By Heather Melton, UTO Staff Officer

You might be doing a double-take given the title of this article, but don’t be alarmed, it is time to start the process of collecting prayers for the next edition of the UTO prayer booklet! You might be surprised to hear that we spend an entire year soliciting and collecting prayers, and then it takes about six to eight months to compile them, copy edit, format and set up the prayer booklet. (This last booklet was further slowed down by supply chain issues for paper.) The current prayer booklet, which we usually release at Convention, was released last year because we were out of booklets, and we know how many of you look forward to them. 

This year we are sending out the call for prayer as the Easter season begins. Easter is a great time to write prayers of gratitude. Remember, you can write any prayer you want, and anyone can write a prayer. You can also write in whatever language is most comfortable to you. Our last prayer booklet included prayers about dinosaurs and the pandemic, so no topic is off limits. Please share with your community the call for prayers, have a prayer-writing party, encourage kids in Sunday School to write a prayer and get published, and make sure you send one in, too.

Once you are ready to submit a prayer you can do so here. If you’re worried about using the online form, you can also email your prayers to me and I’ll put them in the form for you. Just be sure to include your name, parish, and diocese for the form.