Padre’s Ponderings for December 2025

As rector, my primary concern is for the spiritual well-being of St. John’s and our people.  As such, I am continually discerning new opportunities for St. John’s.  Enter Anglican Prayer Beads.  I spoke during a Connected Communities about the significance of prayer beads and how they are used.  Karon Myers and Lora Witt offered a prayer bead-making workshop.  And now I would like us to begin practicing together. 

During the four Sundays of Advent, we will have the opportunity to pray our Anglican Prayer Beads together in our All Saints’ Chapel.  Please come in through the Quarrier parking lot ramp door.  We will settle in together at 9:00 a.m. with our hearts and our prayer beads.  I will have copies of a simple prayer form to use in unison.  We will pray through three cycles, then observe silence.  Our St. Ambrose Choir begins warming up at 9:30 a.m., and Connected Communities begins at that time as well. 

Why pray our prayer beads together?  As my prayer life deepens, and as your prayer life deepens, the spiritual depth of St. John’s deepens.  The more spiritually grounded we are as beloved children of Christ, the more readily we will see God present in our worship, outreach, and formation.  The more we see Jesus present in our lives together, the more readily we will become witnesses to God’s unconditional love to others.  The more we witness, the more we co-create God’s Beloved Community here on the corner of Quarrier St. and Leon Sullivan Way and rippling further and further into the community around us.  We will become God-conscious and be reborn into the faith community Christ calls us to become. 

All that through praying Anglican Prayer Beads together on Sundays in Advent?  Yes and no.  All that as we become more and more intentional about our life together in Christ, where we practice inclusivity, justice, and faith in Christ!  Where all are welcome because all belong!

In God’s Grace,

Eric L. Miller+

Rector and Dean