These prayers, inspired by traditional morning and evening prayer with guidance from The Rule of St. Benedict, offer families the opportunity to pray in continuity with Christian tradition while keeping prayers short and familiar so that children will stay engaged. With a one-week cycle of prayers, this shorted from of the daily office allows families to grow in the practice of daily prayer and prepare to graduate to the longer prayers of the Christian tradition as children mature.

Acclaim for this book:

"Craig Katzenmiller's short book Morning and Evening Prayer for Parents and Children meets a central need for parents of children ages 4-12 who desire to lead morning and evening prayers as a family. Until now liturgical materials available to parents have tended to offer such lengthy offices that children could easily perceive the time as a dreaded chore rather than holy and blessed family time.

"Katzenmiller's effort to reduce each typical half-hour office leaves the structure intact while shortening basic elements and suggesting a few optional readings and hymns. Four appendices include examples for various options.

"What I see clearly in this effort is a father's heart for his children. Katzenmiller has spent many hours adapting adult-level materials for his beloved children-so that they may enter in, absorb, and participate more fully in these rich, formative Christian practices, and, ultimately, receive a lifetime of blessing."

- Holly Allen, Professor of Family Science and Christian Ministries (Lipscomb University); President of The Society for Children's Spirituality: Christian Perspectives (Children's Spirituality Conference); and co-author of Intergenerational Christian Formation; Bringing the Whole Church Together in Ministry, Community, and Worship

"Morning and Evening Prayer for Parents and Children is a much-needed resource for families like mine who desire to immerse our children daily in the life and prayers of the church. Its weekly rhythm will quickly become familiar, offering a rich source of hope for both children and parents."

- C. Christopher Smith, editor of The Englewood Review of Books and author of Reading for the Common Good: How Books Help Our Churches and Neighborhoods Flourish

Table of Contents:

Preface
How to Use This Prayerbook
Morning Prayer
Evening Prayer
Night Prayer
Appendix 1. Example Scripture Texts for Readings
Appendix 2. Prayers from Scripture
Appendix 3. Hymns
Appendix 4. Next Steps in Prayer Together