Video: How To Make Prayer Beads

I have heard from so many of you who have already made your own sets of prayer beads. That is great!

For those of you who are visual learners, or who want more guidance on how to make prayer beads, here is a link to a YouTube video. Made by The Upper Room for their 2011 Behold e-course, the video features me giving detailed instructions for how to make prayer beads.

Make Your Own Prayer Beads Video

Have fun!

Pre-Order Our Book and Receive a Discount!

We have had many requests to pre-order our upcoming book, A Bead and a Prayer: A Beginner’s Guide to Protestant Prayer Beads. Luckily, the good folks of The Upper Room have created a link for just that purpose! Even better, by using it you will receive 20% off the cover price! Just click here.

Thanks again for your excitement about the book! We can’t wait to see it, too!

 

 

A Major Endorsement for Our Upcoming Book!

I was sitting in my office Monday morning when I received an email from Jeannie Crawford-Lee, Editorial Director of The Upper Room Books. The first line indicated that Phyllis Tickle had agreed to endorse the book. I immediately began to cry. I’ve been a fan of Mrs. Tickle’s work for years and love to use her books on the Divine Office for morning and evening prayer. As founding editor of the Religion Department for Publishers Weekly, she is widely recognized as one of the leading experts on religion in America and is a prolific author and speaker on prayer and religion. Having her endorsement of the book is a huge gift!

But the tears really started to flow when I read what she wrote about the book:

“A Bead and a Prayer is one of the most accessible and downright delightful books I have ever read on prayer itself, not to mention being far and away the most informative about the making and use of prayer beads. Vincent has given us a veritable treasure trove of history, practical counsel and, most important, loving instruction.” - Phyllis Tickle

Wow. Somebody hand me a tissue.

(If you want to keep up with the book’s progress,  we just created the “Our Book” page above.)

Prayer Bead Devotion: Christ the Lord is Risen Today

Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!

We have come through the darkness and devastation of Good Friday, through the uncertainty of Holy Saturday, and are met with the glorious news of Christ’s resurrection on Easter!  We give thanks for the Lord our God, who loves us so much that he took on our sins, died for us, and then offers us the gift of eternal life through his resurrection.  There is much to celebrate, indeed!

I pray Easter blessings on you and your family today, and throughout this celebratory season of Easter!

Cross: In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Invitatory Bead: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the Resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.’”  (John 11:25 – 26 NIV)

Resurrection Bead: Christ the Lord is risen today. Alleluia!

1st Cruciform Bead: Jesus the Christ, we are full of joy as we celebrate your resurrection from the dead:

1st set of Week Beads: use each bead to praise God for the resurrection of Jesus.

2nd Cruciform Bead: Jesus Christ, because you are the Risen Lord we celebrate a life of service, sharing the good news of your resurrection with the world:

2nd set of Week Beads: use each bead to meditate on ways that you can serve Jesus, spreading the good news of His redemptive acts.

3rd Cruciform Bead: Jesus, Redeemer for the world, in your resurrection we see the hope of new life which you offer not just to us but to the whole of creation:

3rd set of Week Beads: use each bead to pray for the redemption of creation itself.

4th Cruciform Bead: Jesus, our Messiah, we pray ceaselessly for the day in which we are united with you in your kingdom and experience the full joy of the resurrection:

4th set of Week Beads: use each bead to meditate on the kingdom of God and the joy that will be ours when we dwell in fullness with God.

Resurrection Bead: Christ the Lord is risen today. Alleluia!

Invitatory Bead: recite the Lord’s Prayer

Cross: In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Prayer Bead Devotion: Crucifixion

Hopefully, you will have some time to be still today and place yourself at the foot of the cross using this devotion.

Cross: Lord, have mercy on us.

Invitatory Bead: ”They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means Skull Place. They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he didn’t take it. They crucified him. They divided up his clothes, drawing lots for them to determine who would take what. It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The notice of the formal charge against him was written, ‘The king of the Jews.’ They crucified two outlaws with him, one on his right and one on his left.” (Mark 15:22 – 28, CEB)

Resurrection Bead: Silence.

