About the Author
Madeleine L'Engle is Author in Residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. In addition to being a prolific writer, she has been a teacher, an actress, and the proprietor of a general store. Among the numerous literary awards her books have garnered is the John Newberry Award for A Wrinkle in Time. Her recent books include Mothers and Daughters (with her daughter Maria), Friends for the Journey (with Luci Shaw), and Bright Evening Star. Ms. L'Engle divides her time between homes in Goshen, Conn., (where she once ran that general store) and New York City.
Luci Shaw is Writer in Residence at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the author of seven volumes of poetry, including Polishing the Petoskey Stone and Writing the River. She is also well known as a retreat facilitator and a lecturer on art and spirituality, the poetic imagination, and journal-writing as an aid to artistic and spiritual growth. She has co-authored two other books with Madeleine L'Engle, most recently Friends for the Journey. She and her husband, John Hoyte, live in Bellingham, Wash.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
This is a book to read with a friend.
In fact, this is the best way to use this book. This is a prayerbook in two voices---written by friends for friends to share.
Luci Shaw writes of her friendship with Madeleine L'Engle: "Praying together has become our habit . . . We feel that even our dialog with each other is prayer---the description of our circumstances, our needs---because God is there with us, listening."
Think of everything in this book as a prayer. All the dialogs are meant to be read aloud by two friends. Settings are suggested for the prayers---settings that often assume prayer partners can be together in the same place. That they---you and your friend---can look at each other, can touch, hold hands with each other, and with God.
But that isn't necessary: a phone call can work well. Luci and Madeleine often pray together over the phone (they live on oppostie ends of the country). In fact, many of these prayers were first spoken over the phone, and are easily adapted to be read over the phone. (It will help if each friend has a copy of the book.)
Read each set of prayers to yourselves first. Decide which voice you and your partner will take. Then, as you read aloud together, enter the lives of these women. Become their prayer partners as well. Use their prayers to pray for Madeleine and Luci. And let their words be their prayers for you, too. Feel them enter your lives and prayer time. Sense the power of this new alliance, this communion of saints.
This book is a starter.
Make the prayers in this book your prayers for each other. The topics and feelings are ones you, too, have known. Change the names in the prayers, add your own needs and circumstances.
Finally, move beyond this book, creating your own personal prayerbook---written or oral, in person, by phone, or on e-mail. Gather together with your prayer partner and God and start a prayer habit of your own, whenever you need or want to pray together.
It's a habit that will build stronger prayers and better friendships! ---from "A Word Before You Begin"
