Spiritual Memoir
So Many Sacred Stories
The Spiritual Memoir Project
Our lives are shaped by what we recollect, through our search for meaning, in the lessons we have learned along the way, and by what has been passed down to us. Spiritual Memoir honours what is sacred and meaningful in our lives.
Spiritual memoir is passed along in stories written down, in diaries, in journals, in letters and quilts, through family recipes, genealogies and heirlooms. It is our legacy.
On this page you will find recollections and resources to prompt your spiritual memoir. You can listen to audio recordings that speak of insight, a lesson learned, or legacy passed on. Enjoy! Â There will be more as the project unfolds.
 Project Partners
The Prayer Bench joins energies with Visions United Church in Moncton, NB. This creative faith community is about celebrating life and spirituality. Rooted in the Christian wisdom tradition, the Prayer Bench offers soul deepening resources online. Together, we are working on this project.
We are grateful for the generosity of The United Church of Canada through a Seeds of Hope Grant and the Maritime Conference Bequest Fund.
Please contact The Prayer Bench (Email) if you have recollections or resources to contribute to the webpage or if you wish to financially support this project.
Recollections & Resources
Stories, reflections and ideas to prompt your spiritual memoir.
Voting Early
A Story about Voting By Cathy MacLean I have voted since I was five years old! Impossible you say. Here’s how it was. Uncle Eddy always took my Grandmother to vote even though she lived with us. The problem was that she was Conservative and our household...
Church History in Fabric Squares
After a lifetime of sewing, Kay MacVicar had lots of fabric to work with, so when her church needed a quilt piece to send to the Annual Meeting of Maritime Conference a few years ago, she got to work. What makes this quilt piece so poignant is that is captures the...
Spiritual Memoir Worship Series (first service is free)
ONE:Â In the beginning there is a Story TWO: told around campfires in the desert ONE:Â shared around tables when bread was broken. TWO:Â written on pieces of soft leather ONE:Â then in pages bound together in a book. TWO:Â (Holding a Bible.) These are our sacred...
Audio Recordings
Listen to people sharing their spiritual memoir stories.
Hover over the picture to learn more and click the + to listen.Â
The Prayer Bench Shop
Resources for Soul Deepening. Click on the image for more information.Â
In Gratitude
My conversation with JOHN HEIDT began on his deck in Cape Breton with his declaration, “I don’t have time for ‘small talk’; I only do‘Big Talk.’”
His “Big Talk” was to lay out his thinking about the mystery of God, the human spiritual journey, the relationship between science and religion, the meaning of belief, the purpose of ministry, the value of conversation with atheists and those of other faiths, the humanity of Jesus, and allowing our lives to become fully capable of a life of Love.
And that was the first Big Talk!
I took notes during our Skype calls. It wasn’t easy. Theology and wisdom spilled out with every sentence. He shared a life-time of night-time thinking with passion and humour. So many words. Edgy. Provocative. Tender. Pastoral. It gave me a window into the soul of a mystic.
In the end it isn’t about words, it is about Love. It’s about experience. It’s about our own loving lives and immensity of Love practiced in the ordinary things of life. And this is the root of spiritual memoir.  – Janice, Host of the Prayer Bench
