Prayer binds a community together. Sharing in common what Latinos call "our solid moments before God" provides the glue needed to keep community going.
There is a special kind of prayer for communities. It is not the private moments that every individual of faith spends connecting with God. Those are intimate times when only the person present knows what transpires--and sometimes does not.
Nor is community prayer public liturgy. We reserve that kind of ritual for much larger settings, when ideally the "community of communities"--the parish or congregation as a whole--offers worship to God.
Community prayer falls somewhere in between the private and liturgical. It is a little of both and something of neither. Perhaps the best way to describe this unique type of prayer is to tell of an intentional household community that, from its first day together nearly seven years ago, has prayed each morning.
The group gathers at a determined time before breakfast. Attendance is not monitored, as the community is a group of adults. Nevertheless, a high proportion of the members participate each morning. The one who has signed up to cook that night's meal leads an opening prayer, followed by the scripture readings of the day. Unless an issue of great importance is occupying the attention of community members, as was the case during the Gulf war, a period of silence follows the readings.
Occasionally silence prevails during most of the prayer time, until near the very end when practical petitions are offered--a sick parent, the neighbor who has requested remembrance, a particularly difficult task facing a community member. More often, however, the post-scriptural silence gives way naturally to spontaneous reflections on the texts.
Each person, engaged as she or he is in various aspects of living the New Creation, brings their experiences to reflective prayer. Next to the Word of God itself, these shared insights provide the greatest nourishment for the group. The time of prayer ends with the community consciously joined to the worldwide household of faith in the Lord's Prayer.
Several good results have flowed from this community's constancy at prayer. Each day, in a real sense, the members see each other as God sees them. That is, every individual knows the other community members as people of explicit faith. Whatever the daily rubs and irks of communal life, all share moments of faith-filled prayer each morning, thereby intentionally beginning another day on the pilgrimage together.
Additionally, the agenda for the prayer comes from outside the community. Each person in this community engages in some form of broadly defined social action. They bring the large and not-so-large issues of today's world to prayer and reflect on them communally in the light of God's Word. This results in healthy and vigorous prayer time.
Finally, and imperceptibly, the day-after-day exercise of community prayer provides a constant missioning of the members to live out the New Creation. It is impossible to hear God's Word at the beginning of the day, reflect on it with brothers and sisters of faith, and allow the world's agenda to permeate these prayerful moments--without a growing conviction about the call to "seek the reign of God."
Most communities are not live-in households. Most gather weekly or biweekly to share their lives and ideals. Nevertheless, these observations about prayer hold true for all who gather in Jesus' name. Whatever the nature, goals, and style of your community, prayer will hold it together.
Joe Nangle, O.F.M was outreach director of Sojourners when this article appeared.
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