Kenneth G. Phifer knew that for many of us prayer gets crowded out to the edges of life. But in A Book of Common Prayer, Phifer has offered prayers that speak to people’s ordinary, daily needs. Here you will find prayers that are personal, immediate, and touched with grace. In free verse, Kenneth wrote spirited petitions and confession—he wrote of feeling impatient, bored, irritable, discouraged.

He wrote about needing a miracle, needing to feel whole, and needing to start over. His prayers are for individual use and for public worship. They include special “Prayers for Uncommon Days,” among which are a Sunday in Advent and a Day of Public Calamity.

Kenneth Phifer was senior minister of the St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church in New Orleans for almost twenty years. Prior to that he was Professor of Homiletics at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Kentucky. During his long ministry he served churches in Tennessee, South Carolina, and Virginia and was author of numerous books.