Sally Douglas is a scholar, a teacher and a most beautiful writer with a deep sense of the rhythm
and heft of carefully chosen words – you can hear this in the title itself –
Rewilding Prayer, God beyond gender, Faith beyond formulas.
Alongside Uniting Church Moderator, Salesi Faupula, I had the privilege of launching Rewilding Prayer in December. I wholeheartedly recommend it to you.
The openings and closings of some of Sally’s prayers are below.
The words from a Prayer before sleeping:
Three all holy,
Our source and our homecoming
in Jesus Sophia, you dwell with us …
Replenish our beings
guard us through this night
And awaken us in the morning,
Renewed with your wild mercy.
Sal’s theology is deeply Trinitarian; her naming of the Trinity is beautifully rendered. It also carries the mark of Celtic prayers and chants found in the Carmina Gadelica. She finds fresh and ancient imagery for the Blessed Three. Rather than just magic this up and impress us with her imaginative powers, she offers us commentary as to where these images are drawn from.
Hear this in the Morning prayer:
Beloved God, Three All Holy,
My Author, my Anchor, my Advocate
and this blessing, from the close of the book.
May the Source of all be upholding you
May the radiant Christ be infusing you
May Spirit Holy be encircling you,
Every step you take in this stormy world.
I urge you to take hold of this book. It sold out at the launch (unsurprisingly) but I have since purchased several copies through Wipf and Stock and they were delivered promptly (and significantly discounted if you subscribe to their newsletter).
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