Leading Pass the candle

Prayer Candle

Theme
General
Age Range
7-18
Type
Prayers
Number of Participants
4+
Timescale
1-5 minutes

Quick Overview

A simple but lovely prayer where a candle is passed around the group and young people are given the option to pray about anything they want to when they are given the candle.

Requires

A candle (preferably one in a jar).

Run through

  1. Sit the group in a circle and begin your time of prayer with the Sign of the Cross.
  2. Explain that you are going to pass the candle round the circle and that everybody is going to be holding it for a few moments. When each person has the candle they have the opportunity to share their prayer if they want to. Whether they say their prayer out loud or in their heart, you may like to encourage them to finish by saying “Amen” before they pass on the candle as this helps the group to know when the person has finished with their personal prayer and can make transitions smoother.
  3. Everybody else is invited to pray for the person who has the candle.
  4. Before the candle goes around, you can begin with a short piece of scripture or something else to set the atmosphere if you want to.
  5. Once the candle has been around to everyone you can say a communal prayer like the ‘Our father’, ‘Hail Mary’ or ‘Glory be’ to finish and conclude with the Sign of the Cross.

It’s worth remembering that with groups of more than twenty, it can take quite a while though.