A Nod to My Episcopal Background

I spent about one and a half years in an Episcopal school before becoming an atheist, and I endured seven more years of daily, then weekly, chapel services as a non-believer. And while I hated it at the time, I now occasionally miss the centuries-old liturgy and the almost mystical solemnity of some of the rites. I particularly miss the idea of communal prayer. I know that it tends, over time, to devolve into rote recitation. But there is still something powerful about a room full of people all confessing their sins together.

Almighty and most merciful Father,
we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep,
we have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts,
we have offended against thy holy laws,
we have left undone those things which we ought to have done,
and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.
But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
spare thou those who confess their faults,
restore thou those who are penitent,
according to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord;
and grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake,
that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life,
to the glory of thy holy Name.

Amen.

Or even the sweet simplicity of this modern version:

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against thee in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved thee with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in thy will,
and walk in thy ways,
to the glory of thy Name.

Amen.