When people first hear me talk to them about Protestant Prayer Beads (also known as 'The Anglican Rosary') I always want to take a quick snapshot of their reaction. It sounds so kooky. Don't worry. I know. It was my first reaction too. But as raised as my eyebrows were when I first heard about them, I sort of knew I needed to know more.

I playfully think of myself as a-little-bit-orthodox in the sense that I love lighting candles, burning incense and gazing at Byzantine art. It connects me with God by stimulating the senses. So, naturally, prayer beads were alluring to me. I've also had a secret curiosity with the Catholic Rosary since being a child. It always seemed like such an interesting way to pray especially for people like me who love to fiddle and struggle to sit still. The 'Hail Mary' element was problematic though (with all respect - I'm an Anglican) so, as you could imagine, after the initial hesitation upon hearing about the 'Anglican Rosary,' I was downright excited.

My intrigue with Protestant Prayer Beads quickly led to conversations with friends/ family. Thankfully they are well familiar with my incessant desire for discussion about all-things-God-and-Church after the completion of my Bachelor of Theology and having collected many stories from the various ministries I have been involved in over the years... but I think this one definitely took the cake. I was reading books about prayer beads and implementing various resources for them. I even started formulating my own prayers for use with the beads. Eventually, I tried my hand at making them and before long (and to my great surprise) found myself being asked to make them for others too! What I love the most about the whole journey is the feedback from those who have started using the beads and how, as a result, they have been inspired in a fresh approach to prayer.

However, at the end of the day, its important to state that this is just one of many avenues for exploring creativity in prayer and I'm far from suggesting that protestant prayer beads are 'the way-to-pray.' I simply promote them as they are; a useful and tactile prayer tool. In fact, I'm starting a blog at the moment called The Prayer Tree where I explore different avenues for creative prayer and contemplation. I encourage you to check out the free resources I've out together on my website (www.stillbeads.com) and I hope you leave excited to give prayer beads a try!