Stations of the Lord’s Prayer (A Worship Resource)

This past weekend at our convergent Quaker retreat we had both programmed (planned) and unprogrammed (silent) worship. For the programmed worship on Saturday morning I planned an interactive worship time based around the Lord’s Prayer (a topic I am deeply interested in). In this post I’ve included a video and pictures of the various stations, here and at the bottom you can download all the instructions and list of needed materials. I have not included the descriptions and instructions for each station, you’ll have to read the documentation for that. In each station one person read the petition from that portion of the Lord’s Prayer, there are queries to help reflect on the prayer, an activity and then time for silence.

Here is where I explained the basic idea:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnTFTPBtALQ&w=530&h=435]

Be sure to give yourself some time and get some help if you can because It took a little time to set things up. There is a list of materials in the downloadable packet below.

Station One: Sanctify

Our Father in the heavens, may your name be sanctified (Matthew 6:9).

 

Query: Consider the ways we can pray this prayer in three forms: inward, upward and outward.

Activity: Light candles and say opening prayer

Station Two: Witness

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).

Query: “How can we be a part of the kingdom’s coming on Earth?”

Activity: A Body Prayer “To Become Useful In God’s Plan” Face the four directions

Station Three: Eat

Give us today the bread we need (Matthew 6:11).

Query: “Do we seek to share our resources, belonging and food with those who need it?  Am I available to share daily bread with others? Does my table reflect how the kingdom of God looks?”

Activity: Slice a piece of bread and give it to another person

Station Four: Forgive

Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors (Matthew 6:12).

Query:”What do I owe you God?  What debts have I incurred against you and others?”

Activity: Write out a debt you owe God or one that another person owes you on a piece of paper and tear them up together at the end.

Station Five: Cleanse

Do not bring us into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one (Matthew 6:13).

Query: When do I let temptation overcome me? How can I live a cleansed life?
Activity: Read a confession and wash another person’s hands.

Take five minutes per station and we had five small groups that rotated after the five minutes were up (we rang a bell). At the end, after everyone had gone through all the stations, we returned together for a time of silent worship. The feedback was the most people enjoyed the experience of going through these and appreciated the interactivity in the stations.

Download the packet of descriptions, instructions and materials needed.


The video and most of the photos were provided by Martin Kelley.

8 responses to “Stations of the Lord’s Prayer (A Worship Resource)”

  1. I found this process really meaningful. I found tears coming to my eyes a few times even though I couldn't put words to the emotions I was feeling. The five minutes at each station felt incredibly short!

  2. This is great. We've been using worship stations in our Good Friday services for a few years now. We have a sort of collect at the beginning with a bit of singing and instructions, then people move through the stations as they feel led then we gather again to cover the cross. We've tried to have some stations the same and some change each year – even though there is a lot of autonomy the over all feeling is of participation in something intimate and significant. I love that you guys put some of the stations outside!

  3. Wess, thanks for sharing this with all of us. We walked through the stations last week with our home group and had a great experience. Our stations were set up around our house in various rooms and outside locations. We had a small group, 6 people, so we split up in two groups of three. One small thing we did was added coconut scented essential oil to the warm water ahead of time. Several people commented on how the sweet smell that remained on their hands was a reminder to them of the sweetness of God's grace and forgiveness. They truly felt they had been washed clean. I really enjoyed the North, South, East, West prayer time. Another resource I discovered this week was a book entitled "The Song of the Seed" by Macrina Wiederkehr. In Chapter 11 (besides referencing a Quaker song!) she provides "A Prayer to the Wind of the North" and then prayers for each other direction. As a follow up to last week, this week we are going to use her four directional prayers just before we enter a labyrinth. We'll see how it goes.