Pandemic Prayers

“Beth Felker Jones provides a series of devotions during the specific seasons of the COVID-19 pandemic that speak into that pandemic, but yet these devotions will continue to speak to us—as acts of memory, as acts of pondering, as acts of lament, as acts of trust, and as acts of hope. Quarantine, she tells us, can’t stop Easter. Pandemic Prayers comes from a Christian, a mother, a professor, and an author. As a theologian Beth Felker Jones takes us to spiritual giants like Julian of Norwich, and as a devotional Christian she expresses her annoyance and her pain with the pandemic, but she opens her heart for all to see who she is, like the Bible’s own prayers and devotions.”


—Scot McKnight, author of Open to the Spirit and The Jesus Creed





“In this short book, Beth Felker Jones has given us a rich and beautiful gift. Her writing is vivid, comforting, and luminescent. And she masterfully pulls together her daily life and struggles amid a global pandemic and enduring truths from the great tradition of Christian thought. With wide-ranging meditations on anxiety, lament, weakness, death, and hope, Jones invites us into the mystery of God with the clarity of a brilliant theologian and the compassionate heart of a pastor.”


—Tish Harrison Warren, author of Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life





“In times of stress, Christians are often driven to seek a deeper prayer life. This book is both the fruit of such a search as well as a guide to one. It is unhurriedly calming and quietly fortifying. In the shadow of illness, social unrest, and an uncertain global future, I plan to keep it on my nightstand and return to it often for nourishment and comfort.”


—Wesley Hill, author of Spiritual Friendship





“We live in a strange world where things like pandemics and global warming seem to be the new norm. If truth be told, many of us don’t know how to pray in times of crisis. In Pandemic Prayers, theologian Beth Felker Jones teaches us how to pray in difficult seasons of life by sharing her own very personal reflections in the form of devotions and rich theological prayers. This book has blessed my life and I pray that it may help you find fresh faith, hope, and healing in these uncertain times.”


—Winfield Bevins, author of Ever Ancient Ever New





“In Pandemic Prayers, Beth Felker Jones offers reflections and prayers to accompany us in the dark valley of Coronavirus. Avoiding simplistic platitudes, she faces the pain of this current moment head-on. And, with deep wisdom and vulnerability, brings the reader face to face with Jesus.”


—Emily H. McGowin, author of Quivering Families





“What a gift to have these devotions written by a wise theologian with a compassionate spirit and gift for words. Though written during a pandemic, they will inspire us to find hope in God whatever season of life we are in, since life is never as stable and predictable as we would like it to be. These devotions touched my heart, gave me courage, and led me to prayer.”


—L. Roger Owens, author of Threshold of Discovery: A Field Guide to Spirituality in Midlife