Arianne Braithwaite Lehn
Chalice Press, 144 pages
Arianne Braithwaite Lehn is a pilgrim. She makes that abundantly clear in this set of prayers composed over years of daily praying. She is a pilgrim who sees the whole of life as an opportunity to experience the reality of God’s presence. That divine reality is both known and evoked in prayer that arises from the heart. The prayers here display her deep conviction that we are ash and starlight, humanity formed of earth and heaven. As she puts it, “Prayer is how I pilgrimage through the dust and splendor of my own life.” The death of her beloved father during her pregnancy became an occasion to go deeper. It also launched her courage to put these prayers into print after praying them weekly during her pastoral ministry. In doing so, Braithwaite Lehn has joined the company of John Baillie, providing daily prayers in ordinary language for her readers whom she describes as “sibling pilgrims” on a journey. Each prayer is for a specific occasion, yet it leads toward an intimacy with God. Helpfully, she accompanies each prayer with a set of Scriptures for meditation. All of us have times when our words fail us. These prayers grant us words and join us to a company of those other pilgrims searching for God.
