Professor Emerita Mary Jane Haemig is one of the editors of “Minister’s Prayer Book: An Order of Prayers and Readings, Revised Edition,” published in 2020 by Fortress Press. This edition, the first revision of this 1959 classic since 1986, includes a more diverse selection of voices than previous editions.
The book contains an order of prayers for the days of the week, prayers and readings for the church year, prayers of preparation for ministry, and an anthology of readings for ministers that cover subjects such as the promise and responsibility of ministry, the minister’s life, the minister as teacher, and the minister as preacher. In addition, its appendices include an examination of conscience and personal confession; “A Simple Way to Pray,” by Martin Luther; Luther’s household prayers; and Elisabeth Cruciger’s hymn, “Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn” (Lord Christ from God, forever).
George Anderson, presiding bishop emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, writes, “This revised edition makes a devotional classic available to a new generation of ministers. Those of us who have found the riches of the ‘Minister’s Prayer Book’ to be helpful in all phases of our vocation will find it now has been coordinated with the Common Lectionary and has brought new voices into its collection of readings. It meets the many challenges specific to ministry with the rich spiritual resources of every age—including our own.”