Prayer porch

THE PRAYER PORCH — Prayers, poetry and song

What began as a mother’s search for solace and comfort after the tragic death of her son has grown into a joyful connection of shared faith, hope and love — all on her own front porch.

When Dorothea and Michael Tobin’s son, Billy, passed away suddenly on June 2, 2012, her six sisters immediately came to their home to surround her with love and support. She reached for AA’s Twenty-four Hours a Day book of reflections, and they began to pray. “I love how practical the book is,” Dorothea said from their Rogers Park home. The group has been meeting every day since for prayer — whether it’s hot and even when it’s freezing out. “We pull out the electric heaters, coats, hats and scarves,” she said with a smile.

Longtime parishioners of the 100-year-old St. Gertrude’s

Church in Edgewater, the couple has welcomed neighbors and friends to their Prayer Porch over the ensuing 10 years to find inspiration and support from each other and the spiritual readings “I remember having they shared. Some an absolutely days, the 30-minute palpable feeling gathering at 6:30 a.m. of being held up includes as many as by these people 40 people. during what was

Their routine a desperate point begins with a reading from Twenty-four Hours a Day or the Prayer Porch’s own book — now in its third edition. Other readings may come in my life. What started during such a sad time has become a great way to begin the day with community from the maxims of and prayer.” St. Teresa of Avila, –Dorothea Tobin The Daily Decalogue of Pope John XXIII or the prayers of St. Thomas Aquinas, among others, along with songs, poems and any other reflections that lend hope, faith and encouragement. Mike Tobin served on St. Gertrude’s Parish Council and has been active in its music program for 30 years, so the Prayer Porch only adds to devotion to God and the Catholic Church. The couple are also loyal supporters of the Annual Catholic Appeal and members of the Lumen Cordium Society. “It’s pure choice to be here each morning and a wonderful way to be intentional about your approach to the day,” Dorothea said. “Our time together reminds us to help ourselves love better. Everything comes down to that.” According to Dorothea, the group’s practice has evolved. When the pandemic began, they switched to a Zoom meeting. And while the group is mainly from Chicago and its suburbs, their online meetings have welcomed participants from wherever they happen to be.

Recently, participants logged in from Costa Rica and Florida. “We even had a friend in Paris join us,” she said.

From the beginning, the group has always ended with intercessory prayer and kept a list of the sick and prayed to St. Michael for them. Since Covid began, they keep and pray for a list of friends, neighbors and fellow parishioners who are ill.

They end their prayers each day with some fun. According to Dorothea, they honor deceased group member Jay Einhorn by ending their practice in the same way he had always started his vacations: They throw their arms up in the air and say, “Look where we are!”

“It’s a perfect way to transition from the porch to begin the day,” Dorothea said. “Our Prayer Porch holds each one of us together and up. Is there a better way to start each day?”