At my friend Erin's prompting, I'm going to write a collect every day. Last year I gave up social media and it was great. I'm still working out what I'm doing this year, but I am going to write a collect...with some boundaries as future training. The Book of Common Prayer set out that the Prayers of the People have to pray for certain areas in the Church and world, but not that the forms have to be used (BCP, 383). Likewise, there are four options for the Collect after the Prayers: collect appropriate to the season or occasion being celebrated; a collect expressive of some special need in the life of the local congregation; a collect for the mission of the church; and a general collect (BCP, 394). Hatchett is quick to point out ("What's in a Rubric?") that the first listed option is the preferential option.
The preference is not to use a general collect, but one about the day. At St. Paul's Chapel we interpret that by having our script say that the presider improvises a prayer based on the readings. Throughout these forty days I'm going to try to improvise a prayer based on the Daily Office readings for each day. I'm writing this entry to explain and so that people know they aren't from the Prayer Book. God deliver me from being the man who prays in public in today's Luke reading! By writing these during this time I hope to get better at improvising prayers. The Prayer Book is great, but by praying using it I hope that I have learned to pray some as things come up without turning to a page.
Make a good Lent.
I was thinking of doing this myself. Hope it goes well for you and I'm looking forward to reading your collects.
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