Leading Intercessions. Raymond Chapman

      

      Reviews of the first edition of Leading Intercessions:

      ‘It combines a masterful use of language in succinct expression, a profound understanding of liturgical prayer . . . and a depth of devotion that will encourage in the way of prayer all who use these prayers.’

       Tufton Review

      ‘The prose is clear, dignified and appropriate for today.’

       New Directions

      ‘Beautifully written . . . [the] afterword “On Leading Intercessions” is very timely and should be read by all who embark on this ministry.’

       Church Times

      ‘Sensitive and pastoral’

       Church Observer

      © Raymond Chapman 1997, 2000 and 2006

      First published 1997 by The Canterbury Press Norwich

      (a publishing imprint of Hymns Ancient & Modern Limited a registered charity)

      St Mary’s Works, St Mary’s Plain, Norwich, Norfolk, NR3 3BH

      Reprinted 2001, 2003 and 2004

      This edition published 2006

       All rights reserved. No part of this publication which is copyright may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

      Raymond Chapman has asserted his right under the Copyright,

      Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as

      Author of this Work

      British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      ISBN 1-85311-781-1/978-1-85311-781-7

       Typeset at Rowland Phototypesetting Ltd

       Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

       Printed and bound in Great Britain by

       William Clowes Ltd, Beccles, Suffolk

      Contents

       About the Author

       Preface to the Enlarged Edition

       Preface to the Revised Edition (2000)

       Introduction

       Principal Service Year A

       Principal Service Year B

       Principal Service Year C

       Saints’ Days and Festivals

       Common of the Saints

       Special Occasions

       Afterword – On Leading Intercessions

      About the Author

      Raymond Chapman is Emeritus Professor of English in the University of London and a non-stipendiary priest in the Diocese of Southwark. He is the author of numerous literary and religious titles.

       Books by Raymond Chapman available from The Canterbury Press:

      A PASTORAL PRAYER BOOK

      Prayers and Readings for Times of Change, Concern and Celebration

      RHYTHMS OF PRAYER

      A round the year prayer guide

      STATIONS OF THE NATIVITY

      Meditations on the Incarnation of Christ

      STATIONS OF THE RESURRECTION

      Meditations on the fourteen resurrection appearances

      DAYS OF GRACE

      A forty-day journey with Jesus

      MEANS OF GRACE, HOPE OF GLORY

      An anthology of five hundred years of Anglican Spiritual Writing

      FIRMLY I BELIEVE

      An Oxford Movement reader

      Preface to the Enlarged Edition

      This edition contains twenty-six additional sets of intercessions for the saints’ days and other festivals which have special collects and readings in the Revised Common Lectionary. It is hoped that they will be helpful in encouraging the full observance of these occasions, and particularly for the celebration of a patronal festival. Prayers are also included for the occasional services of baptism, confirmation, matrimony and funerals, and for the institution of a new incumbent or minister. These services are now often placed in a eucharistic context, where intercessions may link them with the work and worship of the wider Church.

      The prayers are equally suitable for a period of intercession in non-eucharistic services such as family services and ecumenical worship.

      As with the previous revision, I am grateful to many who have used the prayers and made helpful suggestions, and again to Christine Smith of the Canterbury Press for suggesting this augmented edition.

      Preface to the Revised Edition (2000)

      With the publication of Common Worship, I have taken the opportunity to revise and expand these prayers for the time of intercession at the Eucharist. A brief invitation to prayer, based on the Gospel for the day, is now provided for each Sunday of the three-year cycle and for Holy Days and Special Occasions. There are also sentences to conclude the intercessions, gathering the petitions together and offering them on behalf of the whole congregation. These introductions and conclusions may suitably be said either by the President or by the person leading the intercessions.

      A number of changes have been made in the wording of the intercessions, although their substance is unchanged. It is hoped that these amendments have improved clarity and meaning, and also in some places made for more ease and euphony in speaking.

      The suggested headings of subjects for intercession preserves the fivefold order which has come to be commonly used. There may be occasions when this could usefully be changed: for example, at times of national or international crisis, priority might be given to prayers for the world. Any rigid distinction between the Church and the world is to be avoided. Prayers for the departed are now designated as for the Communion of Saints, a reminder of the wholeness of the Christian Church both Militant and Triumphant.

      The Notes to the Order for Holy Communion in Common Worship specifically permit the use of ‘other suitable forms’ for intercession, which ‘need not always conform to the sequence indicated’.