"I'll pray for you." Throughout the world these words are spoken thousands of times a day. Increasingly, these words are also the impetus for the birth of a "prayer circle" - an extraordinary phenomenon affecting people from all walks of life. Author and journalist Holly Bridges blends true stories and commentary to examine the transformational power of collective prayer. Brimming with personal accounts, this powerful book shows how the lives of both the "pray-ers" and the "pray-ees" are frequently changed forever.
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Bridges has a wonderful knack for bringing out the sacred in the ordinary. -- Frederic A. Brussat, Values & Visions
Children grow up in homes where individualism is pre-eminent and human solidarity is unknown. To retrieve a sense of community and affirm the one human family God has created is the central issue of our times. In a Circle of Prayer, Holly Bridges engages this issue in profound and simple ways, and describes many poignant ways in which people can build communities of care and compassion. -- George Frank Regas
No matter the religion or sect, prayer is an essential of it, for both individuals and groups. Bridges' fluent, accessible advisor is concerned with what she calls circles of prayer, a term with which she covers a range of regular meetings. The 19 examples she presents range from a Christian prayer meeting unusual only in that its participants are very upscale, to nuclear armaments protesters who have for 40 years periodically occupied [illegally] one Nevada test site, to university teachers who meet for free-form dancing, to children in an alternative day-care center who deal with conflicts in "peace pauses" during which they calm themselves and, with staff help, seek resolution. All 19 groups are alike in regularly doing something that enables what is conventionally called the Holy Spirit to work within each member and among them all. At two-chapter intervals, Bridges also presents a question to bear in mind when seeking, starting, or maintaining a prayer circle and a checklist of considerations for responding to the questions; at the end of the book, she expands further on all 10 questions. Partly but crucially because Bridges advocates no particular religion or method, her book bids fair to become a spiritual counseling classic. -- Booklist
Children grow up in homes where individualism is pre-eminent and human solidarity is unknown. To retrieve a sense of community and affirm the one human family God has created is the central issue of our times. In a Circle of Prayer, Holly Bridges engages this issue in profound and simple ways, and describes many poignant ways in which people can build communities of care and compassion. -- George Frank Regas
No matter the religion or sect, prayer is an essential of it, for both individuals and groups. Bridges' fluent, accessible advisor is concerned with what she calls circles of prayer, a term with which she covers a range of regular meetings. The 19 examples she presents range from a Christian prayer meeting unusual only in that its participants are very upscale, to nuclear armaments protesters who have for 40 years periodically occupied [illegally] one Nevada test site, to university teachers who meet for free-form dancing, to children in an alternative day-care center who deal with conflicts in "peace pauses" during which they calm themselves and, with staff help, seek resolution. All 19 groups are alike in regularly doing something that enables what is conventionally called the Holy Spirit to work within each member and among them all. At two-chapter intervals, Bridges also presents a question to bear in mind when seeking, starting, or maintaining a prayer circle and a checklist of considerations for responding to the questions; at the end of the book, she expands further on all 10 questions. Partly but crucially because Bridges advocates no particular religion or method, her book bids fair to become a spiritual counseling classic. -- Booklist
From the Publisher
According to a recent Newsweek poll, the majority of American adults, 54 percent, report praying on a daily basis. Eighty-seven percent say they believe that God answers their prayers at least some of the time. Prayer is back and world-wide people are choosing to pray together creating an exciting new community through circles of prayer.
Prayer circles bring from two to hundreds of individuals together-face to face, by telephone, fax machine, mail, and even on the Internet. Together these groups promote prayer for the health, peace of mind, and well-being of friends, loved ones, and sometimes complete strangers. The powerful pull of connection and caring through prayer is overcoming the growing feeling of estrangement and isolation many of us feel. Spiritual torpor and self-obsession dissolve with the power of prayer. People are finding each other in new and vibrant ways and creating incredibly healthy cells in the body of humanity.
Journalist Holly Bridges was intrigued by this phenomenon. Prayer is usually a solitary act; why suddenly have people turned it into a community activity? She asked. Who are the people who pray together, and what rewards do they reap? Who benefits more, the "prayer" or the "prayee"? Ms. Bridges decided to find out. So she set out to interview participants of prayer circles and collect stories about the power of collective prayer.
The results are recorded in her new book, A Circle of Prayer: Coming Together to 'Find Spirit, Caring and Community, and the results are surprising. For some, the power is in prayer for others; for others, the course of their lives has been altered against all odds when others prayed for them. In most cases, the effects are profound.
Ms. Bridges, who holds an M.A. in theology, offers nineteen true stories of people who come together in prayer-some traditional and some not. Stories included: Carmen and her prayer group who pray for everything from finding the perfect mate to supporting one another during life transitions; Susan who relied on group prayer to help a friend die with dignity; and the fascinating story of a group of intellectuals who, for the past eighteen years have met to pray together in the form of free-form dance. In addition, she includes special tips on organizing and maintaining a prayer circle, reaching out to friends and strangers alike, and adapting a prayer circle to your own spiritual beliefs and needs.
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