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When you receive this newsletter, we will be in the midst of Holy Week and preparing for Easter. We have been exploring pilgrimage through “The Way” during this Lenten season and following Easter, during Eastertide, our focus will be on prayer and the utilization of prayer beads.

Prayer beads have historical roots in Judaism and are used across faith traditions. For Jews, the knots on prayer shawls were a tactile way to keep track of their prayers. For early Christians, specifically the desert fathers and mothers who had moved from cities to live in the desert, prayer ropes with knots, were used in a similar way. These desert dwelling Christians would pray all 150 Psalms and would use the knots on their prayer rope to keep track. Eventually the prayer ropes turned to beads and then evolved into what many know as The Rosary.  

For Protestants, prayer beads are different in several ways. First, we do not use the same prayers as Roman Catholics and second, we have a different configuration and number of beads. Protestant prayer beads have four cruciform beads, and seven beads between each of those four (totaling 28). Then there is a cross bead, an invitatory bead and a resurrection bead at the beginning. In addition, there aren’t prescribed prayers for each bead. There are guidelines, but one can be creative and use different prayers as needed for one’s own journey with God.  

We are going to look in depth at the Lord’s Prayer during our Eastertide series entitled “All My Days.” Often, the Lord’s Prayer IS used when coming to the cruciform beads in the prayer sequence or it is said at the beginning when using prayer beads. For those of you who grew up Roman Catholic, this will be a familiar practice, but experienced in a new way. For those who grew up Protestant, this may be new and even uncomfortable at first. But I hope you will be open to a new way of praying that uses touch and can provide a particular structure when that’s helpful.  

Look for more information soon about a prayer bead workshop and a possible study opportunity utilizing Kristen E. Vincent’s book, A Bead and a Prayer.  

See you soon!  

Pastor Jenny