Meeting Prayers

Meeting Prayers is a practical compilation of prayers which set a spiritual atmosphere for the beginning and end of meetings.

Meeting Prayers incorporates the needs of the faith community with the spiritual needs of participants at meetings. These prayers flow from a wide selection of scriptural and literary sources. Celebrating the unity and diversity of the members in the community, each prayer appeals to the often puzzling experience of individual needs conflicting with the needs of the community.

Moving with each month of the year, Meeting Prayers lends support to the spiritual life of each participant who attends faith-building meetings. Each prayer includes a short introduction and background that follows the spirit of the liturgical year. The prayers bind the participant to the mystery and poetry that each season brings.

A practical resource, Meeting Prayers can be used for all meetings of a church organization, special gatherings of the faith community, and for personal reflection. The collection is thematically arranged and indexed for use in a variety of gatherings. Chapters are Prayers for Each Month of the Year," *Prayers for the End of Meetings, - and *Prayers in Anticipation of a Critical Meeting. -

Philip A. Verhalen, PhD, teaches Christian Life Cycles at Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma, Washington. He is the author of Prayers for the Classroom, published by Liturgical Press.

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814627722
• ISBN13: 9780814627723
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Length: 104 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Very useful (and mundane)

While Meeting Prayers does not distinguish itself with inspired introductions or prayers, it does provide solid and useful meditations to open meetings. Most are prayers only in the sense of placing the meeting in the presence of God, of reminding participants of their place in God's work (and vice versa.)The format is generally a few lines of introduction followed by a reading - many Scriptural, many from well-known poets, a few from Anthony deMello's stories, a few from the Oxford Book of Prayers (Tennyson, Wordsworth, Teasdale...) and a smattering of other sources. Two prayers caught my attention as being unfamiliar and excellent: "For the bread that we have eaten / For the wine that we have tasted ..." from Contemporary Prayers for Public Worship and "Come, Lord Jesus, come! / Let the day come, Lord, / when our misery / will find your mercy." from Archbishop Oscar Romero.Prayers for the end of meetings follow the same format. They are short and familiar. There are also Prayers in Anticipation of a Critical Meeting in a similar format.While the core of the book is organized by month, in general that organization is contrived. November and December being exceptions. For most meetings one could easily select from any of the months.For its intended use, this volume is very servicable.