Christian Pure

Closing Prayers and Benedictions for a Church Service

Christian Pure Team

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Summary

  • A closing prayer is spoken to God for the congregation; a benediction is a blessing spoken over the people in God’s name, often in the words of Scripture.
  • Nine short closing prayers cover keeping the sermon, being sent out to serve, strength and temptation, peace and hope, thanks, unity, guidance, boldness and a safe journey home.
  • Traditional closing prayers are quoted from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer (the collect for “the words which we have heard this day,” “Direct us, O Lord,” the Prayer of St. Chrysostom and the Grace), the Orthodox Divine Liturgy’s prayer “O Lord, who blessest those who bless thee,” and the 1888 Catholic Manual of Prayers.
  • Scripture benedictions include Numbers 6:24–26, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Hebrews 13:20–21, Jude 24–25, Romans 15:13, 2 Thessalonians 3:16 and Ephesians 3:20–21.
  • The Latin missa first meant “dismissal” and later named the Mass itself, according to the 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia.
  • Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox services keep the final blessing for a priest or bishop; a lay leader can pray a benediction for “us” instead of “you.”

To close a church service, a leader can pray: “Lord, thank you for meeting us here today. Let the word we have heard take root in us, keep us through the coming week, and bring us back safely to worship you again. Go with us now, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.” That is a closing prayer, spoken to God on behalf of everyone present. A benediction is something different: it is a blessing spoken over the people in…

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Bibliography (Click to show)
  • Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (1611), text of Project Gutenberg eBook no. 10 (Leviticus 9:22; Numbers 6:24–27; Nehemiah 8:10; Psalm 91:4; 100:4; Proverbs 3:5; Isaiah 41:10; Matthew 5:16; 18:20; Luke 24:50; Acts 1:8; 4:29; Romans 15:13; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 3:20–21; 4:3, 32; Philippians 4:7; 2 Thessalonians 3:16; Hebrews 13:20–21; James 1:22; 1 Peter 4:10; Jude 24–25). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10
  • The Book of Common Prayer (Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.), Standard Book of 1928. Morning Prayer, “A Prayer of St. Chrysostom” and the Grace, p. 20; Prayers, Collects, p. 49; Holy Communion, the Blessing, pp. 83–84. PDF facsimile: https://www.artisticdailyprayers.org/uploads/3/0/1/6/30164961/bcp1928std.pdf
  • Hapgood, Isabel Florence, trans. Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic (Greco-Russian) Church. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1906. The Divine Liturgy, Prayer before the Tribune, p. 121. https://www.ponomar.net/data/hapgood.pdf
  • A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity, prepared and published by order of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore. New York: Catholic Publication Society, 1888. The Canon of the Mass, pp. 156–157. https://archive.org/details/AManualOfPrayers1888
  • Fortescue, Adrian. “Ite Missa Est.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08253a.htm

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