As a highly compact form of speech capable of stimulating the imagination, poetry can be effectively used in almost any of the various dimensions or acts of public worship. This article catalogs a variety of ways that poetry can be used in worship and gives guidelines to worship planners for selecting poems and readers.

When we come together to worship God, we are participating in an ancient ritual expressed through many traditions. The unifying factor is that we come as God’s children to enter into a dialogue with him.

Though our worship may be experienced and expressed in various ways, a major dimension of worship is verbal. We hear God speak through his Word and through the words of his people. We respond in words and songs of praise and thanksgiving as well as confession and supplication. While many of the words come directly from Scripture, we often use words from other sources, including the words that spring from our own hearts and minds. The songs we sing, the prayers we pray, a call to confession, a litany of praise, an introduction to an offering, or a parting blessing—all of these may be human compositions of language used for divine worship. At its best, the language for such various elements of the worship service is thoughtful, artful, and edifying. Though this language need not be poetry, carefully selected poems can at times significantly serve the verbal dimensions of worship.

Poetry, by nature, is writing that articulates a concentrated experience or emotion or thought through image, sound, and rhythm. Like all arts—music, visual arts, dramatic arts—poetry is a creative gift from God that can be used to edify God’s people and glorify the Creator. The Bible gives us many examples. The Book of the Psalms, the Bible’s richest source of poetry, gives expression to a wide range of emotions, experiences, and thoughts (a point Luci Shaw makes in her “Poetry’s Permanence: the Psalms”). Poetry is also found in Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Isaiah and Jeremiah, and other prophetic books, and occasionally in the New Testament, as in 2 Timothy and the glorious prose-poem of 1 Corinthians 13. These are God-inspired examples that give evidence of the wealth and uses of poetic language.

The hymns of the church offer another rich example of poetry used in worship. The case has been made in other places for the use of hymns (in addition to the singing of psalms) in the church. Many of our favorite hymns were originally written simply as poetry and set to music much later. We may think, therefore, of religious poetry as an unsung hymn, appropriate for adoration, celebration, thanksgiving, invitation, supplication, and confession.

But a good poem can also serve other purposes in worship. It can powerfully present the truth of human experience. It can make an old truth new again. It can so dramatically render an implication of God’s truth that none can fail to listen. In all these ways and others, poetry can fulfill a sermonic function in worship.

There are many ways, then, to use poetry in worship. Poetry can be incorporated occasionally within any general service, or it can occasionally serve as the primary verbal medium of the service.

The Occasional Uses of Poetry in Worship

It’s possible to find a poem whose rich imagery, poignant emotion, or profound thought expresses a particular idea so well that it could almost constitute the sermon. But it might be most appropriate to use such a poem as a complement to the sermon. The poem, such as the following, could serve as an introduction to the theme or as an opener for the sermon, or it could be used within the sermon as an illustration or clincher for a point made, or it could be used at the end to reinforce the main thrust of the sermon or to bring it into sharper focus.

I’m Tired

i’m tired, so tired
i can’t …
oh Lord, i can’t go on.
i’m going down
and i’ll never rise again.
what use am I
if i am lying in the dust?
if i am fallen in the pit?
are you tired indeed?
then come to me
for i am meek and lowly.
and if you would have rest,
then come to me
in lowliness of heart,
and i will give you
my precious burden
my easy yoke
for it is never you who till alone
nor carry by yourself.
so come to me
and i will give you a parched
and thirsty land to till
and i will give you rest. (Debbie Wallis)

There are many fine poems that were inspired by certain verses from Scripture or by certain biblical characters. If those verses or characters are key to the theme of the service, either the sermon or the reading of Scripture might be enhanced by an accompanying poem, such as “Prophecy” by Luci Shaw. Some poems also work very well paired with certain songs and hymns; for instance, George Herbert’s poem “Let All the World in Every Corner Sing” could be used to introduce the hymn “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”

Special events such as baptisms and professions of faith offer unique opportunities for the use of poetry. For example, when a child named Blake was baptized, his aunt read “The Lamb” by poet William Blake as part of the baptismal ceremony. An appropriate poem read by a special person (as is true of a special musical selection) can add both significance and emotional impact to the occasion.

