Devotions at Meetings
The Congregational Council member mechanically reads the “devotion” they found online about an hour before the meeting when they remembered that they were “up” this month. Looking around the room, it’s clear that the rest of the group is far from engaged. The member finishes the reading and asks everyone to bow their heads as they read the one sentence prayer that came with the text.
It fails to inspire.
I know that the Holy Spirit can work miracles… but should we be asking THAT much? I doubt that this scenario is alien to most of us. I do not believe that every devotion at meetings needs to set our hearts afire, but I think that we can do better.
One of the things that surprised me the most when I became a pastor was how uncomfortable most members of a congregation are with praying “off the cuff.” It seems that somewhere along the line we decided that praying is the pastor’s job, and so everyone else just gave up. I still have council members who have never prayed on their own in front of a group. I understand that we all have different faith practices and levels of comfort with public speaking, but as leaders of a community of faith should we not at least be passingly familiar with leading spoken prayer? The good news is that inviting people to lead spoken prayer in an informal way can be a wonderful opportunity to begin the process of changing how devotions are done within your group. It forces the group to let their guard down, which can often be a sneaky way for the Holy Spirit to work its way into our hearts.
When it comes to devotions, try to think beyond what comes up in an internet search. For several years now I have been using a book titled “More Days for Praise: Festivals and Commemorations in Evangelical Lutheran Worship.” It has been a great way for the congregation to learn about Saints throughout the life of the church. Another possibility might be something like dwelling in the word. A congregational council in the Midwest has been using the SAME biblical passage for over 10 years now, each meeting, delving deeper and deeper into what the living Word has to say. You could also invite the group to share the places they have seen God in the last month and then have one person gather those ideas into a prayer.
Remember, change takes time and energy. Be open and honest about where you are right now and what you hope to see happen in the future. Be open with one another too! I think you will find that everyone benefits from a fulfilling and meaningful time of devotions during a meeting!
Reflection by Rev. Timothy M. Crummitt
Potential Resources to Help You Try Something New
Questions for Reflection:
- Can you remember the most unhelpful meeting devotion you were a part of? What went wrong? What would you do to change it?
- Likewise, can you remember a great meeting devotion? What was different about it?
- What are some of the different types of meeting devotions you have experienced? What patterns do you see that made them successful or unhelpful?