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LAST-MINUTE LITURGIES
Creating Prayerful Responses to the Unexpected
Donna M. Cole
Paper, $19.95
96 pages, 5½" × 8½"
ISBN 0-89390-588-7
View Table of Contents
View Excerpt
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Be prepared to lead an effective prayer service for any occasion. Your
community may feel the need to be able to respond quickly when something
major happens. Last Minute Liturgies can help train leaders in the
skills necessary to come up with a prayer service on short notice. Most
books on liturgical planning deal with the process of planning liturgy
as an ongoing, continuing process that sustains a prayer community on their
transformative journey. This book deals with the other end of the spectrum:
liturgies for any occasion and gathering, including emergencies. It will
show readers:
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how to use basic resources like the Lectionary, Sacramentary, and Book
of Blessings quickly and effectively.
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how to create a prayer service with music, symbols and light.
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how to involve the assembly in the liturgy.
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how to lead a prayer service with grace and dignity.
This book includes sample liturgies with step-by-step instructions for
memorials, prayer services, blessings and ecumenical gatherings.
Donna M. Cole has been active in parish liturgical ministry for 25 years
and holds a master's degree in pastoral ministry from Caldwell College.
She is the editor of Ministry & Liturgy magazine and has been
a regular contributor for many years. She has also authored a book entitled
Liturgical
Ministry: a Practical Guide to Spirituality (Resource Publications,
Inc., 1996).
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction: The Liturgical Emergency
Chapter 1: Understanding Liturgy
Chapter 2: Where to Begin
How to Declare a Liturgical Emergency
Determine the Nature of the Liturgical Emergency
Is It a Blessing, Prayer or Service?
Blessings
Prayers
Services
Why Being Prepared for Liturgical Emergencies Is Easier Than It Seems
Chapter 3: Resources and How to Use Them at the Last Minute
Book of Blessings
Catholic Household Blessings & Prayers
Sacramentary
The Liturgy of the Hours
Ordo
Lectionary
Concordance
Music Resources and Liturgical Indices
Other ritual books (The Order of Christian Funerals, Pastoral Care of the
Sick, A Ritual for Laypersons, etc.)
Old and Odd Books (St. Joseph’s Children’s Missal, Prayers for All People,
Episcopal Book of Common prayer, Prayers for Sundays and Seasons)
Web Resources
Anything You’ve Ever Used Before
Chapter 4: Environment: Stuff to Use to Create a Prayerful Space and
How to Arrange It—Censers, Candles, Plants, Books, Lighting, Music, etc.
Plants
Candles
Lighting and Outdoor Issues
Censers
Understanding Symbols
Chapter 5: How to Look Like You Know Exactly what You’re Doing
Who Can Do What at Prayer
Various Forms of Blessing (Ordained vs. Lay Forms of Blessings, or How
Not to Offend the Liturgical Police)
Other Things that Help: Sticky Notes and Binders
Networking and Using Resources
Easy Worship Aids
How To Get People Involved
Conclusion: Prayerful Responses to the Unexpected
Bibliography
Preface
Responding in prayer to an urgent situation is nearly a reflex. Even
people who claim no connection to any faith tradition are likely to exclaim
“Oh my God!” when confronted with crisis or tragedy. This may or may not
be actual prayer, but nevertheless it has the effect of invoking the name
of God, which is a large part of any act of prayer. In fact, in situations
of crisis and tragedy many of the people who are most drawn to common prayer
are those who have wandered from formal faith traditions. Part of the reason
this book evolved was to support the efforts of so many people who stepped
into leadership roles in the hours, days, and months immediately following
the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001. The desire for prayer at that time
stood beside an unprecedented sense of national unity. Unusual prayer needs
arose and unusual leaders stepped up to tend to those needs. Here in the
New York metropolitan area, people joined in prayer while standing in the
endless lines waiting to give blood for the wounded who never materialized.
They prayed on street corners lit by candlelight and draped in flags and
they sang songs that spoke of unity, pride, and hope. My own experience
during that time was, and continues to be, transformative. Within hours
following the first attack on the World Trade Center in New York City,
I left the safety of my “ordinary” world, along with so many others, to
respond to the tragedy that was unfolding. I serve with the United States
Coast Guard Auxiliary, the volunteer component of the Coast Guard, and
I soon found myself in New York Harbor in the midst of every human emotion.
Pain, fear, confusion and dread were tangible but the worst of all of that
was the simple unknown. We didn’t know what to expect, what would come
next, what we should try to defend against, how many might survive. Most
of all we didn’t know what to do or what to say. I have what once seemed
to many to be an odd custom. Along with my life vest, my safety and survival
gear, my charts, compass, radio, extra uniforms and all the other usual
equipment we all carry, I carry the Liturgy of the Hours in my gear bag.
On that day and on the days that followed, when there were no words, that
book, the universal prayer of the church, gave me the words that I needed
and that others needed to hear. Several months earlier, I had been appointed
chaplain for my unit; in that time and place I became a chaplain. Thomas
Merton, throughout his many journals, speaks of the challenge of learning
to be the person you have become. This experience was a prime example of
that evolution. Years of speaking the language of faith helped; my own
faith experience helped, having a book of prayer in my hands helped, yet
still, when faced with the explosions and pillars of smoke and the knowledge
of wasted human life, my own first response was still, “Oh my God.” And
then my God answered me. What came next was both the ability and the desire
to lead others in finding ways to interact with God in the unexpected moments
of life. I am a pastoral minister by vocation, a chaplain by circumstance,
and a lover of liturgy. Because of this, I was called upon to lead prayer
as all of us in uniform prayed for strength, courage, and the safety of
ourselves and our nation. At home I was inundated with requests from people
in all stages of the faith journey for prayer services and vigils, memorials,
and prayers of consolation. People wanted to pray spontaneously but they
also wanted material that would speak to the needs of all who gathered
to pray. They were looking for symbols that had stood the test of time
as well as those that would have to be created just for that moment and
place. They were looking for the words, the poetry, the music that would
reflect the intensity of the emotion of the time. In short, they were looking
for the resources that this book offers. Given the currently changing face
of ministry, especially liturgical ministry, many of those people seeking
answers were (and continue to be) persons whose formal training in liturgy
was limited but who were nevertheless leaders of prayer. Many of these
were laypeople. Fearful of doing “the wrong thing,” yet recognizing the
urgency of the need, they rose to the occasion. Thankfully, most of the
unexpected events to which we are called to respond in prayer are events
with far less global impact. Although our prayer responses may reflect
sadness we are also called at times to reflect the joy and playfulness
that our God delights in sharing with us. Although the inspiration for
this book was a profoundly tragic event, most of my experiences of responding
to the unexpected have been joyful. Even if the event was one that provoked
sadness, the process of preparing for and engaging in prayer always happens
in the place that God has prepared for me. In that place, God and I rejoice.
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