1^st Cruciform Bead: ”Those who were walking by insulted Jesus, shaking their heads and saying, ‘So you were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, were you? Save yourself! If you are God’s Son, come down from the cross.’” (Matthew 27:39 – 40, CEB)

1^st set of Week Beads: use each bead to notice the people who are present at the crucifixion. Hear their taunts. Feel the tension.

2^nd Cruciform Bead: ”From noon until three in the afternoon the whole earth was dark. At three, Jesus cried out with a loud shout, ‘Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani,’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you left me?’” (Mark 15:33 – 34, CEB)

2^nd set of Week Beads: use each bead to see Jesus in his agony. Hear his cries. Feel the oppressive darkness and despair that cover the earth.

3^rd Cruciform Bead: ”Jesus’ mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood near the cross.” (John 19:25, CEB)

3^rd set of Week Beads: use each bead to see Jesus’ mother and other family and friends as they witness his crucifixion. Feel their own despair and agony.

4^th Cruciform Bead: ”Crying out in a loud voice, Jesus said, ‘Father, into your hands I entrust my life.’ After he said this, he breathed for the last time.” (Luke 23: 46, CEB)

4^th set of Week Beads: use each bead to watch as Jesus dies. What is happening? What do you see? How do you feel?

Resurrection Bead: Silence

Invitatory Bead: Silence

Cross: Lord, have mercy on us. Amen.

Welcome Readers of The Upper Room

Welcome to all of you who learned about us from The Upper Room! The response to our Prayer Workshop in the current edition has been incredible. Clearly, there is great excitement about the possibility of using beads to deepen our connection with God! We are thrilled about that!

Currently, I am attending Session #3 of The Upper Room’s Academy for Spiritual Formation and will be home tomorrow. Once I get settled and have time to get back into the studio I will write a new prayer bead devotion. I will also write some posts on the history and symbolism of the beads to help you get familiar with this new – yet ancient – prayer practice.

In the meantime, I wanted to welcome you and answer a few questions that many of you have been asking:

1. Can I purchase your prayer beads? 

Absolutely! We love to create and share our prayer bead designs, which are available for purchase at http://www.prayerworksstudio.etsy.com. However, the response from The Upper Room article has been so great that we have currently closed our website to give us time to create new designs and catch up on orders. We will reopen the site on Sunday, February 3, 2013.

For those of you who cannot wait, we certainly understand your excitement and desire to get prayer beads as soon as possible. Plus, we know that we cannot begin to meet the need for prayer beads for all of you, since we are one family who works out of our home. For that reason, we would encourage you to look at other shops and websites as well. Many Episcopal churches have gift shops that sell Anglican prayer beads, and there are many websites where you can purchase prayer beads. I would also recommend a friend and fellow artisan, Christine Stanton, who owns Prayer Bedes. I have long been a fan of her work; she has a gorgeous aesthetic and a deep faith in God.

2. Can I make my own prayer beads?

Absolutely! Making your own prayer beads is a wonderful activity! You are using the creative gifts that God has given each of us to create something meaningful and that aids your prayer life. That is all good! I have included instructions for making your own prayer beads below.

3. How do I use prayer beads?

The good news about prayer beads is there is no right or wrong way to use them! I have provided some basic information on our page, “Prayer Bead Basics.” I encourage you to review that to get familiar with the Protestant (or Anglican) prayer bead format. Also, one of the basic prayers I use when teaching people how to use prayer beads is called “The Full Circle Prayer.”

Along the right side bar of this blog is a list of categories for our blog posts. All of the ones that begin with “Dev” are devotions I have written for use with prayer beads. I encourage you to browse through them to get a sense of the myriad ways you can use beads in prayer.

Again, I will write more when I return home, but for now, I want to welcome you. I am thrilled that you are interested in learning new ways to be with God.

