Pastoral Prayers to Share, Year A

What about aRevised Common Lectionarybased book of pastoral prayers for clergy and lay leaders that provides responsive prayers for each Sunday of the year, including propers? David gets asked this question often when people recognize him as the author of the three volumes ofPrayers to Share. So, acknowledging that the pastoral prayer is often overlooked and undervalued, and that clergy and lay leaders may be hard-pressed for time to compose a fresh pastoral prayer each week, he has put together a unique and comprehensive collection of prayers that can be adapted to present circumstances and used in a variety of settings.

The prayers are responsive, written for one or two leaders and a congregational response. They all allow for the inclusion of local and worldwide current events, and individual and congregational concerns. David usually uses the weekly Gospel reading as the broad theme for the prayers and divides them into four easily identified sections:

• world
• suffering
• church
• ourselves

The "how to use" section covers preparing to offer pastoral prayer, and offers 12 ways to "do" pastoral prayer, such as:

• two leader congregational response
• using people and objects to dramatize a theme
• using part of a hymn for a lead or a response
• using silence for effect

Each week offers specific suggestions for two or three prayer formats.

Other features include:

• Thematic Index
• Scripture Index
• Icons in the margin to enable quick identification of prayer sections and alternate suggestions
• Data CD with text files for Year A