I was attending an online Board meeting this week and participated in a form of Morning Devotions from “Daily Prayer for all Seasons,” a compilation of daily devotional services designed for use throughout the day: morning, noon, evening, and nighttime. These services were prepared by a team of Episcopalians from all over the United States. Much like the “Daily Devotions for Individuals and Families” found in the Book of Common Prayer (pages 137-140), “Daily Prayer for all Seasons” was developed for “all of us, clergy and laity, who think we’re too busy to pray.”
I love the liturgies and forms in the Book of Common Prayer. The Daily Offices of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer have been the foundation of my prayer life and formation for my entire adult life, and especially my years as an ordained member of the Episcopal Church. I am unlikely to abandon the prayer forms that have formed me as a Christian and an Episcopalian. However, it can be spiritually refreshing to engage new forms of prayer.
“Daily Prayer for all Seasons” is an authorized resource for Episcopalians to use in their daily prayer life. They are NOT intended to be used as the principal form of public worship on a Sunday morning; however, they are an excellent resource for other gatherings, small groups, or individual prayer practice.
Each Service includes a “Meditation” with questions for reflection.
In the Season of Easter, the morning service from “Daily Prayer for all Seasons” offers this Meditation from Julia McCray-Goldsmith:
“The Trouble with Easter”
But…I want the tomb full, like temple or tent —
with the Holy enshrouded in fabric un-rent.
Yes, I want death preserved in sweet-smelling spice;
not my neighbor perspiring the aroma of Christ.
How will we together embrace the gift of life in all its fullness today?
Easter is the promise of hope and new life in our resurrected Lord. Easter calls us to see the resurrected Lord in our neighbor, in the world, and in ourselves, and to love and serve despite the wounds of crucifixion and the smell of human suffering, need, and difference that abide.
You can download and save a free copy of “Daily Prayer for all Seasons” here:
