All worship planners


Liturgical resources for using lament in worship


Practical, concrete ideas by Laura Jaquith Bartlett


S


o you’ve read the psalms of lament and you’re convinced that it’s benefi cial to include expressions of grief, pain, and frustration in worship ... but how? Here are some concrete resources for litur- gies that focus on lament. T e prayers and litanies below can be freely used, along with a citation


noting Laura Jaquith Bartlett as the author (remember that published pieces such as songs and Scrip- ture need copyright permission to be printed in a bulletin or worship slide).


Prayer of Confession T is idea works nicely during


a service of lament, but it can be used any time confession is part of the liturgy. T e basic idea is adapt- able to any prayer of confession, since the musical underscoring can easily be shortened or length- ened. T e song to be used is by Swee Hong Lim of the Philippines, number 2277 in T e Faith We Sing. Introduce the prayer by


instructing the congregation that, each time they hear the phrase “Lord, we sing our prayer to you,” they will respond by singing the fi rst two lines of “Lord, Have Mer- cy.” Begin the prayer by singing the


two lines; this also gives people a chance to learn the melody before the prayer really gets started. Especially if you are projecting the words alone for the song, be sure to have a competent cantor to lead the congregation as they sing. Aſt er the fi rst eight measures


__________________________________________________________________________________________________ January-February 2014 • WorshipArts • www.UMFellowship.org


of singing, the piano (or guitar) continues quietly, playing a simple d minor arpeggio while the litur- gist or pastor speaks the words of the prayer. T e prayer text does not need to be printed in the bul- letin or worship slides, as long as the “cue line” (Lord, we sing our prayer to you) is clear, and the can-


continues with repeated arpeg- gios in d minor while the spoken prayer is off ered:


15


tor and accompanist are in sync as they lead the people into their sung response. Great Creator, you have


showered us with giſt s of beauty all around. We confess that too oſt en we are busy, distracted, focused on the tasks at hand. For the times we ignore the beauty of your creation, forgive us. Lord, we sing our prayer to you. [Congregation sings: Lord, have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.] Again, the accompaniment


UMNS photo by Mike DuBose


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40