Over her ten years as prayer chain leader at the Congregational Church of South Dartmouth, Marcia Hathaway had seen only two types of prayer: help and thanks.

Hathaway decided to take all the cries for help and praise of thanks she’d been given and compile them into a non-denominational book of prayer.

Her book, “A Village Prays” is a compilation of 122 of her most resonant prayers written from 2005 through early 2015. The final number was narrowed down to the most poignant prayers from about 600. Hathaway had five readers read through all the prayers and then grade them through a check system; Hathaway herself was not involved in the culling process.

The book doesn’t have to be read in its entirety and there is not chronology. Instead, the book is indexed by prayer topic. Anything from “Greece” to “Boston Strong” can be searched and read. Prayers run the gamut from tear-jerking to joyful.

What impressed Hathaway was that when one person really loved and was moved by a prayer, everyone else who read it was too.

“When something strikes somebody, it strikes everybody,” Hathaway said.

Hathaway was raised Roman Catholic and her husband, Warren, was raised a Quaker. They both wanted to give their son, Luke, a structured upbringing, and so they compromised and joined a Congregational church, a denomination of Protestantism.

Though it’s not a rigorously structured religion, it provided the “right balance” for their son and themselves, two people brought up with different religious backgrounds.

It was from her time in the congregational church that inspired the prayer chain that would lead to her book.

“There’s power in numbers and power in prayers,” said Hathaway.

This prayer chain operates through people who come to Hathaway with their prayer intention. The topics of prayer come from others and Hathaway waits for the prayers to come to her. After writing them down, she then sends the prayer intention to her pray-ers, people who volunteer their time to pray for others.

“All your responsibility is to read the prayer I write,” Hathaway said.

Hathaway’s prayers don’t read like traditional prayers but more like conversations.

Inclusivity is important to Hathaway and so prayers are sent to people from outside of the Congregationalist church.

“You don’t need to be a part of the church to be prayed from,” Hathaway said.

Hathaway’s writing process is interesting because “I didn’t write these prayers, I waited for them to come to me.”

For some prayers, it would take some time before she was struck with the inspiration to write; she didn’t just pick up a pen and start writing anything that came to her head.

Conversely, some events were so poignant – like the Boston Marathon bombing and Hurricane Katrina - that the words struck her immediately.

The book cover is a photo that Hathaway took from her own home, a shot of the sun over the horizon shining on the winter landscape. The glow distracts from the fact that the horizon is covered in mud and ice.

“It’s the glory amidst the dirt,” Hathaway said. “…that’s pretty much how life is.”

“A Village Prays” is available for purchase for $15 plus tax by cash or check only. Ten percent of the price will be donated to the Congregational Church’s Women’s Guild. The book can be purchased Sunday, Nov. 8 at the Congregational Church of South Dartmouth; at the HealthTrax on Monday, Nov. 9 from 4 – 7p.m.; or at the Congregation’s church fair on Sat, Nov. 14 from 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.