Womens Uncommon Prayers

Looking for ways to be strong yet tender, independent yet intimate, women today strive toward ever greater understanding of themselves, their relationships with family and friends, and their place in the world. Written by clergy and lay women from all around the country, this compilation of prayers and poems is the collective wisdom of contemporary women who base their search for such understanding on the belief that all of life must be seen against the backdrop of a vital faith. Offered in a spirit of sharing and encouragement, these prayers and poems are as rich, intricate, and complex as the women's lives they represent. Women's Uncommon Prayers covers the full spectrum of emotions from desperate pleas for compassion in times of despair to quiet gratitude for the simple blessings of everyday living, to raucous praise during moments of celebration. These prayers touch on an amazing array of topics organized under the categories of identity, daily life, stages of life, spirituality, and ministry. Also included are comprehensive sections of seasonal and corporate prayers.

Written by clergy and lay women from around the country, this compilation of prayers and poems is the collective wisdom of contemporary women who base their search for such understanding on the belief that must be seen against the backdrop of a vital faith. These prayers touch on a variety of topics organized under the categories of identity, daily life, stages of life, spirituality and ministry.

After a near-death experience following a prolonged back surgery in 1973, Neva Balduff began a spiritual search to help her incorporate her powerful experience. Through prayer and meditation, she began 'receiving' poetry, prose, and original musical compositions. When her husband became critically ill in 2005, she spent the next two years caring for him and was inspired to keep a journal of this challenging time. The journal evolved into a book of Uncommon Prayers, poems through which Neva expressed feelings ranging from frustration to gratitude. It is her hope that these writings will be helpful to others who are experiencing difficult times, times when faith in God is the only thing that can keep body and soul together.

A collection of prayers from around the worldwide Anglican Communion that makes connections between women's personal lives and global concerns of women around the globe. It shows the connection, for example, between a woman's prayers for her child in the West and the plight of child labour in the third world.

A Prayer book designed to be used by individual women, as well as by those who are leading group prayer services. For nearly two millennia, Christian women have learned to pray in the language of other people's souls. From worshiping God as father to envisioning a holy life as a military campaign, they've been taught to approach the Divine with the hearts and minds of men. She Who Prays: A Woman's Interfaith Prayer Book offers women a new way to pray. It draws on feminine images of God, as well as the language and experience of women, to help women tap into their own rich and unique spirituality. With material from new translations of ancient Christian hymns and prayers, as well as original prayers in the Christian and other faith traditions, She Who Prays will help women speak to God in their own voices. Arranged in roughly the same format as the Book of Common Prayer, She Who Prays contains a seven-day cycle of daily prayer services, prayers for special occasions, and a woman-oriented liturgical calendar that honors the lives of women of all faiths. The book also contains four rituals marking such themes as healing, reconciliation, and new beginnings, and a prayer to be used while walking a labyrinth. An appendix provides information on world religions and instructions for group services.

For all women who seek to enrich and expand their prayer life, here is a unique anthology of prayers by Christian women from around the world and through the centuries. The beautiful, classic design of the book makes it perfect as a treasured gift, as well as a practical resource for daily prayer and spiritual renewal.

Klara Tammany is a professional Christian educator who goes about her calling with a joyous urgency. This book demonstrates her impassioned approach to religious instruction. She starts with the premise that ongoing Christian education must be central to a life of faith, and then proceeds from the corollary that baptism must be central to all Christian education. Eight group sessions focus repeatedly on water, first as a natural element necessary to life, then as a symbolic element necessary to spirituality. Gradually, through prayer, song, scripture, silence, poetry, visual arts, storytelling, group discussion, and personal reflection, water--as baptismal element--gains ascendancy. No longer mere, occasional refreshment, Living Water inundates, becomes life's very medium. This text makes for excellent catechumenal preparation but is intended for use by all Christians--those who are years into their journeys as well as those who are beginning. Designed for small groups of adult Episcopalians, the program is easily adaptable to other denominations, to one-on-one spiritual mentoring, to children, young adult, or intergenerational groups, and even to individuals for private meditation.