(!), come and touch even us 

  and bring us to this life.

We pray that it might be so.