PEARLS OF LIFE

A Life-belt for the Spirit

By: Tony Dickinson

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

FAIRACRES PUBLICATIONS 209
In 1996 Bishop Martin Lönnebo (1930–2023), recently retired after fifteen years as Lutheran Bishop of Linköping in Sweden, was exploring the Aegean when his boat was overtaken by a storm and he and his fellow-passengers had to take refuge on a tiny island with a single guest house. While the storm blew itself out Bishop Martin set about designing what he described as a ‘prayer ribbon’ that could summarize the message of the Christian faith. The result was a bracelet known as Frälsarkransen. The word means ‘life-belt’—hence the sub-title for this short book, which provides an introduction to Bishop Martin’s thinking behind the beads, and suggestions for using them for prayer and contemplation.
TONY DICKINSON was born in 1948 in Liverpool. After reading Classics at New College, Oxford he worked in university administration in Durham and then for the Open University. In 1980 he began training for ministry in the Church of England and was ordained a priest in 1983. He has served in a number of dioceses, acting latterly as Anglican Ecumenical Officer for Buckinghamshire and Diocesan European Officer. He was chaplain to the Anglican/Episcopalian congregation in Genoa and a Canon Emeritus of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. He is a spiritual director and occasional retreat leader and now lives in Devon.