This is a poetic liturgy for the office of Compline, one of the short services of prayer, or nocturns, historically said by monastic orders at night. It formed part of their ongoing rhythm of prayer and participants would often go straight to bed at the end of the service without talking to one another.
This liturgy focuses on stillness and peace, with periods of silence between the sections. Embrace this stillness and use each pause to add your own prayers, punctuating the communal prayers with silent, private petition, as the community rests in God’s presence together.
When using this liturgy, we recommend taking lots of time over the words; steadily moving through the liturgy, never rushing. The words in bold are said by all, those in normal type are said by the leader. We would recommend using lots of candles and incense to set the scene. Be careful if you play any music before the service to choose music which draws people into a place of peace.
Alternatively, you could pull this apart and use it as a starting point. Add your own prayers, reflections, songs; just use the psalm paraphrases or the Lord's prayer as part of a different service.
If you print out this liturgy as a book, try different types of paper to make it feel different - try recycled paper or sugar paper for a rustic feel - changing the type of paper you print on makes a BIG difference to how a booklet looks and feels!
Rough Edge is a collecive of Durham based Christians, all of whom are part of the same larger worshipping community. The collective often eat, pray, work, learn and worship together. The collective is passionate about Jesus and discipleship and seeks to express this passion through creative worship using various means, including song, liturgy, art, video, photography and poetry.
