GFM Group Prayer/Meditation Resources

Spring Semester Prayer/Meditation Resources from the ESN Blog

Note: This list provides one meditation a week for a 16-week semester. I’ve broken it into 3 modules to make it easier to follow, with the second module being larger due to having a Lent option that covers 8 weeks. The order of modules can be swapped around to suit the needs of your particular group. The first module can be shortened or broken up if that makes your schedule work better.

-Hannah Eagleson, Emerging Scholars Network

Module 1: Flourishing in the University, 4 weeks

In this module, we provide meditations and prayers related to flourishing in the university, whether that means celebrating God’s generosity, dealing with anxiety, or growing in humility and joy. These pieces are drawn from Scholar’s Compass, our ongoing online devotional for academics.

(Each of these stands alone, and this module can be split up if necessary to accomodate starting the Lent module on time.)

Abundance, by Jamie Yeo
Consider the Ravens, by Elsie Lee
Academics and Humility, by Carmen Acevedo Butcher
Thanksgiving: Expect the Unexpected, by Alice Brown-Collins (originally written for the Thanksgiving holiday, but appropriate to other times of the year too)

Module 2, Option 1: Lent Module, 8 weeks

Lent Series by Jamie Noyd. In this series, English PhD Jamie Noyd draws on a Christian meditative tradition in which participants imagine what it would be like to be there at key moments in the life of Christ. She imagines being there to observe the events leading up to Christ’s crucifixion and also imagines what those moments might have to say to us in the university.

Easter Week Meditations:

These meditations provide reflections on Palm Sunday and Easter.

Palm Sunday’s Short-Lived Praise, by Amy Davis Abdallah
Rejoicing in the Fullness of Easter, by Ann Boyd at The Well, InterVarsity’s website for Women in the Academy and Professions

Module 2, Option 2: Navigating the Rapids and Pilgrimage, 8 weeks

If you are not using Lent-specific reflections, this module provides a short series on navigating difficult moments, and seeing your experience in academia as a pilgrimage. They’re helpful reflections for the spring semester.

Navigating the Rapids Series, by Tamarie Macon

Pilgrimage Scholar’s Compass Series, by Jamie Noyd

Note: Jamie also has a 5-part series on the book of Ruth that could be subbed in here if you prefer.

Module 3: Liturgies of Calling Series, by Michael Gehrling, 4 weeks

These short liturgies include communal prayer for a vocation in the university and music suggestions.

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