The Powerful Process of Liturgy-Writing

Writing liturgies has been transformative in my spiritual life, and in my sojourning. The things that used to keep me tongue-tied in prayer now have an outlet as I've discovered the power of writing prayers as a spiritual practice.

But the power isn't in the writing, it's in the process.

Now, one year after releasing Crafting Liturgies for Life Abroad: A Guide to Processing Cross-Cultural Life Through Written Prayer, I have heard over and over again that this process has been transformative for others, too. The approachable steps of silence, acknowledgement, confession, remembrance, and more makes writing liturgies possible for anyone. I'm so thankful for the response to the book, for open doors to teach workshops based on the process, and for the countless hearts that have been unburdened of the grief and loss from sojourning as readers have found a way to bring it all to the feet of Jesus in written prayer.

Recently, my teen TCK was struggling with some overwhelming emotions rooted in upcoming transitions. She found herself unable to really articulate what she was feeling. So, I invited her to follow the steps to write a liturgy. We sat on the floor together and poured out our fears, worries, and grief to Jesus in written prayer. Afterwards, she said this about the process:

"It was very calming and helped me feel more grounded and able to acknowledge what I was feeling."

Ben Warren says in his Amazon review: This book is a treasure, and has helped to reinvigorate my prayer life in a year of much stretching. The principles for creating your own liturgies are explained simply and clearly. As the Heather says, you do not need to be a writer to use this, just a follower of Jesus who longs to enrich their prayer life. I can't recommend it highly enough!

It's been such a joy to have some of you email me with the liturgies you've written after reading the book. Fellow author, Eva Burkholder, even used the process to write the liturgies in her latest book, In Every Moment.

I'm more convinced than ever that honest, vulnerable, intentional prayer is key to thriving in our life abroad, or wherever we find ourselves. I want you to experience this for yourself! If you ever struggle to find the words to pray, neglect to process grief and loss, or need something to breathe new life into your prayers and devotional life, I would love for you to explore liturgy-writing through my book, or through a workshop. You can find more details on the Resources page of this site.