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We first noticed in November a call to engage in a new prayer exercise at HHO.

We have written commitment prayers for use in our community and as an offering to the wider Church before. We have 6 that we have on rotation at weekly worship, said as part of our intercessions:

  1. People in need

  2. Companion Animal Ministry

  3. ​Lay Ministry

  4. Deliverance​ Ministry Team

  5. EDOT Partnership

  6. ​In times of Natural Disaster

These are all listed at the Prayer Group | Ministries page.

So being invited by the movement of the Holy Spirit to compose afresh, we mightn't be surprised.

What is surprising is the depth that we have already encountered in participating in this ministry.

Lament - what is it and why do it?

Lament is a word out of fashion in the english language outside of Church spaces.

The dictionary offers us this: Passionate expression of grief

A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. 

The grief is most often born of regret or mourning.

Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner, where the participant would lament about something they regret or someone they've lost, usually accompanied by wailing, moaning and/or crying. 

To lament is to express sorrow, mourning, or regret for something.

Applying lament to prayer then makes perfect sense in the context of a relationship with God where you can bring your fullest self to the creator and know that you will be met with love. 

Lament is Biblical - both Old and New Testaments include laments - especially the psalms.

And so when last month we noticed this invitation to lament, we made space for it on our entry to Advent with the first of our Lament Prayer Workshops  held in our after worship fellowship space today. 

What a space it was - below you can download the notes and look at what we have started together. I invite you to pray over it in your devotional practice and deeply listen for God's movement within you and consider how you will bring yourself and what is offered to you into this collaborative ministry space.

You could do that by coming along to the next workshop to be held 11.00am AEST in 2 weeks time on the 15th Dec.

You could also email in some offerings to myself or KA, for us to share with the community then too.

One such email from one of our leaders offers a great example of how engaging in deep listening can result in some great connections and resourcing from our other spaces of wisdom on the web:

Hi Jamee it appears that Spirit is a work in the space of Lament.
Below is a letter from Richard Rohr today to the world community calling for Lament. 

Here is what ChatGPT has to say about Lament:

The Psalms of Lament are a category of psalms in the Bible that express sorrow, grief, or distress, often calling on God for help. These psalms are characterized by their raw emotion and honesty, reflecting the struggles and hardships of the psalmist. They are found in the Book of Psalms and can be divided into two types:

1. Individual Laments: Focused on personal suffering and pleas for deliverance.

Psalm 3, Psalm 6, Psalm 7, Psalm 13, Psalm 17, Psalm 22, Psalm 25, Psalm 26, Psalm 27 (verses 7–14), Psalm 28, Psalm 31, Psalm 35, Psalm 38, Psalm 39, Psalm 42, Psalm 43, Psalm 51, Psalm 54, Psalm 55, Psalm 56, Psalm 57, Psalm 59, Psalm 61, Psalm 64, Psalm 69, Psalm 70, Psalm 71, Psalm 86, Psalm 88, Psalm 102, Psalm 109, Psalm 120, Psalm 130, Psalm 140, Psalm 141, Psalm 142

2. Communal Laments: Express the collective sorrow of a group, often in response to national or communal crises.

Psalm 12, Psalm 44, Psalm 60, Psalm 74, Psalm 79, Psalm 80, Psalm 83, Psalm 85, Psalm 90, Psalm 94, Psalm 123, Psalm 126, Psalm 137

Key Features

• Complaint: A description of the problem or suffering.

• Petition: A plea for God’s intervention or help.

• Expression of Trust: A statement of faith in God’s ability to deliver.

• Praise or Vow: A promise to praise God after deliverance.

The psalms of lament often transition from despair to hope, offering a model for addressing pain while trusting in God’s faithfulness.

Richard Rohr's call to Lament:

It is time for another letter. 

These past days have been hard for many of us. Many people are experiencing shock, disillusionment, and loss of orientation. Many people are angry and hurting. We ask, “What is faith now? What is love now?” Friends and students are writing me for guidance. I feel unqualified like a blind man trying to lead the blind. It feels like spiritual exhaustion. 

Then a dear friend came to me and shared what his single mother of eleven children would often read aloud to their family: Psalm 42 in its entirety. It is one of the psalms of lament and begins, “As a doe longs for running streams, so my soul longs for you, O God” (42:1). 

I was immediately strengthened and “resourced,” leading me to a few days’ study of the longest and most read book in the Bible. I found seven psalms of lamentation that deeply spoke to my present experience, and perhaps yours, too. I offer them to you in hopes they might do the same. 

Exclusive reliance upon contemplative prayer in times like these leaves us almost too vulnerable now, too boundaryless, perhaps too shapeless. We need inspired words. 

Psalm 57 (Honest self-pity) 
Psalm 77 (A turning from Order, toward Reorder, and through Disorder) 
Psalm 86 (A prayer in ordeal) 
Psalm 102 (A prayer of complaint) 
Psalm 131 (Begging for a contemplative mind and heart) 
Psalm 146 (I told you never to “put your trust in princes,” whether Democrat or Republican, but only in God!) 

Finally, I share an excerpt of Psalm 42. Its words of lament comfort us and its message reinforces our trust in one another. 

As a deer longs for flowing streams, 
So my soul longs for you, O God 
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God,  
When shall I come and behold the face of God?  
My tears have been my food day and night,  
While people say to me continually, 
“Where is your God?” 
Why are you cast down, O my soul, 
And why are you disquieted within me?  
Hope in God; for I shall again give praise,  
My help and my God.… 
Deep calls to deep  
At the thunder of your cataracts;  
All your waves and your billows  
Have gone over me.  
By day the Lord commands God’s steadfast love, 
And at night God’s song is with me, 
A prayer to the God of my life. (Psalm 42:1–3, 5, 7–8) 

Start reciting and praying at least one psalm a day, or as many as it takes. It might reconvince you that the Bible is indeed inspired and that we are not exhausted from our resources. 

Peace and every good,  
Richard 

P.S. I also recommend a serious fast from cable and internet news. The amygdala cannot process this much negativity, misinformation, opinion, and paranoia. It gets hooked. 

May we all journey this Advent with silence and contemplative practices to nourish us and listen deeply for the voice of the one who was, who is and who is to come - Emmanual - God with us. 
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