Pacific InterChristian Community The Prayers of …

1 1 Pacific InterChristian CommunityThe Prayers of the People Tips for prayer - LeadersDear Friends,Your participation in leading Prayers for others is greatly valued. Youare welcome to make use of the sample Prayers below for ideas. Prayers written for the Community belong to everyone, and needn'tbe something new . On the other hand, we are encouraged to prayfrom the heart, and to pay close attention to current issues, situationsand persons we can support through our feel free to contribute your Prayers as a gift to others who maytake on the task of leadership. One easy way to do this is to sendthem via email to the Chair of the PIC Worship Team at With thanks, Pacific InterChristian Community Worship Team When the worship leader has been ordained to privileges of sacrament, our ritual meal can be1understood as a sacrament of the ecumenical Church.

2 However, lay leaders are always welcome to assistthe Community in sharing an agape meal. Functionally -- however we name it -- we honour the mysteryof holy presence in a ritual feast of abundance. 2 The Prayers of the People Tips for LeadersA note on Inclusive Language. Praying together inclusively brings healing to people'shearts including ours! PIC takes being inclusive seriously. We try to observe our Community sconsensus about using gender-inclusive language in worship. This doesn t mean we can toccasionally call God Father or call Jesus Lord , but we do try to expand the variety of imageswe use for the loving presence of the bit of background.

3 In a real way, all of worship and all of life is our prayer . Our specificprayers in worship just help us to focus our consciousness. The long prayer (or pastoral prayer )that some remember from childhood came from the Protestant Reformation of the 17 Century. Itthwas composed around the acronym ACTIS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Intercession( Prayers for others) and Supplication ( Prayers for ourselves.) The Liturgical Renewal Movementhas since inspired communities to divide this long prayer into several shorter and more focusedprayers. Each of these shorter Prayers invites our attentiveness in a particular way, and isgenerally offered at a particular point in the flow of flow of prayer in Community worship.

4 The sequence of smaller Prayers in theliturgy of the worldwide church goes like this:oThe Opening prayer (Adoration) expresses joy and trust that God will help us inmending the world. This prayer is often offered in a form called a collect which collects our longings and hopes. Since the structure of a collect prayer canbe useful in preparing the Prayers of the People, you will find tips for writing atraditional collect prayer toward the end of these notes. oA prayer for Healing and Renewal (Confession) helps us open our hearts to expresslament, regret, fear, grief and/or need, and find assurance in the Jesus and in Jesus'trust in a compassionate God.

5 These same needs may be met in the Centering Prayermeditation of PIC focus our Prayers of Thanksgiving at the table, as we offer our gifts and our lives toGod s work in the gather Prayers for others and ourselves into the Prayers of the People, (Intercessionand Supplication, more on this is a minute!)Praying aloud (or not!) The whole Community prays aloud: oAs we begin the Communion meal, we are invited to name aloud the things forwhich we give the silence at the end of the Prayers of the People, we are generally invited to comeforward, light a candle, and offer a prayer (for the world, for others or for ourselves) eithersilently or aloud.

6 Participants who are not comfortable with praying out loud should be reminded often that theyare welcome to pray without the Prayers of the People. PIC breaks bread together in a ritual meal every week. The Prayers of the People are offered1within the sequence of the Thanksgiving prayer that anticipates the feast. The world-churchpattern for the Prayers of the People can help us frame our thoughts and pray clearly. It alsohelps us to ensure a broad scope to our Prayers , and to remember people near and far valuing this pattern, PIC never wants to squelch the freedom of the Spirit!

7 So the followingsuggestions are meant to serve as helpful guides and not : oIt is helpful for the prayer -leader to prepare participants for the Prayers of the People, byletting them know exactly how they are invited to participate. Since we usually leave onesilence near the end of the prayer , during which we invite the people to light a candle andpray aloud, the following invitation illustrates a way to let people know what will happen: Let us join in prayer as the People of God. During the silence, you are invited to comeforward and light a candle, and to offer a prayer either silently or us oThe role of the prayer -leader is not to do all the praying, but to open areas of prayer sothat the people can pray.

8 You are welcome to make use of the world-church pattern forthe Prayers of the People, which has generally followed this the church universal (and all who seek )-for the world (peoples and leaders, peace, justice, and global ) -for the local Community (neighbourhood, city, province, )-for those in particular need (who are hungry, sick, lonely, in danger or ) -and sometimes a grateful prayer for those who have gone before us. oBe specific, concrete and current in at least some of your Prayers . What was inthe news this morning? The Prayers should also reflect the concerns and the needsof those related to the faith Community .

9 OAvoid preaching or gabbiness. Don t worry about filling in the background -- God alreadyknows it, and information can be shared with the rest of us later. oSome leaders include a response-pattern at the end of each petition. Our worship orderoften suggests that the pattern, Spirit of Holiness, reveal your love may be used. o While it s not inappropriate to include Prayers of lament or gratitude if you feel moved todo so, do remember your special role as a leader of Prayers for others and for ourselves. oFive or six petitions led by you should be the maximum. We can t cover all the basesevery to leave a silence for the people to come forward to light a candle and offertheir Prayers , and signal clearly when it is time for them to do the people do NOT name a person or situation that you feel should be included in theprayers on that day, feel free to include that prayer yourself before ending the silence.

10 OAfter the silence, when individuals have offered their Prayers , you can draw the gatheringinto the response-pattern which closes the Prayers of the People. You might want to saysomething like, Holy One, we trust in your love. (Now, the ) oTogether we await the fulfillment of Christ in healing, justice and peace for all , Jesus, come. (Sample Prayers )4 Sample Prayers of the People(Introduce the ) Let us join in prayer as the People of God. During the silence, you areinvited to come forward and light a candle, and to offer a prayer silently or us pray Loivng God, we pray for people throughout the world who long to know you.