Fall 2026 Adult Formation: Praying the Prayer Book
Praying the Prayer Book
Wednesdays, 6:15 p.m.
Crail C
This class meets Wednesdays at 6:15 p.m., Aug. 19 to Sept. 30, with a scheduled break on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
This fall at St. David’s, we will unify all of our Wednesday night formation offerings under the theme of prayer. Even as culture at large has rightly pointed out the obtuseness of “offering thoughts and prayers” in moments of social crisis, we nonetheless believe that prayer is real, powerful, and effective; definitely not something that should be flung from afar as a comfortable platitude. Prayer is costly and creative; it is no mere metaphor for holiness but the rigorous work of paying attention with our hearts, souls, minds, and bodies.
The fall semester will begin with a six-week course in “Praying the Prayerbook.” As Episcopalians, we have a magnificent theological work on prayer in every pew in front of us on Sundays, but so few of us crack open the Book of Common Prayer on Sundays, let alone on the days in between. Guided by two advanced students from the Seminary of the Southwest, learn to use the Book of Common Prayer to pray the Daily Office, read Scripture, know which collect to use when, or experience special rubrics for holy moments in everyday life, like moving into a new home, celebrating the birth of a child, or mourning the loss of a loved one.
Following this series, we will continue deepening our prayer life by praying along with the saints. October’s series is titled “How Great a Cloud: Praying with the Saints up to All Hallow’s.” We will pray with different saints who have feast days in the month of October, leading up to Halloween, learning each saint’s collect, learning to pray through an icon, and learning each saint’s spiritual biography, we will conclude the series by learning about Latinx traditions around Dia de Los Muertos from students in the Latinx concentration at Seminary of the Southwest and the Hispanic Ministry Committee at St. David’s.
Finally, as we approach Advent, we will quiet our hearts and enter into a three-week series on forms of contemplative prayer led by Rebecca Hall, director of The Abbey, and some of her fellow spiritual direction instructors from the Iona School. “Paths of Contemplation” will invite participants to move away from prayer that relies on words, logic, and order, instead exploring and experimenting with prayers that are embodied, mystical, and nonlinear. It is our sincere hope that spending an entire semester on forms of prayer will not only be of spiritual benefit to participants but also be a powerful and collective act of faith, justice, and liberation in our embattled world.
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