Most people want to feel closer to God but don't know how to begin. Many modern people feel that their prayer is inadequate, that they want to pray but don't quite know how. Traditional Christian spiritual practices draw us closer, but most of them are developed from within monastic communities. Even in modern religious orders, where ritual disciplines are more relaxed than in former times, nuns and monks still spend four or five hours in prayer every day. Most of us can't do that. Can people who are not nuns or monks use what people in religious life have learned about the spiritual journey? Barbara Crafton's answer is an emphatic yes!

Crafton presented "A Closer Walk with God -- for People on the Run", at 7:00 PM, Saturday, February 17, 2007 in the parish hall at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, East Avenue at Dickson Street in Fayetteville. An offering of the McMichael Lecture Series at St. Paul's, Craftons talk was preceded by an informal social hour beginning at 6:00 PM. The church's St. Spatulas Guild provided appetizers and sweets.

Crafton explored ways in which busy people with a lot on their plates can find the spiritual practices that are right for them. There are many different kinds of spiritual practices, she said. No one will use them all, but some of them will be right for you. Yours should be in accord with who you are and where you find yourself in life. In her lecture, she suggested ways in which individuals can develop spiritual practices that will nourish you profoundly and bring you joy.

On Sunday morning Crafton addressed "Forgiveness -- what it is and what it isn't" during the Friends Talking hour. Most of us have had some trouble forgiving at one time or another, maybe even right now, she says about this key Christian virtue.

Is there someone in your life whom you cannot forgive? Have you ever known someone (or maybe even been someone) who could not seem to get over an offense suffered at the hands of another? When you think about forgiving a person who has harmed you or someone you love, are you still too angry even to consider it? Even if it was a long, long time ago? And then you remember seventy times seven, and feel a keen sense of your own inadequacy. How on earth can Jesus ask such a thing when it is so obviously beyond us. In her talk, Crafton explored the concept of forgiveness in a way that frees us and fills us with hope.

The Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton is an Episcopal priest, spiritual director and author who has worked for many years in combining the lively arts and the life of faith. Also an actress, director and producer, she was for many years the rector of St. Clement's Church in Manhattan's theater district. Her books, articles, and radio scripts have won many awards, including the Gabriel Award for religious broadcasting. She is seen frequently on television both as a preacher and as a commentator on Hallmarks New Morning and America at Worship, and has been profiled extensively in electronic and print media throughout the world. Married to Richard Quaintance, a professor of English literature, she has two children and two grandchildren.

More information about Barbara Crafton can be found at The Geranium Farm.