In 1962, Hallmark began using the prayer in its graduation cards, crediting Niebuhr, and in the 1970s they also produced a wall plaque. Įarly versions of the prayer are given no title, but it was called the Serenity Prayer in a 1950 AA Grapevine journal of Alcoholics Anonymous. Niebuhr first published it in 1951, in a magazine column. It then also appeared in a sermon of Niebuhr's in the 1944 Book of Prayers and Services for the Armed Forces. Niebuhr, to whom the prayer has been most often attributed, first presented it in a form for which records remain a 1943 sermon at Heath Evangelical Union Church in Heath, Massachusetts. The prayer spread rapidly, often without attribution, through church groups in the 1930s and 1940s and was adopted and popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous in 1941 and other twelve-step programs. Whenever it was first conceived or penned, it appeared in print at least as early as 1933, associated with Winnifred Wygal alone. The 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,Īnd the wisdom to know the difference. The prayer has also made its way into popular culture, including in works by Bill Watterson and Neil Young, and programming including True Detective. Since at least the early 1960s, commercial enterprises such as Hallmark have used the prayer in its greeting cards and gift items. Regardless of origins, the prayer has achieved very wide distribution, appearing throughout church groups later in the 1930s, and in Alcoholics Anonymous and related organizational materials since at least 1941. Despite this history and confusion, William FitzGerald takes Wygal's case, arguing sexism as the reason for misattribution, while Fred Shapiro's work, with greater nuance, has alternated his conclusions, but presents both the messages that the "rigin is debated" and Wygal as author in materials relating to the The New Yale Book of Quotations, published in 2021. The written prayer has been alternatively attributed to the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971), (his having claimed authorship, and its having been used in a 1943 sermon by him in Heath, Massachusetts, and thereafter), but also to Niebuhr colleague Winnifred Crane Wygal, who presented it March 1933, and again in a 1940 book (in the latter case attributing it to Niebuhr). The Serenity Prayer is an invocation by the petitioner for wisdom to understand the difference between circumstances ("things") that can and cannot be changed, asking courage to take action in the case of the former, and serenity to accept in the case of the latter. See also our version of it: Serenity, courage & wisdom.A version of the Serenity prayer appearing on an Alcoholics Anonymous medallion (date unknown). See also our version of it: A mindful, proactive quest for serenity, courage & wisdom. See also our version of it: Courage, Serenity & Wisdom. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, He wrote what came to be known as the Serenity Prayer for a sermon, and used it in a variety of forms, including a longer-form poem. Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) was a very infuential American theologian.
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