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Introduction
In the opening section of our worship we are gathered into the presence of God who is beyond all description, we sing our praise and we pray. This page introduces two ways in which opening prayers can be shaped: an ancient tradition and a contemporary approach. The opening prayers we say together are designed to begin the journey we undertake in worship. They declare the greatness of God in praise, adoration and thanksgiving, but they also remind us of our need of God. As we acknowledge the greatness of God, we also acknowledge the condition of the world in which we live and of which we are a part; so we confess our need of God and ask for the grace of forgiveness and renewal. Opening prayers may also introduce the theme for our worship by reference to the scripture texts we are to hear later.
An Ancient Tradition: Gloria, Kyrie and Collect
The opening prayers begin with the glory of God in a prayer called the Gloria (normally sung by everyone). Notice how this hymn of praise begins the move to confession.
Glory to God in the highest
and peace to God’s people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
The Kyrie Eleison is a prayer for mercy and yet it is more. The Greek word eleison really means ‘anoint’; and so when we pray this prayer (which is often sung), we ask for the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
The Collect (from the Latin: to read together) is a prayer that sets the theme of the day.
A Contemporary Approach
We can find our own ways of making this move from glory to anointing to the special theme of the day in prayers of our own. However, the opening of worship sets the tone for what will follow and few would deny the value of beginning with the glory of God and seeking the Spirit’s anointing as we seek to discover how God’s word will direct us in the day and week ahead. Worship that ignores these things at the outset may struggle to recover them later on!
Some churches experiment with singing short responses (from Taizé or Iona or elsewhere) that enable the congregation to takes its rightful place in the opening prayer above a muttered Amen. Others leave one person to say a single prayer. Perhaps there is place for a combination of these two styles in which responsive prayers are used, so that minister and people together enter the presence of God in praise and confession, seeking the blessing of the Spirit and the proclamation of the truth that sets us free.
Further Thinking
If the opening prayers contain a note of confession, do we need to have more confessional prayer later in the service?
What might we gain by learning prayers to say together - for example, the Kyrie Eleison?
If opening prayers were said or sung by the whole congregation, what would be the disadvantages and the advantages?
Does a prayer that introduces the theme of the day help us to prepare for what follows - the reading of scripture?
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