An hour north of Minneapolis, a community of prayer lives. At St. John’s Abbey, a community devoted to monastic life – the monks live, work, pray and serve together. They welcome visitors into their sacred spaces to experience a life rooted in prayer.
At the end of June, I joined the monks for evening prayer. Sitting in the stillness of the sanctuary, the bell tolling, I watched the brothers enter one by one in their black robes. At their seats, they bowed their heads to the cross.
I let the soft chanting wash over me. And I also looked into the eyes of the monks: eyes that looked tired, even possibly bored, bodies that most likely came from hours of work, minds that probably pondered the tensions and events of the day. But they were there.
They may be bored or tired or uncertain, but day after day they show up. And so, they inspire me to keep coming to God with my fumbling prayers and my early morning yawns when I’m wrestling with writing prayers.
This message is excerpted from “You’re always welcome to pray here” by Kimberly Knowle-Zeller from the August 18, 2023, blog of the Women of the ELCA.
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