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Channel: MinistryMattersSpring 1999
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Stepping into the shoes of others

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In the early seventies, I lived in a draughty old house in England with half a dozen other students. The house was an ecumenical residence sponsored by the Orthodox church, and it so happens that my bedroom was directly above the chapel. The first morning after I arrived, I awakened to the smell of incense coming through the floorboards, and a deep male voice chanting in swooping tones, to which the congregation responded in Slavonic harmony.

As I learned more about the Eastern liturgy, I found out that this part of the service was the prayer of the faithful. The deacon would take his stole between thumb and forefinger and wave it before the iconostasis, in imitation of the seraph before the throne of the Most High. The experience did not convert me to Orthodoxy (as it did some), but it did draw me deeply to the diaconate, and to intercessory prayer.

It was in this orthodox phase of my life that I was introduced to Archbishop Anthony Bloom, who wrote about prayer. I was struck by his observation of how people would heap one need after the other onto God's shoulders just as long as Evensong lasts, then leave the service elevated by a new emotion, as if freed from any further responsibility.

He often told the story of Natalie, which took place in 1919, at the height of the civil war in Russia. A woman with two children was trapped in a city that had fallen to the Red Army. Her husband was a White Army officer, and she had been targeted by the enemy to be shot. Natalie, who had no children, offered to stay behind and take the young mother's place, knowing that she was also taking on her fate.

Natalie interceded for the young mother in the deepest sense, by stepping into her shoes, and accepting certain death.

I learned from this about the solemnity and the cost of intercessory prayer. I began to see it as an expression of service or diakonia, when we willingly set aside our own agenda and take on the needs of others. Of course, none of us can act directly on everything we pray for, nor can we assume that our prayer alone will change a situation. At the heart of all prayer, there is a mystery—why do some for whom we pray die, while others heal? We do not know what strange alchemy makes some things happen and others not.

In public intercession, there is a temptation to say too much. Often, I find the prayers of the people are lengthy, florid outpourings or self-righteous sermons, giving God—or the congregation -- exact instructions for handling every situation. Good intercessions invite the faithful to pray to God and act themselves for the people and things that are named.

Another deacon, Ormonde Plater, offers these guidelines for leading the prayers of the people:

Pray for the church, the world, the nation, the community, the suffering, and the dead. If we cover only a few categories, or pray for the same ones every Sunday, we risk losing perspective, becoming too inward looking, or seeing only what's out there and not what's on our own doorstep.

Make the prayers general, using restraint with specific names and local concerns. If specific needs and intentions are announced before the biddings, this allows people to centre themselves and to add their own intentions aloud or in silence.

Remember that intercessions are primarily prayers for relieving needs, fulfilling hopes, and remedying concerns. Prayers of praise, or thanksgivings for birthdays, anniversaries, or accomplishments have their place in other parts of the service or gathering.

Use short, easy to follow biddings such as For [person or concerns] or That [intention,] or a combination: For [person or concerns], that [intention,] ending with a cue such as let us pray to the Lord.

Use responses that are brief, uniform, and easy to remember.

The role of the leader is to address the people who do the actual praying. Leave them space to do that! When the leader reminds people of topics and asks them to pray, he or she is acting as a herald (a diaconal function), and the people pray the intercessions through silence or responses.

Intercession—stepping into the shoes of others—is part of the life work, literally, the liturgy, of all baptized Christians. It is corporate prayer, offered for the church, the world, and the nations, not just private bedtime prayers for friends and family. The Anglican tradition may not be to chant deeply, wave stoles, or bow before an iconostasis. And, God willing, we may never be called to take the place of someone marked for execution. Yet when we lead or participate in the Prayers of the People, we can become more deeply aware of the solemnity and cost of what we ask, and of Whom we are asking it. And we can leave the service, elevated by a new courage to change the world and be changed ourselves, into what is possible and desirable for God.


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