The Canterbury Book of New Parish Prayers

M. J. Kramer

Description

This collection of around 500 original collect-style prayers and biddings covering the life of the Church and the life of the world. Contemporary in focus and language, the prayers are written in a concise style that makes them ideal for public worship but will also appeal to those who wish to pray privately but struggle to find the words.
Prayer topics include:
• The Church Year and Festivals
• The Global and Local Church
• The Environment and Social Justice
• Politics and the Leaders of the Nations
• Life Stages
• Spheres of Work, Arts and Education
• Suffering and Tragedy
Helpful guidance on leading public prayer and writing your own collects is also included.

Sujets

• Christian Living
• Philosophie et théologie
• Prayer
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Hymns Ancient & Modern
• Date de parution: 29 janvier 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781786223050
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Canterbury Book of New Parish Prayers
Collects for the Church and for the World
M. J. Kramer





© M. J. Kramer 2021
First published in 2021 by the Canterbury Press Norwich
Editorial office
3rd Floor, Invicta House
108–114 Golden Lane
London EC1Y 0TG, UK
www.canterburypress.co.uk
Canterbury Press is an imprint of Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd (a registered charity)

Hymns Ancient & Modern® is a registered trademark of Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd
13A Hellesdon Park Road, Norwich,
Norfolk NR6 5DR, UK
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, Canterbury Press.
The Author has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the Author of this Work
Concluding Texts and Seasonal Blessings from Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England © The Archbishops’ Council 2000.
Common Worship: Times and Seasons © The Archbishops’ Council 2006.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
978-1-78622-303-6
Typeset by Regent Typesetting
Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Group (UK) Ltd





This book of prayers is dedicated to
all who have suffered and died
in the COVID-19 Pandemic and
to all who have cared for them.




Contents
Introduction
The Purpose of this Book
Using this Book to Lead Others in Prayer
Using this Book for Personal Prayer
Acknowledgements
Part 1 The Church Year
Advent
Advent – The Great O Antiphons
Christmas
Epiphany
Baptism of Christ
Candlemas
Lent: Penitence & Forgiveness
Lent: Growth in Grace
Lent: Pilgrimage & Guidance
Mothering Sunday (The Fourth Sunday of Lent)
Passiontide & Holy Week
Easter
Ascension
Pentecost
Trinity Sunday
Corpus Christi
Ordinary Time – First Sunday after Trinity
Harvest Festival
Christ the King

Festivals & Observances
Part 2 Prayers for the Life of the Church
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH COMMUNITY
The Universal Church
The Persecuted Church
The Unity of the Church
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
The Local Church
A Diocese
A Cathedral Church
A Church Building
Our Welcome
Our Worship
Church Music
Church Musicians
A Church Choir
Bell Ringers
Church People
Church Leaders
The Ordained Ministry
Preachers
Ministry to the Military
Beginnings & Endings
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
Prayer
Our Prayer Life
Prayer & Service
Times of Prayer
Prayer – at morning
Prayer – at evening
The Companionship of God
The Pilgrimage of Life
The Guidance of God
Discipleship
Faithfulness to our Calling
Our Discipleship Leading to Service of our World
The Call to Serve Others
Learning God’s Lesson of Love
Evangelism
All Christians as Evangelists
Missionaries & Evangelists
Service & Public Good
Part 3 Prayers for the Life of the World
The Environment
THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD
Peace
Unity
Leaders of the Nations
International Leaders
Leaders of this Nation
Political Life
Elections
Politicians
The Rule of Law & the Administration of Justice
The Rule of Law
The Administration of Justice
Social Justice
Oppression
Violence
Challenging Times
A Time of Fear
A Time of Transition
Our Nation
Local Community
ORGANIZATIONS
Charities
HUMAN LIFE IN OUR WORLD
Family Life & The Seasons of Life
Family Life
Children
Youth
Marriage
Motherhood & Pregnancy
The Gift of a Child & Parenthood
The Elderly
Human Tragedy
Human Tragedy of All Kinds
Natural Disasters
Terrorism
Acts of Violence
War
The Suffering & Marginalized
Abuse
Betrayal
Depression & Despondency
The Dying & Those Who Mourn
The Homeless
Immigrants & Refugees
The Lonely
Those in Need
The Poor
Those in Pain
The Sick & their Carers
Wholeness & Healing
Areas of Human Endeavour
The Arts
Construction Work & Construction Workers
Emergency & Security Services
Farming
Finance
The Media
Medicine
Rest & Travel
Science & Scholarship
Sport
Work & Unemployment
Education
Teaching & Learning: Students
Teaching & Learning: Teachers
School Life: End of Year
Social Virtues
Civility & Kindness
Encouragement & Gratitude
Equality & an End to Prejudice
Hope
Open-mindedness & Tolerance
Social Harmony
Wisdom