Peace, Kristen

Instructions for Assembling Your Prayer Beads

Materials Needed

1. 5 large Cruciform beads
2. 29 medium Week beads
3. 36 small seed beads
4. 1 cross
5. 2 crimp tubes
6. about 2′ of wire (I recommend 49-strand, .19 or .18″)

Tools Required

1. 1 pair of chain-nosed pliers
2. 1 set of wire cutters

Instructions

1. Place one crimp tube on the wire.
2. Thread the wire through the cross
3. Fold about 1″ of wire back towards the cross and through the crimp tube (the crimp tube should now be up against the cross, with one long wire and the 1″ of wire both coming out of it)
4. Use the pliers to flatten the crimp tube
5. String the beads in the following order, taking them all the way down so that the first bead is lined up against the crimp tube that sits above the cross (note: make sure the beads cover both of the wires—the primary wire and the extra piece that extends from the top of the cross):
   1. 1 seed bead
   2. 1 Cruciform bead
   3. 1 seed bead
   4. 1 Week bead (optional)
   5. 1 seed bead (optional)
   6. 1 Cruciform bead
   7. 1 seed bead
6. String the second crimp tube
7. String the following beads:
   1. 1 seed bead
   2. 1 Week bead
   3. Repeat steps a and b 6 more times
   4. 1 seed bead
   5. 1 Cruciform bead
   6. Repeat steps a to e 2 more times
   7. Repeat steps a and b 7 more times
   8. 1 seed bead
8. Take the end of the wire and thread it back through the crimp tube that was added in Step 6 (the wire will be heading back towards the cross).  Thread it through the crimp tube, the seed bead, the Cruciform bead, the seed bead, and the Week bead so that it comes out from the bottom of the Week bead.
9. Pull the wire tightly, adjusting the beads as necessary to remove any slack in the wire and to ensure that the wire is completely covered up by the beads.
10. Using a pair of flat-nosed pliers, smash the crimp tube as tightly as possible.
11. Using a set of wire cutters, cut the remaining wire off as close to the beads as possible.
12. Enjoy your beads!  Blessings!

Prayer Bead Devotion: Set the World on Fire

We began 2013 with a prayer bead devotion focused on Wesley’s Covenant Service. I thought that was appropriate given that we begin each new year with a clean slate, upon which we write our new goals and hopes for the upcoming year. Giving that a foundation in the Covenant Service just seemed right.

Now, three weeks later, it’s a good time to check in. It may be by now that the freshness of the new year is wearing off. We are seeing what parts of our new goals and hopes are sticking, and which of them may be starting to lag. And so I wanted to offer another way of using beads to help us live intentionally in 2013.

St. Catherine of Siena, a fourteenth century nun, is famous for saying, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” I love that. It cuts right to the chase. Our ability to make a difference in the world will never be about the many hats we wear and our extensive to-do lists and our efforts to be all things to all people. It will be about how well we live as God intended.

So let us take time to remember who God meant us to be. We’ll use our beads to consider a) how we were created; b) what we were created to do; and c) and what our ultimate purpose is. If we can keep these three things in mind, we will surely set this world afire with the blazing glory of God’s love.

Cross: In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Invitatory Bead: ”Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” (St. Catherine of Siena)

Resurrection Bead: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

1^st Cruciform Bead: ”God created humanity in God’s own image, in the divine image God created them, male and female God created them.” (Genesis 1:27, CEB)

1^st set of Week Beads: use each bead to consider what it means that you were created in God’s image.

2^nd Cruciform Bead: ”Jesus replied, ‘The most important one is Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, You will love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.’” (Mark 12:29 – 31, CEB)

2^nd set of Week Beads: use each bead to consider what it means to love God with all your being, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.

3^rd Cruciform Bead: ”And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea – I heard everything everywhere say, ‘Blessing, honor, glory, and power belong to the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb forever and always.’” (Revelation 5:13, CEB)

3^rd set of Week Beads: use each bead to consider what it means for you – and the whole of creation – to worship God and proclaim Christ as King.

4^th Cruciform Bead: ”Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”

4^th set of Week Beads: use each bead to consider how you will live as God meant you to be.

Resurrection Bead: The Risen Christ is alive! Alleluia!

Invitatory Bead: recite The Lord’s Prayer

Cross: In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.