Praying the Scriptures: Litanies for Sunday Worship

The Prayers of the People is the place where liturgy is most likely to lose energy. Of course, that should not be the case; it is a great privilege to offer our prayers to God as a congregation. But the Book of Common Prayer provides a limited number of forms and, although it also provides guidelines for composition of original prayers, many parishes have prayed just a couple of the forms over and over again for 35 years.

Williamson began to compose these new prayers for his parish, posting them on a blog as they were used each Sunday. He discovered in the process that the congregational urge to move beyond the Prayer Book's six forms is a common one. These new prayers bring freshness to corporate prayer, carrying the lectionary-based themes of the hymns, lessons, and sermon into the service, creating a fresh and focused worship experience.