Family Prayer

Family prayer is the smallest church there is — and often the most difficult to keep going. A page that fits a folded paper, that a tired parent can read at the kitchen table without a phone, that a child can begin to recognize week by week.

The shape of one page

• A short passage of Scripture (three to five verses).
• A brief, plain reflection — no jargon, no theological hairpin turns.
• One question for the table. Not three. One.
• A closing prayer, drawn from the historic prayer-books of the church, that the family can say together.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)

For families across traditions

The closing prayers will be drawn from a wide circle: the Book of Common Prayer, the Roman Liturgy of the Hours, the Orthodox prayers of St. Basil and St. John Chrysostom, the German Reformed and Lutheran family rites. We will name the source of each prayer in the footer of the page so a family can recognize what they hold.

For families with small children

The earliest family-prayer pages are written for households with young children — short verses, short reflections, simple questions. Later in the cycle, longer pages will appear for households with older readers around the table.

First family-prayer pages are coming with the start of Advent.