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Praying about the flow of time: The overlap of the sacred and the ordinary

Lynne Baab • Tuesday November 12 2024

In 2013, I heard a speaker who changed my perspective on how congregations help people grow in faith. Nancy Ammerman is a sociologist of religion. In two talks just over a decade ago, she described her recent research, published a few months later in her book Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes: Finding Religion in Everyday Life. She and her team of researchers interviewed dozens of people in two major American cities, talking with them at length. The interviewees included Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, and people committed to various other forms of spirituality.

The researchers found that people with the deepest...

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Praying about the flow of time: Small actions with big benefits

Lynne Baab • Tuesday November 5 2024

A woman with school-age kids told me that after she says goodbye to her kids each morning when they leave for the school bus, she stands by the door for another minute. She places her hand on the door and prays for each child’s day at school.

A busy children’s ministries director at a church with lots of kids takes a complete day off every Thursday. She calls it her Sabbath, and one of her favorite Sabbath activities is grocery shopping. She lingers in the produce department, looking at the beauty of fruits and vegetables, handling them reverently as she places them...

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Praying about the flow of time: All Hallow’s Eve and All Saints Day

Lynne Baab • Tuesday October 29 2024

I was looking forward to researching this post. I don’t know a lot about the history of All Hallow’s Eve (which has morphed into Halloween) and All Saints Day (November 1). After reading a very long Wikipedia entry and a few other websites, I am more confused than ever. Did these two holidays originate with the Romans? Celts? Germans? Pagans? What a mishmash of traditions formed our current practice of Halloween. I did learn that Halloween is a major revenue source for many businesses—not a topic I would usually write about but perhaps something to pray about!

I do know that Christians have...

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Praying about the flow of time: Daily rhythms of prayer

Lynne Baab • Tuesday October 22 2024

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy, Whose trust, ever child-like, no cares can destroy, Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray, Your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.

That hymn has been playing on repeat in my mind recently. It is sung to the traditional Irish tune of “Be Thou My Vision.” It has four verses, each focused on a different time of day. You can listen to it, with beautiful views of Westminster Abbey, here.

The author, Jan Struther, wrote the words in 1931, a few years before she began writing a column for The...

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