Bead One, Pray Too: A Guide to Making and Using Prayer Beads

by Kimberly Winston

In stories and pictures, this book shows how people of all faith traditions use prayer beads as a spiritual tool and a means of expressing their creativity.  Every major world religion has a tradition of praying with beads and all are explored here, including the history and use of beads and specific prayers. 

Describes in detail and with diagrams how to make sets of prayer beads for personal use.

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Spirituality, Prayer, Crafts, Adult

173 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have another book on this topic called A String and a Prayer which makes me wonder why the topic of prayer beads calls for punning titles. Both are good, but this one is probably a bit better. It has a lot of history of the Catholic and Anglican rosaries, and describes prayer beads from other faiths as well. There are clear directions for making and praying with both types of rosaries, as well as a number of examples of prayers one might use.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I made a decade of a rosary for a friend for Easter, and I'd like to read this to get inspired to make more.
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Took a look at this book this weekend and I'm very pleasantly surprised by it. I did not know there was an Anglican rosary. How wonderful that non-Catholics can also enjoy this form of prayer, substituting prayers that they feel comfortable with.

Catholics actually use the rosary for more than just rosary prayers. They also use it for the Divine Mercy devotion, which involves totally different prayers. It's very quick and in my opinion, powerful.

Reading this book, I thought it might be interesting to develop my own set of prayers to use on my rosary, incorporating the Jesus Prayer and others.

I also hope to learn how to make rosaries (Catholic and Anglican) to give away to friends in the future.

People who pray the rosary might also want to try doing a scriptural rosary, in which each prayer is preceded by a bit of scripture on which the mystery is founded.

[Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous book. I wouldn't love to make a set of prayer beads for my Grandmother's birthday and include the book as well.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good info on prayer bead use in various cultures. Good detail on Catholic rosary. I found the book interesting.

[Beth Peninger · Rating 5 out of 5]

It started in Tallinn, Estonia. I was in the magnificent Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and some beads called my name and wooed my soul. That sounds dramatic, and it may be a little bit, but it's true. I kept fingering those beads the rest of the day - heck the rest of my trip. I was enamored with the thought of prayer beads - part of my ever growing interest and desire to enter into a more contemplative life.
This title popped up on a sidebar on GoodReads when I was looking at another title. I immediately requested it from the library. After reading the introduction to the book I immediately put it on my Amazon wishlist to purchase at some later date and then I continued to read the book.
The disclaimer is this is a topic I'm really interested in so my thoughts/review of the book are colored by that. The counter-disclaimer is: if someone isn't interested in this topic it's highly unlikely they would pick up this book unless they were being told to for a job reason. Amiright?
I loved this book. Winston gives a wonderful history of prayer beads and manages to convey the meaningful experience one can have when using them. While she doesn't set out to clear up any misconceptions about the various religions and reasons for using them I feel like her history does just that - clear up misconceptions about them, which made me appreciate her history "lesson" all the more. Winston, after giving a backstory and some examples of beads being used in prayers, then moves on to provide some ideas for prayers to use with them as well as some instruction on how they are traditionally used. I love that in this section she gives *permission* to use them however one would like along with any prayers/poems/hymns/etc one is moved by. In the last section of the book she covers the making of prayer beads and gives tips and resources on beads and other materials one can use to make their own set and then perhaps sets to give away to loved ones.
This was a great spontaneous read that I am so grateful caught my attention. I can't wait to pray on the beads I got in Tallinn AND make a set (or more) for myself and perhaps others in my life who might appreciate them!

[Michelle Tackabery · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is much more a book about what kinds of prayer beads there are, and how to use them. The last, shorter section explains how to make a Catholic rosary, an Anglican rosary, and a bracelet version of each. If you are interested in a great guide for the different ways you can pray using beads, this is definitely it, but I do not recommend it for people looking for good instructions and creative ideas on making prayer beads.

[Amanda Medlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great in depth look at the history of prayer beads in various religions as well as many beautiful prayers to use with Catholic and/or Protestant prayer beads. I read the library's copy, but plan to purchase it for future reference.

[Lillia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of variety in the kinds of prayer beads and religions that use them.

[Catherine Yezak · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an interesting read. Being able to see how various religions have adopted and used rosaries were great. The details for making your own rosaries have wonderful detail and explanations.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was excellent! I checked it out because I’ve always been fascinated by the rosary, but don’t know much about it. I also was in a workshop and made a mala and all that was interesting as well. I love beads and like to make things with beads. I was telling my friend that even though I’m not a Catholic and don’t like the repetitiveness of the rosary that I can understand, that beads are a great tool to help you focus during prayer. My friend and I talked about how we like to wipe our prayers because it keeps us focused. I also like to write them so I can look back and see what has happened with the people I prayed about. This book supported everything I was thinking, and it was enlightening to read about the history of the rosary, the mala, and other prayer beads used by many different religions. I love this book so much that after I finished it, I immediately ordered one for myself. Looking forward to getting together with friends to make our own prayer beads. I can tell you that this book has everything you need… Not only the fascinating history and the diagrams, but all the information you need to make some prayer beads of your own. What a great activity for a ladies/girlfriend group!

[JayeL · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard about this on the CraftSanity podcast and it sounded really interesting.

I borrowed the book from the library and found it to be a really great book. The book is calm and explanatory in a non-judgmental way. The author has done her homework and everything you want to know about prayer beads from how to use them in a traditional manner to how to create your own traditions are covered. Winston includes different prayers one can use.

One of the most fascinating parts of the book was her description of each prayer and bead in Catholic and Anglican rosaries. I think it is really interesting to know what the beads are called and what traditional prayers are said.

I was disappointed that there wasn't more information on traditions from non-Christian religious traditions as I was really interested in that aspect. It may be that I misunderstood what Kimberly Winston was saying when she talked about that on the podcast.

[Liaken · Rating 1 out of 5]

The title says it's a guide to making and using prayer beads; the cover has an intriguing picture of some prayer beads with a tree and a labyrinth. While malas are mentioned in the discussion of different types of prayer beads introduction, this book is about rosaries. How to make and pray rosaries. There are very few pictures, and even fewer of any finished rosaries. Mostly the pictures are metal crosses in piles of beads. The rest is text. Lots of text about how to make and pray ... rosaries. This book is misnamed and miscovered. If rosaries are your interest, you might like this book, though it doesn't offer much visual inspiration. If you are actually interested in a variety of prayer beads ... find another book. Alas.

[Merys Kelleher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was my introduction to the idea of prayer beads beyond the Marian rosary and the Hindu mala. The freedom that Anglican prayer beads allow me to craft my devotions to suit the particular needs of my spirit and my faith journey from moment to moment has radically shifted my practice. Five stars for liberation and inspiration, well deserved, each sparkly point of light!

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some online reviews (and the intro) imply that this is an ecumenical overview, but *really* it's mostly Catholic and Anglican, with a little mainline Protestant thrown in. Nicely written and conceived, just not what I thought.

[Vicki Luschek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just what the title says....making prayer beads

[Randine · Rating 5 out of 5]

You need this book if you love rosaries of if you're a protestant wishing you could use a rosary - you can!!!!

[Karen Sage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative about prayer beads and some good suggestions of prayer.

[G.L. Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book covering not only the various kinds and arrangements of prayer beads but also how to use them in prayerful meditations.