The Collect

The Collect was written as a personal prayer by Mary Stewart in 1904. She was just out of college and beginning her first job as a high school principal. She offered the prayer for publication as a club woman’s Collect because she felt “women working together for large ends” was something new. It has since been printed in many forms and many lands and set to music.

It is recited at each monthly meeting.

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The word “collect” (pronounced COLL-ect) comes from the Latin word collectus which means “gathered together.”

A Collect is a prayer to God which gathers together the thoughts of the congregation into one prayer for the day.

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