Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals

by Shane Claiborne

Ebook, 2010

Status

Available

Call number

264.15

Publication

Zondervan (2010), 593 pages

Description

Common Prayer helps today's diverse church pray together across traditions and denominations. With an ear to the particulars of how various liturgical traditions pray, and using an advisory team of liturgy experts, the authors have created a tapestry of prayer that celebrates the best of each tradition. The book also includes a unique songbook composed of music and classic lyrics to over fifty songs from various traditions, including African spirituals, traditional hymns, Mennonite gathering songs, and Taize chants. Tools for prayer are scattered throughout to aid those who are unfamiliar with liturgy and to deepen the prayer life of those who are familiar with liturgical prayer. Ultimately, Common Prayer makes liturgy dance, taking the best of the old and bringing new life to it with a fresh fingerprint for the contemporary renewal of the church. Churches and individuals who desire a deeper prayer life and those familiar with Shane Claiborne and New Monasticism will enjoy the tools offered in this book as a fresh take on liturgy.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member StephenBarkley
It’s quite a pretentious act to review a prayerbook. I believe that God loves talking with his children no matter what sort of liturgical language they use, so who am I to say these prayers are “good” or “bad”? Here’s another problem: It’s next to impossible (as well as completely
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fruitless) to read through a year of prayers in a few weeks.

Here’s what I did. Before this book arrived, I was following Phyllis Tickle’s The Divine HoursTM Pocket Edition in my personal prayer life. I’m a Pentecostal who has developed a love for liturgical prayer. Over the last few weeks, I’ve substituted Common Prayer into my normal routine. Here’s the report on what I’ve experienced.

Common Prayer has prayers for three times of the day:

1. Midday: There’s only one prayer for midday, but it’s simple and centering. It reminds you of the beatitudes and gives you an opportunity to meditate. I’ve enjoyed incorporating this into my work-week.
2. Evening: There are seven prayers for the evening (one for each day of the week). While there’s nothing wrong with them, I still prefer Tickle’s Compline Office to close the day.
3. Morning: Here’s where this volume shines. Claiborne and company have provided prayers for each day of the year. Each month has a certain theme (based loosely around his marks of new monasticism). Each day reminds you of a saint (traditional or otherwise) who has made an impact for the Kingdom.

Claiborne’s blatant dismissal of our society’s love for warmongering along with his clear passion for godliness make this an excellent volume. Here’s the best thing I can say about it: I plan on using it throughout the whole year for my morning prayers.

One last thing. The production quality of the book is very high. The cloth-bound cover with embossed cross along with graphically illustrated pages throughout make this a lovely book to hold and to use.

Disclaimer: A free review copy of this book was provided for me by Zondervan.
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Language

Original publication date

2010

ISBN

9780310326212
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