This “Synagogue Consecration Prayer ” by the Hon. Lily H. Montagu (1873-1963) was included by Rabbi Morrison David Bial in his anthology, An Offering of Prayer (1962), p. 50. Although the context is not provided by Rabbi Bial, we would like to imagine that the consecration was for the establishment of the West Central Liberal Jewish Synagogue in 1928 (destroyed by Nazi German bombardment of London in 1941). . . .

An essay on the praxis of prayer as contained in “Club Letter №3” (March 1939) written by the Hon. Lily H. Montagu (1873-1963) and found in the Private Collection of Hannah Feldman, London. The essay was published in, Lily Montagu: Sermons, Addresses, Letters, and Prayers (ed. Ellen M. Umansky, 1985), pp. 51-54. . . .

This prayer for a pluralism respecting religious and philosophical differences, first appears in A Selection of Prayers, Psalms, and Other Scriptural Passages, and Hymns for Use at the Services of the Jewish Religious Union (1902), where it is №7 on page 6. (In the revised 1903 edition of the prayerbook, it is №20 on page 20.) . . .

This prayer for the wellbeing of the Jewish people first appears in A Selection of Prayers, Psalms, and Other Scriptural Passages, and Hymns for Use at the Services of the Jewish Religious Union (1902), where it is №6 on page 6. (In the revised 1903 edition of the prayerbook, it is №19 on page 19.) . . .

This prayer for communal prayer first appears in A Selection of Prayers, Psalms, and Other Scriptural Passages, and Hymns for Use at the Services of the Jewish Religious Union (1902), where it is №5 on page 6. . . .

A Selection of Prayers, Psalms, and Other Scriptural Passages, and Hymns… (Jewish Religious Union 1903) is the expanded second, revised provisional edition of the nascent Jewish Religious Union of London, the pioneering Liberal (Reform movement) congregation in the United Kingdom. . . .

A Selection of Prayers, Psalms, and Other Scriptural Passages, and Hymns for Use at the Services of the Jewish Religious Union, London (1902) is the original “provisional” edition of the nascent Jewish Religious Union of London, the pioneering Liberal (Reform movement) congregation in the United Kingdom. . . .

“Friday’s Prayer” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 15-16. . . .

“Thursday’s Prayer” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 14-15. . . .

“Wednesday’s Prayer” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 13-14. . . .

“Monday’s Prayer” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 10-11. . . .

“Tuesday’s Prayer” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 12-13. . . .

“Sunday’s Prayer” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 10-11. . . .

“Meditation on the Sabbath” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 18-19. . . .

“Sabbath Prayer” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 19-20. . . .

“A Prayer for the Sabbath Eve” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), page 17. . . .

“Night Prayer” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 9-10. . . .

“Morning Prayer” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 7-8. . . .

“Prayer of Thanksgiving” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 6-7. This prayer reads to me as possibly intended to be used as a prayer of transition, before the tradition of the bat mitsvah was universally adopted, at a time when a young woman might be old enough to begin contemplating their future, their marriage prospects, and their general “usefulness” — especially in regards to their future work — the overarching theme of this collection of prayers. This affirmation in particular stands out to me as radically important for Lilian Montagu and other young suffragettes to express in 1895: “Lord, whether in the future I marry or whether I remain single, I shall be able to lead a useful, happy life” and “Lord, I thank Thee for my womanhood!” . . .

“On Becoming Engaged” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 30-31. . . .