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Authors’ Note

Liturgies for Hope started as an act of defiance against fear. As New York City teetered on the brink of the pandemic crisis in March 2020, we (Audrey and Elizabeth) asked each other, “What can we, lovers of words, create to recognize and push back the darkness?” Unsettled by the flood of frightening headlines, unhelpful think pieces, and mindless escapism, we began to wonder whether we, as writers, could create an anchor for our beloved and sorrowstricken city to hold on to—something that would last beyond the sickness, isolation, and toilet-paper hoarding of the pandemic. So, with morning light spilling onto paper (read: keyboards) and open Bibles, we set out to put form to the shapeless depths of grief in our community.

We partnered with our church home, Church of the City New York, to publish the resulting liturgies online, launching them into the world on Easter Sunday 2020. The response was overwhelming: Our inboxes were flooded with requests to translate the liturgies into other languages, and messages from people across the world detailed exactly how the liturgies gave them hope. While Liturgies for Hope was born out of the specific turmoil of the pandemic, the response indicated that this collection transcends the pandemic and speaks to the evergreen needs of our time—feeling helpless, being consumed by media, worrying for physical health, needing an overdue belly laugh, and more.

Neither of us grew up in churches that practiced liturgy, yet we found that prayers rooted in the liturgical tradition proved to be a catalyst for our writing. Designed to be read and recited in community, these poetic prayers address the turmoil of the human heart and point toward the steady, unchanging truth of God’s presence promised in Scripture. Liturgical prayers were written generations ago by people who observed the collapsing world around them and resolved to offer something more beautiful and trustworthy, something true, something steadying. We wanted to create a similar offering for you, whoever you are and wherever you are. These prayers are meant not to replace your prayer life but rather to awaken, encourage, and inspire it. Ultimately, each liturgy is meant to reorient your hope toward its truest Source and encourage you to press into the ache of holy longing.

We believe that God has provided truth, wisdom, and encouragement in His Word that we can recite, repeat, and meditate on—individually and corporately—and be filled and equipped for every circumstance. These liturgies were prayerfully written based on the promises of God in Scripture, and each liturgy includes a list of the verses that inspired us.

While writing these liturgies, we asked God not only “What do You want to say about this topic?” but also “What do You wish we would say to You?” We hope that these liturgies give language to the wonders and wrestling of your soul, inviting you into new depths of honesty and discovery with God. May you continue to encounter the beauty, power, and mystery of God through poetry, through prayer, and beyond.

Audrey Elledge and Elizabeth Moore
New York City