Here’s
a two-reader litany which intersperses Psalm 46 with contemporary
headlines. (It’s a bit dated – you’ll
want to update the headlines to reflect current events.) The litany comes from a service on the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.
Contemporary Litany
(based on Psalm 46)
God
is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble . . .
Suicide Bomber
attacks, two killed, ten injured in town square.
Therefore
we will not fear, though the earth give way
and
the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though
its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
Terrorists strike
again! Embassy bombed.
There
is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the
holy place, where the Most High dwells.
God
is within her, she will not fall.
God
will help her at break of day . . .
Africa hard hit by
AIDS; infections booming in Asia and Eastern Europe.
Nations
are in uproar, kingdoms fall . . .
Last Filipinos leave
Iraq; kidnapped soldier soon to be released.
He
lifts his voice, the earth melts . . .
Kidnappings rock
Palestinian government; emergency session called.
The
Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Financial dirt
discovered on big businesses; lawsuits pending.
Come
and see the works of the Lord,
the
desolations he has brought on the earth.
He
makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he
breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he
burns the shields with fire.
Martha Stewart gets
five months.
Be
still and know that I am God:
I
will be exalted among the nations,
I
will be exalted in the earth.
Thousands are dying
in Sudan; is it genocide?
The
Lord Almighty is with us;
the God
of Jacob is our fortress.
~ from My Refuge
and Strength: Psalm 46, posted on Calvin
Institute of Christian Worship.
http://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/service-my-refuge-and-strength-psalm-46/