Dear Friends,

At our annual Council meeting in February Bishop Haynes addressed three key areas she feels that we as individuals and congregations need to focus our attention. These three areas are: prayer, service and community. Ironically, this fits perfectly with our mission statement which includes worship, outreach and fellowship.

As we enter the Lenten season which begins with Ash Wednesday on March 5, I thought this may be a good opportunity for us to focus on the discipline of prayer. Most individuals will say that their prayer life is better when going through a personal struggle or challenge but it should be good every day. Daily prayer as a practice is something to be developed with intentional focus. Implementing this practice during Lent helps to turn the routine into a habit over the course of the forty days.

A great place to start a routine prayer practice is with the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). The Daily Offices (Morning Prayer: Rite I, page 37 and Rite II, page 75. Evening Prayer: Rite I, page 61, Rite II, page 115) are intended for our weekday worship. You may read the prayers from the BCP or listen online at the following sites: mydailyoffice.org or missionstclare.com. During Lent we will be offering Morning Prayer at 8:45 AM every Wednesday in the Church.

Also in the BCP (page 136) you will find Daily Devotions for Individuals and Families. I find these to be great for beginning and ending the day. From “In The Morning”, one of my favorite pleas comes from The Collect – “and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose;”. Starting on page 810 are Prayers and Thanksgivings for most occasions.

Whether or not I am using the BCP for my daily worship, I always make sure to include the five areas of prayer that I refer to as my “finger” prayers: 1. For my family and for me. 2. Intercessions for others. 3. Praise and glory to God. 4. Forgiveness of my sins. 5. Thanksgivings.

Another important consideration is having a set place for your prayers. Many folks have shared with me that they have a prayer chair or space in their home dedicated for worship. The space doesn’t have to be anything spectacular, but it is nice to have a place with fewer distractions.

Our prayer postures are another area of focus for a better prayer life. The Rev. Summer Joy Gross stated in her article “Praying Through Busyness”: “Prayer postures are invitations to stay present to deep inner work as our bodies remind our hearts to pray.” Prayer postures can include kneeling, leaning forward, unfolding legs and placing hands palms up, folding your hands and bowing your head, lifting your head face up, standing with or without arms raised and many others. The intentional act of changing your posture is a wonderful starting point for your personal prayer time.

Useful tools for praying can be using the Anglican Rosary, holding a prayer cross, prayer beads or labyrinth.

If you have any questions or want to explore the areas I have highlighted above, please let me know. This Lenten season I think that you will find me in the new Prayer Garden at church very often. I hope to see you there!

Blessings,
Gini+