Prayers/Litanies
Mapping Our Prayers
Here is a great idea I learned from our church’s youth group led by my friend and amazing youth group leader, Anne Clift. To help people connect their prayers with place, as part of a youth-led service, a family service, on Sunday morning, or anytime you are praying with a group, try this: Before a service, get a wall map or two (the bigger the better) of your state, country, and/or the world. Mount the map(s) on a cork board and place in an accessible place in your worship space. (If you have more than one map, consider spreading...
read moreA Prayer for a Town Meeting
In Vermont, we have something called “Town Meeting Day.” What’s that? Well, it the day each year when many towns in our state hold their annual town meetings (1st Monday in March). Some towns still invite a local pastor to begin the meeting with a prayer of invocation. Praying in this setting can be tricky. What do we pray for? How do we bring our authentic selves to the prayer while also recognizing the diversity that will be present in the room? Below is a prayer that I have used in my town of Underhill, VT and...
read morePrayer for a Legislative Session
In Vermont, our State House of Representatives begins each daily session with an opening devotional of some kind. Often, this devotional is a prayer delivered by a Vermont pastor. The first time I had the privilege of leading prayer in this setting I had no idea what to expect, what to do, or what to say. Of course, many in the room are not Christians. Certainly, some are uneasy with a Christian prayer, prayed to begin a secular legislative session. No doubt, there is much to think about when writing and delivering a prayer like this....
read morePrayer for a Food Shelf Distribution
The custom in our local food shelf is to begin our monthly distributions with announcements and a prayer led by a representative of one of our supporting churches. Not all food shelf distributions begin with a prayer, few of us lead a prayer in this setting often (if ever) and so praying in this setting may be unfamiliar for both clergy and laypeople. How does one lead a time of prayer that is meaningful and appropriate for a diverse group such as this? Below is a prayer that I have used and which I offer to you for your reflection and...
read morePrayer for Cub Scout Blue & Gold
Below is a prayer that was delivered at a Cub Scout “Blue & Gold” banquet. It could be easily adapted to a variety of settings and circumstances. Pausing for a moment at the beginning of this Blue and Gold banquet let us still our bodies, quiet our minds, and let us be in a spirit of prayer. God of the journey…we invite you into our presence this evening… …to join us as we celebrate the labor…the commitment… …and the dedication of our young people and their families. As you have done all along…walk with us tonight… …as we...
read moreWhispered Word
I was on a retreat in July of 2016 in Asheville, NC. One of our retreat leaders was Heidi Miller, a professor of Christian Worship at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas with connections also to the Missional Wisdom Foundation. During our retreat, Heidi told us that during worship one day she whispered a scripture verse into one worshiper’s ear and then asked him to pass it on. Soon the verse was spreading through the congregation, causing anticipation and excitement. After hearing this idea I asked Heidi if I could try it in my...
read moreThrough the Church Year
Below is a detailed liturgy for a single Sunday morning service that walks a congregation through the entire Church calendar from Advent through Reign of Christ. Through Word, explanation, and song, this service is a worshipful way to educate and to help a multi-generational congregation to participate in the rhythms and patterns of the liturgical year. It was originally used in 2006 for a United Church of Christ congregation in Massachusetts. (Note: *= Stand as you are able) Order of Worship Prelude & Meditation Time Greetings,...
read moreLeading Silence
A number of years ago while on a mission trip, I was planning a weekday morning worship service with youth and adults. We were assigning people to lead various elements but when we got to the end of the liturgy, I realized we had one youth left who had not yet been assigned a part. So, out of necessity, I said, “OK, ‘Frank’, why don’t you lead the silent prayer?” To which Frank responded, “how do I do that?” It was a good and profound question, of course. I mean, how do we lead silence? Is that...
read moreWhat You Have: A Prayer-Poem for the Season of Epiphany
Below is a prayer-poem I wrote for the season of Epiphany, which is all about SEEING. This could certainly be used at any time in the church calendar when temperatures cool and snow falls… What You Have It’s hard to know what you have. the field behind my home is fertile and open an expanse of grass and hay. every now and then I’ll see a dog out for a walk or a cat lazing about or a few friends playing catch. And then it snows. by midmorning there are ski tracks and deer tracks and boot prints and paw ...
read moreInvocation for Advent Festival of Choirs
A few years ago I was invited to deliver a prayer of invocation to begin a local festival of choirs on the first Saturday of Advent. This annual festival is now a little over ten years old and includes ~7 choirs (sacred and secular) from around our area. It is well attended and brings in a wide cross section of our community members. Writing a prayer of invocation for such an occasion is not as simple as it might seem as there is much to do in a short time! Below is a sample prayer which acknowledges the nature of the gathering, gives...
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