We did it tonight to close out Passion Vespers. Time for silence after each bid for the royal priesthood of the baptized to offer their intercessions. Then I would stand, and speak out the collect, and they would amen. The next bid. Individual silent prayer. Collect and then Amen. Over and over again. It was a wonderful and refreshing way to pray. Dix was right. We lost something HUGE when we lost this manner of prayer. Sadly, I had no assisting minister tonight, so I read both the bids and the collect. Still, what a great time of prayer.
But shouldn't the normal prayers of intercession also be prayed this way in the Divine Service? I always call the congregation to prayer, "Let us pray for . . ." then leave a silence for them to actually pray before I say, "Lord in your mercy,".
ReplyDeleteOur people find it odd now when pastors rush through the prayers as if it were "his" prayer, not the collected prayers of all.
Likewise, at the Prayer of the Day, or the prayer after communion, I do the same thing, so that the people have a chance to pray themselves, not just the pastor voicing the communal prayer.
I think many have wrong-headedly tried to help this situation by putting the collects in the mouth of the congregation, but this was never their intent.
Jim,
ReplyDeleteYES - if one uses a prayer that has a bid as those do. But we do have other forms of prayer that are not built on bids.