Lynn Neu: Prayer Weaver

Thirteen years ago, when Lynn was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer she reached out to everyone in her life and asked for prayers. Consonant with a life committed to the belief that anything worth doing is worth doing in community, Lynn began weaving a web of healing that sustained her spirits and eventually, as she will tell you, healed her body.

As is often the case with someone who has walked in the thin time between life and death, Lynn emerged with a profound gratitude for being alive and a new tale to tell. Throughout her chemotherapy and recovery, Lynn wrote about life in the ‘tent of the desert of cancer” and shared it with her prayer community. In 2009, Lynn gathered those writings and the responses of the community into a book, The God Box – the rich and inspiring story of the power of prayer.

By power, I mean energy and strength, not control. I know what it feels to be buoyed up by the prayers of others.The very thought of people’s prayerful intentions focused on me during chemotherapy strengthened my resolve to keep moving in the direction of health. The power of prayer is like the power of love and gratitude. It does something to you. It transforms you. It keeps you moving.

Today, Lynn practices her ministry of compassionate healing by ministering to a virtual community of people in need of prayer. Every Monday, The God Box email goes out to hundreds of people with prayer petitions from around the world. It is Lynn’s glorious and enduring Alleluia! to the miraculous dance of life and death.

You can learn more about The God Box at www.inthegodbox.com
If you would like to part of at her virtual prayer community, please email Lynn at neusylynn@gmail.com. She will be knocking at your door for prayers every Monday morning.

Lynn Neu is a nationally recognized speaker, retreat leader and author. Her career includes 10 years of teaching at St. Catherine’s High School, Racine, WI, 10 years as Director of Youth Ministry for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and 17 years as a Campus Minister for the Catholic Community at the University of California San Diego. Lynn has also served as a freelance writer, consultant and trainer in the areas of adolescent faith development and leadership skills for the Center for Ministry Development. She is the author of three mini-courses for junior high: Seeking Justice (St. Mary’s Press, Winona, MN), Confirmation: Alive with the Spirit, and Growing Up within the Church (Hi-Time Publishers, Milwaukee, WI). Lynn resides in San Diego.