Crafting prayers for Sunday worship, weddings, or secular public events is not as easy as it looks. Stookey takes much of the mystery out of the process, reflects on the nature of prayer---its forms, mechanics, and vocabulary---then provides concrete exercises for editing your own prayers. Quite practical.

Stookey seeks to relieve the anxiety of inexperienced leaders of public prayer and the discomfort of those with and for whom they pray in this practical guide to the art of praying in public.

The book has three parts.  First, Stookey offers reflections on the nature of prayer, utilizing the image of a flow of energy.  Second, he discusses the forms, mechanics, and vocabularies of prayer. His analysis brims with insight and practical application.  Third, and most importantly, he provides concrete exercises in editing prayers. The reader is challenged to mark prayer texts and then to compare her or his own work with the author's as Stookey points out the particular issues that the exercises highlights.

The book is clearly organized, economically written, and easy to use. Those who read carefully and complete the exercises will gain significant experience in crafting prayers to which the whole congregation can respond with an enthusiastic "Amen".

Laurence Hull Stookey is Professor Emeritusof Preaching and Worship, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington,D.C., and Pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church in Allen, MD. He has authored the following books for Abingdon: Eucharist: Christ's Feast With the Church; Calendar: Christ's Time for the Church; Baptism: Christ's Act in the Church; Let the Whole Church Say Amen; and This Day: A Wesleyan Way of Prayer.

also trylstookey@wesleyseminary.edu

http://www.christianbook.com/let-the-whole-church-say-amen/laurence-stookey/9780687090778/pd/90776

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