Writing Your Own Collects
The Character of a Collect
Concluding Texts
Seasonal Blessings




Introduction
The Purpose of this Book
One of my responsibilities as the Precentor at Canterbury Cathedral is to lead the prayers at Evensong every day. When I looked for resources to assist with this ministry, I found that classic prayer collections often now sound dated in both style and subject matter, and that many contemporary published prayers were too lengthy, and too intimate in tone, to be used effectively in a public context. This led me to write my own collect-style prayers for Evensong each night, and these prayers, prayed here day by day in this Mother Church of the Anglican Communion, provide the core of this collection.
The purpose of this book is to enable you to find, with the minimum of effort, a bidding and a prayer for a wide range of topics. It is ideal for those leading public worship, school assemblies and public meetings at which prayers are offered, and I hope it is also of use to people who wish to include formal prayers in their times of personal reflection.
The pages that follow contain prayers for the seasons and festivals of the church year, aspects of the Christian life, and the needs of the Church and the world. The collection covers topics familiar from older prayer books, such as the unity of the Church, peace and social justice, but also includes a range of prayers on subjects that have come to the fore in more recent years, such as evangelism, the environment, mental health and the challenges of combatting prejudice and discrimination in our society. The style is contemporary but relatively formal, enabling the prayers to fulfil the traditional role of collects, collecting into one the intercessions and meditations of the people.
Using this Book to Lead Others in Prayer
This prayer book aims to make the lives of those who pray a little easier, and so I encourage all who use it to adapt the biddings and prayers to their own needs in whatever way they wish. For those who are new to leading prayers in public, there is some guidance provided below, and some suggestions for how the book might be used to support private prayer.
Selecting from the prayers
The first principle in leading formal prayers is that they should be brief. At a service of Evensong, I would tend to limit myself to two prayers. At a school assembly or a public meeting, a single bidding and prayer may well be enough. On a very special occasion, where a number of topics need to be addressed (for example when someone is taking on a new role, or when a group is leaving the community), three might be used. If more than this are read on a single occasion the amount of words used, and the repeated nature of the collect form, make it hard to maintain the prayerful interest of those who have gathered. The combination of a small number of prayers together with moments of silence is often far more effective than a mountain of words, however beautifully composed.
The second principle is striking a balance between prayers for the Church and prayers for the world. One of each is a good solution, and the division of the prayers between Parts 2 and 3 of the book encourages this balanced approach. On feast days, or in particular church seasons, the special prayers provided towards the front of the volume are a good starting point, and a number of them are cross-referenced to a complementary prayer that speaks to a need in the world. At other times, the readings set for the service, the nature of the act of worship, particular concerns of the local church or community, or current affairs may well suggest which sections of this book to explore.
The third principle in selecting prayers is ensuring that a variety of needs are being addressed in intercessions over time. A casual look down the list of Contents may be a helpful reminder of topics that have not recently been addressed in prayer, and may help those leading worship to avoid the temptation simply to repeat what has become a hackneyed list of concerns.
Leading the prayers
Preparation
For those new to leading prayers, it is ideal to read the chosen biddings and prayers out loud in private before doing so in public. This enables the reader to get the flow of the sense correct, and also to jot down any additions or changes that are desired. This preparation will enable the prayers to be delivered with confidence and fluency, and help those listening to concentrate on what is being said, rather than the way it is being delivered.
Structure and silence
When leading th