JANUARY 2024


• Intercessions (prepared and spontaneous). “For whom or for what else do we pray this day/night?”


• Prayers of praise, gratitude and thanksgiving. “For what are we thankful this night/day?” While much of our prayer is often intercessory in nature, remember to offer prayers of praise and gratitude!


• Prayers for healing, wholeness, and restoration. “Who is hurting or struggling in your choir?” In my experience, almost everyone!


• Invite prayer requests. Prayer requests can be shared at choir, by phone, or through text or a group email.


When I open up the prayer for intercessions from the group, towards the end, I will most often include a petition for the sick. We might begin, “For all of our sick and those suffering in body, mind, or spirit, especially for those whom we name this night/day . . .” Allow choir members to mention names with no need for a response. After you sense that all have had time to offer names for prayers, simply say, “For these and those whose names are held in our hearts . . . we pray to the Lord.”


You may also have a member of your music ministry who is a good leader of prayer. Consider having a rotation of several members who can lead with ease. Some members of your music ministry might also serve as lectors. Let them occasionally read a brief scripture used for prayer. Choir members can be excellent leaders of prayer. Te director doesn’t need to always serve as leader of prayer but should work to enable others to assist sometimes.


Brief periods of silence in


our common prayer As silence is important in music, so too with group prayer. Small and measured periods of silence of one to three minutes can be an awesome gift to the group from time to time. You will need to prepare your group by letting them know that they will sing a particular song and then have several minutes of silence to rest in God’s presence. Consider singing a simple song such as John Bell’s “Take, O Take Me as I Am.” Sing it several times and then pause for several minutes of prayerful silence. Conclude the time of silence with one more repetition of the “prayer song.”


Praying before the liturgy begins


Prayer with your choir or ensemble on a Saturday evening or Sunday morning before the liturgy begins can be a moment of silence, a brief prayer offering for all that we do in the liturgy, a prayer inspired by the Lectionary, or a few phrases from one of the hymns, songs, or anthems for the day. Sometimes I recite part of Psalm 150: “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!”


Some would argue that we do not need to pray before Mass begins as we will surely be praying throughout the Mass, but I find it a good practice to at least center the group in simple, prayerful ways to prepare their hearts for the work and beauty of the liturgy. Simply joining hands and breathing in deeply together is prayer. I find that thirty to sixty seconds of silence together (perhaps with all joining hands) before a liturgy begins has great centering capacity for choirs and ensembles. While no words other than an “Amen” are needed, I will sometimes conclude the silence with a brief phrase from the Gospel of the day.


Praying together throughout


the liturgical year Consider your choir year or season, and think of different ways to pray with your music ministry as you move through the liturgical year. What follows are a few ideas to use throughout the year.


Fall: Welcoming the new choir season and the Season of Creation


Create a simple prayer of welcome to begin the first rehearsal of the season. Have a blessing for new and returning members. If you sing year-round, mark the new beginnings that come with fall.


Season of Creation, September 1–October 1


For the past number of years, our parish and in turn our choirs, have focused on singing and praying about creation and our call to deepen our care and stewarding of creation. Tis entailed learning new hymns that sing of creation care. While a majority of our prayer time is typically offered in the rehearsal and church space, depending upon the weather, it might be a good choice to go outdoors and sing on the parish green or in the parish community garden if you have one.


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