BELIEFS & PRACTICE
Prayer beyond words

IN THE NORTHEAST
• The Chaplaincy Institute of Maine (ChIME) trains chaplaincy candidates and others in several nontraditional prayer techniques, including body prayer. It is located in Portland, Maine. Contact the Rev. Jacob Watson, abbot, 207-347-6740, chime@gwi.net.
• Claire Monachino facilitates the Sacred Dance Ensemble at St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vt. The ensemble’s purpose is to embody prayer in dance. Contact 802-654-2254.
•The Rev. Robert VerEecke is a Catholic priest and pastor of St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in Chestnut Hill, Mass. He has written about liturgical dance and dance as prayer and leads workshops on embodied prayer in the Boston area. Contact 617-552-6100.

IN THE EAST
• Sister Ona B. Bessette is a nun and principal of St. Jean Baptiste High School in New York, N.Y. She wrote an article titled “Dance as Prayer: Moving the Body to Stir the Soul” for Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice. Contact 212-288-1645 ext. 235, obessette@stjean.org.
• The Dervish Retreat Center in Spencer, N.Y., holds classes in the whirling dance of the dervish, a form of Sufi prayer. Contact Sheikha Khadija, founder of the center, 607-272-0694, khadija@whirlingdervish.org.
• Janet Ruth Falon is a creative writing teacher at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of The Jewish Journaling Book: How to Use Jewish Tradition to Write Your Life and Explore Your Soul. Contact 215-635-1698, jfalon@english.upenn.edu.
• Oasis Ministries for Spiritual Development in Camp Hill, Pa., offers online instruction in body prayer. Contact the director, the Rev. Cindy Garis, 717-737-8222, oasismin@oasismin.org.
• Gabrielle Roth is the author of Sweat Your Prayers: The Five Rhythms of the Soul. She co-founded The Moving Center, a place for dance and movement, in New York City. Contact 212-760-1381, info@gabrielleroth.com.
• Donna Schaper is the senior pastor at Judson Memorial Church in New York, N.Y., and co-author of Labyrinths From the Outside In: Walking to Spiritual Insight – A Beginner’s Guide. Contact 212-477-0351, donnaschaper@gmail.com.

IN THE SOUTHEAST
• Chris Tiegreen is the author of Creative Prayer: Speaking the Language of God’s Heart, published in 2007, in which he describes how dance, painting, singing and other activities can be used as prayer. He lives in Atlanta. Contact via Melissa Sturgis, senior publicist, Multnomah Books, 710-268-1935, MSturgis@randomhouse.com.
• Members of the South Rowan Ministerial Association, an organization of churches from many denominations in Rowan County, N.C., gather together to walk the Stations of the Cross during Lent. The group includes Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans and nondenominational Christians. Contact the Rev. Ken Reed, Concordia Lutheran Church, 704-857-2163.
• The Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has a permanent seven-circuit labyrinth. http://uucfl.org/labyrin.htm Contact the Rev. Gail Tapscott, 954-484-6734, uucfl@aol.com.

IN THE SOUTH
• The First Presbyterian Church of Shreveport, La., has a weekly Lectio Divina time. Participants pray a portion of Scripture, spend time in silent reflection and then share their insights about the Scripture. Contact the Rev. Robert Shelton, 318-222-0604.
• Monica Freeman will conduct an ongoing workshop in Lectio Divina in Baton Rouge, La., in September 2007. Contact 225-924-3812, freemonica2003@yahoo.com.
• Barbie Hunt is an artist who creates paintings, pottery and other works drawn from her own Christian faith and journey. She lives in Madisonville, Ky. Contact 270-825-0732, Barbie@barbiehunt.com.
• Mike Lewis is a Christian artist who travels to churches and other groups and paints portraits of Jesus during worship services. He lives in Nashville, Tenn. Contact via Tim Grable, 615-263-4143, tim@jesuspainter.com.
• Mary Elizabeth Perry is a certified spiritual director in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) who teaches Lectio Divina and meditation as a form of prayer. She lives in Mobile, Ala. Contact 251-471-5727, perr78@bellsouth.net.
• St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Antioch, Tenn., has a permanent outdoor labyrinth. Contact the Rev. Battle Beasley, 615-361-4100, stmarksantioch@aol.com.

