As those of you know who follow us regularly, we run a series called Woman of the Week—and it stretches back five years, almost to the time of our founding. Someone nominates a woman that they admire, and I interview her about three things: how she got from where she started to where she is now, then some area of her expertise, and lastly about her morning routine. That lets our community hear about some amazing paths to being effective in the church, and it also gives us a chance to take a deep dive into an area we might not know about. The question about the morning routine is also key. The answer shows us that this person is deeply human—plus we may pick up some tips about how to improve our own mornings. The nuns at New Skete asked me to be one of the speakers at their annual retreat on Saturday, August 10, and we decided to call my talk “Morning Routines from the Christian East; Ideas and Practices for All.”
That means that since 2019–-before, during, and after the lockdowns--I’ve been privileged to hear from over 100 women from all ages and stages of life about their morning routines. Because I was going to be speaking in front of a mixed audience at New Skete, I also polled maybe fifty Orthodox men, also of all ages and stages of life, about how they manage the first part of their day.
If you’re interested in the results, what I found out and what we discovered in conversations with those at the gathering (you won’t be disappointed!), you can listen here. (The whole thing takes about 90 minutes, with some great audience participation. The abbess Sister Cecilia makes a vital point that you don’t want to miss about an hour in, and hers is also the first voice you hear on the recording.) I look forward to hearing what you think!