A surprising degree of flexibility can be found within the services of the Book of Common Prayer. Consult with your clergyperson about the proper forms of worship for various occasions, particularly if you are planning a Youth Sunday for the entire congregation. Listed below are simple formats to assist you in working with young people as they create prayers and homilies that express their concerns in their own language.16

Writing a Prayer or Confession

1. List the ways we act that demonstrate how we fall short of God's hope that we will be caring people for example:

• Gossiping
• Cheating
• Hurting others
• Not helping when we could

2. List the reasons that we act that way; for example:

• We think of ourselves more than others.
• We listen to others rather than follow God.

3. How can God help us?

4. After writing out these ideas, try to compose a prayer by putting the responses into sentence form; for example:

God, who loves us, forgive us when we think of ourselves more than others [refer to second list]. Sometimes we [refer to first list]. It is often easy to listen to others rather than you. Help us to [refer to third list].

Writing a Statement of Faith

Keeping in mind the theme and emphasis of the service, what do you believe about:

1. God

• In terms of creation
• In terms of provider
• In terms of divine qualities

2. Jesus Christ

• In terms of his life and activities, especially relating to the theme of the service
• In terms of what he taught us

3. Holy Spirit

• In terms of how we receive power through the Spirit
• In terms of how the Spirit leads us

4. The church

• In terms of what it does
• In terms of why it is important

5. Being disciples

• How do we respond to God?
• How does God help us?

Writing the Prayers of the People

1. List attributes of God and ways to address God.

2. List the areas of our lives in which we are thankful to God.

3. List the concerns in the life of our church and, after each concern, list how God can help.

4. List some world concerns. What do we believe about God that gives us hope in a troubled world?

5. What do we need to focus on as we begin another week?

Put your responses in sentence form, using smooth transitions and addressing God before each new section.

Developing a Homily

1. Think of key words that relate to your theme.

2. Look up the words in a Bible dictionary. Did you find any new insights from the definitions?

3. Look up the key words in a concordance. Look up Scriptures indicated next to the words and read them. Choose two Scripture passages that match your theme and have potential for a dialogue or sermon or drama.

4. Is there any recurring word, phrase, or concept in any of the Bible passages?

5. What do we learn about God in these passages?

6. How does this relate to our daily life? What are some examples?

7. Are there personal experiences you could relate?