IN THE MIDWEST
• Central United Methodist Church in Skokie, Ill., has taken worshippers on a walk through the Stations of the Cross as part of their Good Friday observance. Contact the Rev. Robert Burkhart, senior pastor, 847-673-1311, rgburkhart@aol.com.
• New Hope Church in New Hope, Minn., has a “creative prayer” brochure available for members that offers ideas for innovative prayer such as keeping a prayer box, a prayer corner and a prayer journal. Contact senior pastor Steve Goold, 763-536-3235, seniorpastor@cefc.org.
• The Rev. Gregory Fruehwirth is a monk in the Order of St. Julian of Norwich, an order within the Episcopal Church, and is the order’s superior at Julian Monastery House in Waukesha, Wis. He has written about the practice of sacred reading. Contact greogoryojn@centurytel.net.
• Julie Tallard Johnson is the author of Spiritual Journaling: Writing Your Way to Independence, published in 2006, and conducts spiritual journaling workshops in Wisconsin. Contact 608-963-0724, julie@julietallardjohnson.com
• Margaret Keck is a co-founder of Moriah Ministries, a messianic Jewish ministry, and a choreographer of Davidic Dance, a form of dance worship, praise and prayer. She is based in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Contact 440-543-9304.
• Jim Mullin-Norgaard teaches Celtic Body Prayers at his retreat center in Beaver Island, Mich. Contact 231-347-7957, celticbodyprayers@yahoo.com.
• The Sacred Dance Guild, Lakeshore Chapter of Chicago is a local chapter of a national organization that teaches and promotes dance as prayer and spiritual practice. Contact Deena Sherman, 312-421-6725, deenabess@yahoo.com.
• Ken Wilson is senior pastor at the Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor, Mich., which encourages its members to make fixed-hour prayers, an unusual thing for a nondenominational church to do. Contact 734-477-9135 ext. 112.

IN THE SOUTHWEST
• Cell of Peace is an ecumenical group that meets to do Lectio Divina and contemplative prayer in the Dallas area. Contact Charlie Arnett, facilitator of the Lovers Lane United Methodist Church contemplative prayer group, 972-991-3720.
• Linda Perry McLemore is the theologian in residence at ArtSpirit Center for Spirituality in Dallas. ArtSpirit is an outreach project of the United Methodist Church to the Dallas community via art that has included body prayer and labyrinth projects. Contact 214-228-5225, Linda@artspiritdallas.org.
• Sacred Mesa of Sedona, Ariz., offers a “Wisdom of the Desert: A Christian Spiritual Retreat of Prayer” which draws on American Indian and Celtic spirituality to focus Christian prayer. Contact sacredmesa@msn.com.
• St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Tucson, Ariz., has a “way of the cross” that worshippers are encouraged to walk as part of their religious practice. Contact the Rev. Paul Caseman, senior pastor, 520-297-2062, paulcaseman@umcstmarks.org.
• Jane Vennard is a United Church of Christ pastor and retreat leader. She is the author of Praying With Body and Soul: A Way to Intimacy With God. She lives in Denver. Contact revjev1@aol.com.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST
• The Rev. Patricia D. Brown is director of Spiritworks, a nonprofit, online resource for the exploration of Judeo-Christian spirituality. She is the author of Paths to Prayer: Finding Your Own Way to the Presence of God. She is based in Seattle. Contact pdbrown@spiritworks.org.
• Kristen Johnson Ingram is the author of Beyond Words: 15 Ways of Doing Prayer. She explores the way nonverbal acts like listening to music or taking a walk can be performed as prayer. She is a preacher in the Episcopal Church and lives in Springfield, Ore. Contact 541-726-8320, Kristen.ingram@comcast.net.
• Jacqueline Shea Murphy is an assistant professor of dance at the University of California, Riverside. In 2004, she helped mount a program at the university called “Red Rhythms” on American Indian spirituality through dance. Contact 909-787-3988, Jacqueline.sheamurphy@ucr.edu.
• Richard Peace is a professor of evangelism and church renewal at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. He is the author of Contemplative Bible Reading: Experiencing God Through Scripture, which describes Lectio Divina from an evangelical perspective, and Spiritual Journaling: Recording Your Journey Toward God. Contact 626-584-5646, rpeace@fuller.edu.
• Jane Rickenbaugh teaches dance as meditation and prayer at the Center for Spiritual Development in Portland, Ore. Contact via Ellen Morrison, associate director of the center, 503-478-1218.
• Banafsheh Sayyad is a dancer and choreographer with The Namah Ensemble, which performs contemporary mystical Persian dance. Sayyad has said that she approaches dance as prayer. The group is based in San Diego. Contact via Maryam Brennan, 818-888-8225.
• Sharon Soneff is an artist and blogger and the co-author of Faith Books and Spiritual Journaling: Expressions of Faith Through Art. She lives in San Clemente, Calif. Contact info@sonnetstudios.com.
• St. Mark’s Catholic Community in Boise, Idaho, invites worshippers to participate in liturgical movement as a form of prayer. Contact the Rev. Steve Rukavina, 208-375-6651.
• The WomanSpirit Center of Bellevue, Wash., is an interfaith community of women that offers retreats, workshops and activities, many of which include unusual forms of prayer, such as hiking, beachcombing, journaling, centering prayer and meditation. Contact 425-641-1527.
• Cynthia Winton-Henry and Phil Porter are the founders of InterPlay, a nonprofit group that promotes and teaches movement classes that integrate body, mind and spirit. They are based in Oakland, Calif. Contact 510-465-2797.