Where Cross the Crowded Ways

by Ernest T. Campbell

Book Overview

In this revised edition of a classic collection of congregational prayers, Ernest T. Campbell demonstrates the value and creative potential of thoughtfully prepared bublic prayers. Originally crafted for use in The Riverside Church, New York City, these pastoral prayers continue to engage with the concerns of contemporary life and the richness of religious faith. They will be an invaluable resource both for those who plan worship services and for...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802829813
• ISBN13: 9780802829818
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
• Length: 107 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Beautiful and Practical

These are a collection of written prayers that Campbell has used from his own lectern. They are beautifully written prayers for the world and for his own congregation. His initial experience of stuttered and repetitive improvised prayers motivated him to put into print what he would take to the pulpit. The structure is simple and thoughtful. Prayers are numbered 1,2,3, first prayers of thanksgiving for God's goodness, second prayers for the world, and lastly prayers for themselves. Campbell says that praying for the world first shapes the way we pray for ourselves. This pattern is repeated throughout the book. The four subdivisions of the book are appropriately loose. In the first, "As a Hen Gathers Her Brood," Campbell focuses on the chaotic city life of New York and God's presence in that tension. In "All Sorts and Conditions of People" (p. 21), we hear repeated lists of careers and situations for which they are praying. In "Among You as One Who Serves" (p. 47), we hear a Pastor's voice for the laypeople who are communicating their faith in their working and home lives. In "Around the Christian Year," there are prayers for the liturgical Christian holidays: Easter, Christmas, Advent, Ash Wednesday, Passion Sunday, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Pentecost, and Reformation Sunday. What is intensely rewarding about the book is that the reader ought to fear she is picking up the ramblings of a retired minister who just wanted at last to make it into print, and instead, she finds a beautifully written piece that is as likely to inspire personal devotions as serve as a practical resource for professionals. I've already started using this prayer book in my church. It ought to be an appendix to the Book of Common Worship.