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Preface to the Revised Edition (2000)

With the publication of Common Worship, I have taken the opportunity to revise and expand these prayers for the time of intercession at the Eucharist. A brief invitation to prayer, based on the Gospel for the day, is now provided for each Sunday of the three-year cycle and for Holy Days and Special Occasions. There are also sentences to conclude the intercessions, gathering the petitions together and offering them on behalf of the whole congregation. These introductions and conclusions may suitably be said either by the President or by the person leading the intercessions.

A number of changes have been made in the wording of the intercessions, although their substance is unchanged. It is hoped that these amendments have improved clarity and meaning, and also in some places made for more ease and euphony in speaking.

The suggested headings of subjects for intercession preserves the fivefold order which has come to be commonly used. There may be occasions when this could usefully be changed: for example, at times of national or international crisis, priority might be given to prayers for the world. Any rigid distinction between the Church and the world is to be avoided. Prayers for the departed are now designated as for the Communion of Saints, a reminder of the wholeness of the Christian Church both Militant and Triumphant.

The Notes to the Order for Holy Communion in Common Worship specifically permit the use of ‘other suitable forms’ for intercession, which ‘need not always conform to the sequence indicated’.

I am grateful for many appreciative responses to the original book and for helpful suggestions, some of which have been incorporated in this new edition. I particularly thank Christine Smith of The Canterbury Press, who has guided both editions from inception to publication.