By the Reverend Canon Lee Crawford
If you choose not to find joy in the snow,
you will have less joy,
but still the same amount of snow.
A Winter Litany
Let us pray to God, Saint Ditimar, Saint Bernard and all the saints…
From long lift lines and cranky people,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From stopped lifts and smoky cabins,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From sleet, graupel and freezing rain,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From sub-zero weather and negative wind chills,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From frozen fingers, toes and noses,
Spare us, Good Lord.
From broken bindings and bent poles,
Spare us, Good Lord.
From snow-cat ice and boiler plate,
Spare us, Good Lord.
From caught edges and death cookies,
Spare us, Good Lord.
For sunny days and long ski runs,
We pray to you, O God.
For warm toes, fingers and cores,
We pray to you, O God.
For hot chocolate and warm coffee,
We pray to you, O God.
For great uphill skinning, and safe and fun telemarking and riding,
We pray to you, O God.
For well-maintained trails,
We pray to you, O God.
For outdoor rides on VAST and happy walks with dogs,
We pray to you, O God.
For a safe season, that we all end up in one piece,
We pray to you, O God.
That you may protect all who work on the mountains—the “Guys in Black,” lift operators, ski patrollers, the Killington Rescue Squad, and EMTs
We pray to you, O God.
For all these things and those we do not know to ask,
We pray to you, O God.
(Saint Ditimar is the patron saint of winter, cold and snow. After 26 October, his feast day, expect the heavens to open with snow.)
A skier’s and rider’s prayer
Our Father who art in Blue Heaven,
hallowed be your Name.
Thy snowfalls come,
thy slopes be fun,
at Pico as they are at the Beast.
Give us this day our daily passes,
and forgive us our off-trail trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass in lift lines.
Lead us not into temptation without Rime or Reason,
but deliver us from rainstorms and Helter Skelter.
For thine is the powder and the Glades, forever and ever.
Amen
The Rev’d Canon Lee Alison Crawford, Vicar, is from the Church of Our Saviour the Episcopal Church on Mission Farm Road, in Killington.
