Wygal was a longtime YWCA official and all early recorded usages were from women involved in volunteer or educational activities connected to the YWCA. O God, give us the serenity to accept what cannot be changed, the courage to change what can be changed, and the wisdom to know the one from the other. In 1940, Wygal included the following form of the prayer in a book on worship, attributing it to Niebuhr: Several versions of the prayer then appeared in newspaper articles in the early 1930s written by, or reporting on talks given by, Wygal. The earliest recorded reference to the prayer is a diary entry from 1932 by Winnifred Crane Wygal, a pupil and collaborator of Reinhold Niebuhr, quoting the prayer and attributing it to Niebuhr. ![]() God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,Īnd Wisdom to know the difference. ![]() Įarly versions of the prayer are given no title, but by 1955, it was being called the Serenity Prayer in publications of Alcoholics Anonymous. It also appeared in a sermon of Niebuhr's in the 1944 Book of Prayers and Services for the Armed Forces, while Niebuhr first published it in 1951 in a magazine column. Niebuhr used it in a 1943 sermon at Heath Evangelical Union Church in Heath, Massachusetts. The prayer spread rapidly, often without attribution to Niebuhr, through church groups in the 1930s and 1940s and was adopted and popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs. Niebuhr composed the prayer in 1932–1933. Niebuhr's prayer originally asked for courage first, and specifically for changing things that must be changed, not things that simply can be changed:įather, give us courage to change what must be altered, serenity to accept what cannot be helped, and the insight to know the one from the other. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |