Archbishop Thabo Makgoba has made a renewed and urgent call for prayer after the news that coronavirus infections reached a new daily record high in South Africa on Wednesday.

The South African Department of Health announced that there had been 21,832 new coronavirus infections in a 24-hour period, the highest daily number since the outbreak of the pandemic. Noting the “grim milestone”, it said the total cumulative number of cases had risen to 1,149,591.

The Archbishop said in a note to the Bishops of the Province: “The second wave of Covid-19 is harsher and fierce. It calls for us to be more vigilant and perhaps make a call to our respective dioceses for a day of prayer again or to intensify soaking our countries in prayer.”

He also re-published prayers for use in the Province which he composed during the first wave of the pandemic last year.

Daily noon-time prayer

God bless the world,
Give it wisdom at this time,
Grant us relief and release,
Be with those who are ill,
And bless the carers fighting this pandemic,
For Jesus Christ’s sake,
Amen

Prayer to conclude worship

Lord God, in this season of fear and uncertainty,
as we face the threat of the coronavirus,
Grant us the wisdom and determination to walk in one another’s shoes,
The confidence and the humility to draw closer to you and to those affected,
Empower us to pastor those who are ill, to weep for the dead, to support the healers and to care for and love one another.
And the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with us all, now and always.
Amen