Celtic Daily Prayer: Prayers and Readings from the Northumbria Community Book

More than a prayer book, Celtic Daily Prayer is a gift from the Northumbria Community of northeastern England. This devout religious community, with members scattered around the world, is joined together by the teachings of traditional Celtic Christianity dating back to the sixth century. In assembling this collection of prayers, they offer Christians ancient Celtic devotional writing as well as contemporary sources of wisdom, such as Anne Morrow Lindbergh, T.S. Eliot, and even Peter Yarrow from Peter, Paul, and Mary. The focal point for this prayer book is the daily office, although the book also includes additional meditations and daily readings. It offers two complete years of reading, so it should last a while (the publisher also promises follow-up books). Although many of these prayers come from the ancient monastic tradition, they easily speak to Christians contending with everyday things like jobs, childcare, dinners, and house cleaning. In his introduction Richard J. Foster (Celebration of Discipline) claims that this prayer book is most often found "in kitchens with bread baking and tea brewing or in living rooms crammed full of that cozy lived-in feel." --Gail Hudson