A Book of Prayer: For Gay and Lesbian Christians

I have met William Storey. He is a retired professor from University of Notre Dame and operates a book store in South Bend, Indiana. He is highly regarded as an editor for many prayerbooks principally for Catholics. This one is unique for its use among gay and lesbian Christians. He has a section of prayers for folks abandoned by their families, prayers for those affected by addiction, prayers for a commitment ceremony and prayers for everyday life. This is a one of a kind book and I use it everyday. For those gay and lesbians who seek a spiritual orientation for their lives, this book is a must to buy!

Professor Storey has composed a profound, deeply spiritual collection of prayers for gay men and women. This is a precious book to buy for our friends and share it with them. I highly recommend it. Many of the prayers in this book are for all those men and women (not only in the gay, bi, and transgender community) who feel in exile in our contemporary society. These prayers are heartfelt and have a profound healing message.

This is a fine prayer book that is simultaneously steeped in the tradition of Christian hours and sensitive to the lives of lesbians and gay men. It contains the time-honored morning and evening prayer, but it is more than just a conventional Psalter. With its devotional prayers, this book of hours marks the times of joy and sorrow in the lives of gay and lesbian Christians. Bill Storey has included prayers for a coming-out party, the gift of a spouse, and a holy union; he has also incorporated prayers for times of sickness and abandonment by family and friends, as well as prayers for enemies. In these prayers for special occasions and for the everyday, Storey demonstrates a deep awareness of the spirituality, the joys, difficulties, and the predicaments of lesbians and gay men. His prayers tenderly address a God who loves the hearts, minds, and bodies of gay people. Storey's "Book of Prayer" will nourish those who use it and make them clap their hands with holy glee.

A saying of Jesus applies well to Dr. Storey's "A Book of Prayer": "Every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven is like the steward who brings forth from his store room things both old and new." The "new" in this book include eloquent prayers for the good stewardship of our human sexuality, and laments for the loss of certain dear relationships that coming-out usually entails for gay people. The Ceremony of Holy Union, offered with many prayer alternatives, will surely influence most future gay ceremonies of life commitment. "Old" in this book is the masterful marshalling of scripture and liturgical tradition is every section--and, going back to Jesus Himself is a confidence, visible throughout Dr. Storey's book, in the almost reckless accessibility of God.