Q: What is a collect?
A: Pronounced “KAHL’-ekt,” a collect is “a short prayer that ‘collects’ the silent prayers of the people and consists of an invocation, a petition, and an ascription of glory to God. The collect of the day immediately precedes the reading of the lessons in the Liturgy of the Word in the eucharist, and other collects are used at feast days, saints’ days, and other special occasions. (Source: A Dictionary for Episcopalians, by John N. Wall)