Tips for leading a prayer

"People do not wish to be 'prayed at,'" declares Sister Katherine "Kitty" Hanley, CSJ.

Catholics who turn out for church meetings and events don't mind beginning the gatherings with a prayer, she continued, but they want that prayer to be "user-friendly, simple and Scriptural."

Sister Kitty is the new director of St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry in Albany, the Albany Diocese's graduate school for theology. She plans to have the school sponsor events open to everyone in the Diocese, and the first will be a workshop on "Inviting One Another to Prayer."

Beginning

Having served many parishes around the Diocese, particularly through her previous position on the diocesan Vocations Team, Sister Kitty said she "constantly" heard Catholics worrying about having to lead prayer.

"I'm responsible for prayer," parishioners would complain, "and I don't just want to take a prayer out of a book."

Often, Sister Kitty said, people would ask her to take on the "prayer-leading" duty, because they assumed that, as a woman religious, she wouldn't be afraid to do so. She believes many Catholics feel unworthy to take the lead in inviting others to prayer.

Resources

"People asked, 'Is there a book that tells me what to do?'" Sister Kitty recalled.

Sometimes, she said, finding a prayer in a book isn't a bad idea, and she recommends spiritual writers like Edward Hays, whose books include "Prayers for the Domestic Church."

However, she cautioned, many "prayer leaders" make the mistake of getting too enthusiastic about their duty. They don't just read a prayer, but also add in everything that's ever impressed them spiritually. Thus, meeting-goers may encounter a deluge of candles, readings, music, blessings and the like.

Practical ideas

In her workshop, Sister Kitty plans to offer many practical tips on inviting others to prayer. She shared just a few:

* Pay attention to the space: Try turning chairs to face one another.

* Prepare: If you're planning to use music, play the CD first to make sure it works. If you want to read from the Bible, go over the reading beforehand so you'll know where to pause, how to pronounce difficult words and whether language has to be changed to be inclusive of everyone present.

* Create a prayerful atmosphere: Make a "prayer space" in the middle of the table -- something as simple as putting the Bible on a cloth, or placing your favorite African violet where everyone can see it.

* Choose appropriate Scripture passages: Think about what might relate to the work you're coming together to do -- for example, a pastoral council meeting might start with a reading from the Acts of the Apostles about gathering the first Christian community.

* Keep it simple: "If I read three verses of a psalm and we're quiet for a minute, that's wonderful," said Sister Kitty. She also suggested everyone simply holding up their meeting materials and saying, "God, bless this work."

Eager to pray

"A good leader always invites people to prayer," Sister Kitty concluded. The prayer leader "may be the only person whose voice you hear, but we are all praying."

If Catholics aren't bowled over by lengthy and complex prayers, she added, they're usually eager to pray together.

"I've been in a lot of parishes, and I've learned people are deeply prayerful," she noted. "When you ask people what they want an evening of reflection about, 90 percent of the time, they say, 'Prayer.' People want to be called to prayer."

(The workshop will be held Nov. 14, 7-8:30 p.m., at the Pastoral Center in Albany. The cost -- $10/person or $25/three-person team from a parish -- includes materials. Call 453-6760 or email [email protected].)

(11/3/05) [[In-content Ad]]