Published on
November 3, 2020
Video length
16 mins
This service features scripture readings, hymns and prayers drawn from historic morning prayer liturgies, without music or other artistic elaboration. Complementing other Symposium services that are more complex, today we practice an intentionally simple form of common prayer, grateful to be united in prayer with people around the world on a day of historic, cultural and political importance here in the United States.

Order of Worship:

This order of service follows a traditional morning prayer structure. 

Opening Words

Morning Hymn: "O Splendor of God's Glory Bright"

Psalm 19, followed by a Psalm Prayer

Psalm 131, followed by a Psalm Prayer

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 42:1-9

New Testament Reading: Matthew 22:34-40

Canticle: Song of Zechariah (Luke 1:57-59)

Prayers of the People

Lord's Prayer

Closing Blessing

Leaders: María Eugenia Cornou, Cindy DeBoer, Chan Gyu Jang, Carlos Lemagne, Rebecca Snippe, Noel Snyder, and John Witvliet

Recent Media Resources

Video Psalms/Scripture Visual Arts
Surprised by the Psalms

Anneke Kaai studied fine art and painting in the Netherlands at secular schools in the 1960s and ’70s. That experience compelled her to express her Christian faith through her art. She has painted many works based on scripture, including three series of paintings on the psalms, which she sees as a bountiful resource of imagery for the full range of human feelings in relation to God.

May 5, 2026 | 90 min video
Video History Music/Song
Psalmody in Black: The Psalter as Human Expression

This workshop explores the deep connection between the psalms and the breadth of human emotion through musical settings by Black composers. Interwoven with reflections on the history and function of the Psalter, this program reveals how these timeless texts continue to speak to the spiritual, emotional, and cultural experiences of our shared humanity. 

May 1, 2026 | 90 min video
Podcast Justice/Reconciliation Psalms/Scripture
Andrew Wilkes on Doing the Work of Liberation and Justice with the Psalms as Our Guide

Pastor-scholar Andrew Wilkes shares how his worshiping community, Double Love Experience Church, prayed and sang the psalms during the troubling times of 2020. The psalms gave them language and support for praise and lament, and Wilkes asserts that lament is the evidence of faith because we are bringing our troubles to God.

April 10, 2026 | 14 min listen