There are a number of good poems about the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper service. Some might work well as an introduction to the service of communion; others might be appropriate as an offering of praise at the conclusion of the feast. Madeleine L’Engle’s “After the Saturday Liturgy at Montfort” might be a fitting poem to use in this context, or “Covenant Celebration” by Nancy Todd.

In addition to being used to accompany or complement various elements of the service, poetry can also be used in place of a particular element. A good example of this is the offering of prayer. Prayer can be taken directly from Scripture, the words of a song (even the singing of a song can be a prayer), the words of St. Augustine or other Christian writers, the original words of the person praying—and from poetry. Examples from literary history abound, from Donne’s “Batter My Heart” to e.e. cummings’ “i thank you God.” But poems can substitute for other elements of the service as well. A poem may serve as an invocation or call to confession or assurance of pardon, as Carlisle’s poem illustrates:

Next of Kin

God remembers our structure and our texture our congruity with the grass our continuity with the dust. More than a father feels for his children He senses our need. Even when we are too foolish to fear or heed Him He keeps His love invariably available. (Thomas John Carlisle)

Expressions of praise and thanksgiving can come from the wealth of poetry that celebrates God’s creation or His work in the human heart. Such poems might also be used as a response of gratitude or poetic offering (like a musical offering along with the offering of monetary gifts). “Pied Beauty” by Gerard Manley Hopkins is one that might work well; another possibility is “Individuation” by Nancy Thomas. There are even good benedictory poems that could be fitting at the conclusion of the service. Clearly, possibilities for the occasional use of poetry in worship are numerous.

Primary Uses of Poetry in Worship

Services can also be designed with poetry as a primary verbal expression. This can be done especially effectively within a particular liturgical season. Some of the most profound poetry deals with the suffering and sacrifice of Christ; carefully selected pieces can be combined with Scripture readings and music for a moving and meaningful service during Lent. Other poems are very appropriate for use in special services around Easter and Christmas.

There may be other occasions in which poetry can be a key ingredient of the service: the celebration of a church anniversary; a prayer day; a service with a biblical theme such as God’s creation, sins of the flesh, the parable of the sower, or a Bible character. For example, the poems of Thomas John Carlisle in You! Jonah! could shape the design of a service about Jonah.

For any of these services, the planners must consider the congregation’s interest and aptitude for poetry and allow that to guide both the number and type of poems used in a particular service. A worship service that consisted entirely of poetry would perhaps be neither judicious nor theologically sound. But if the poems are carefully selected and paired with readings from Scripture and appropriate songs (whether for choral or congregational singing) into a seamless worship experience, members of the congregation may discover in new ways the power of God’s word and his gift of language.

Considerations for Selection of Poetry and Readers

Careful selection is critical to the successful use of poetry in worship. The primary consideration should be the thematic appropriateness of the poem. A pastor’s favorite poem may not fit well into a particular service even though he or she may be tempted to make it fit. But a poem that does not enhance or enrich the thematic center of the service forfeits its function.

Many fine poems do not lend themselves to oral presentation. They are difficult to read aloud, difficult to listen to, and difficult to understand. Therefore, poetry for use in worship must be chosen for its readability, listenability, and comprehensibility.

This means that the language of worship poetry should be fairly contemporary and concrete. Imagery should have the power to engage the listeners’ imagination readily. The rhythm should be close to that of natural speech. End rhyme, if it’s there at all, should not be forced or artificial. Poems should not be so long as to become taxing to listen to. In sum, the best poems for oral interpretation in worship are those which evoke and enrich genuine experience within a spiritual context.

There may be only a few gifted poetry readers in any congregation. The people who actually read the poems aloud in a worship service should be carefully chosen and given ample opportunity for oral rehearsal, ideally with the help of a qualified coach. A reader should prepare thoroughly for the presentation of the poems and consider such aspects of delivery as these: poetry should be read at a pace that gives time for the images to take shape in the listener’s imagination; the lines should be read according to the phrasing of ideas, not according to the length of the lines; the appropriate use of pauses and stresses for emphasis is crucial to conveying the ideas or emotions of the poem.

It is usually preferable not to print the text of the poems in the liturgy or bulletin because the poems will be better understood by hearing them read well than by reading them for oneself. When a service is planned which incorporates several poems, it might be helpful to provide copies of the poems after the service (making sure to follow any copyright rules) for those people who will appreciate being able to read the poems for further reflection.