Schedule:

Tuition: $15 before Sept. 16, $20 after

Enrollment: 10 min./30 max.

The Prayer Wheel is the name of a recently rediscovered medieval diagram that served as the frontispiece for a gospels manuscript in a monastery in Liesborn, Germany. In a series of concentric circles and criss-crossing spokes within the wheel, are presented all the big ideas of the Christian faith: the Lord’s Prayer, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Beatitudes, and scenes from the story of Christ. On the outside of the wheel is an inscription: “The Order of the Diagram Written Here Teaches the Return Home.” What is this mysterious diagram? How was it used? And what does it have to teach modern seekers about exploring faith? Three religion journalists—Patton Dodd, Jana Riess, and David van Biema—spent a year researching the Prayer Wheel. Then they wrote a book that tells the story of the Wheel and suggests a way to use it in daily life. Patton Dodd will walk us through the Wheel, showing us how it has altered his own approach to prayer and how it might inform and inspire each of us in a rich exploration of an old-new path on the journey toward home.

Dr. Patton Dodd is the executive director of media and communications for the H. E. Butt Foundation. He oversees messaging strategy for programs and building storytelling platforms that drive awareness and action on behalf of vulnerable families and children. In 2017, he ran Folo Media, the Foundation’s yearlong reporting project that focused on the gaps in opportunity across neighborhoods in San Antonio. Dodd has served as editor of multiple national publications, including On Faith, a religion news and commentary publication spun off from the Washington Post. Dodd’s writing on religion and American culture has been widely published including in the Post, Wall Street Journal, TheAtlantic.com, CNN.com, and Christianity Today. He holds a doctorate in religion and literature from Boston University. Dodd is the author of The Prayer Wheel: A Daily Guide to Renewing Your Faith with a Rediscovered Spiritual Practice (Convergent), The Tebow Mystique: The Faith and Fans of Football’s Most Polarizing Player (Patheos Press), and My Faith So Far: A Story of Conversion and Confusion (Jossey-Bass).

Register here.