Friday, June 11, 2010

The Prayer Bench

Last Friday I posted a tour of my office in pictures. By far, the most asked about aspect of my office was the prayer bench. Several of you wanted to know how I made it or where I got it. Here's the story:

When I was in Texas, my pastor had a very nice prayer bench in his office that was custom-made for him by a church member. I wanted one. So, I went on a search to find one to buy. Quickly, I realized that to buy a nice one is like $1,500 (an example here).

Unfortunately, I also realized that if you want to buy one, you have to get it through a Catholic supplier (Here's an example). Why is it that Catholics are familiar with the prayer bench and not protestants?

So, I printed some pictures from the Internet and took them to a local furniture maker. I sat down with the owner, showed him the pictures, and asked what it would take to make me a basic one. I think it cost me around $150. I had to stain the wood myself and a church member made the knee pad for me. I love it. I just don't use it near enough.

So, here are some more pictures and some dimensions in case you may want to make your own.

The top of the bench (where the Bible would sit) is 24 inches across and 10 inches wide.


The bench is 33 inches tall and 23 inches deep (from the front of the cushion to the back of the cross).

I love that the knee part folds up for easy storage and moving. This was the maker's idea and design.

The cross is basically glued on.

The "shelf" is not necessary but provides extra space if you want to keep a journal or other books close at hand.

Any questions? Are my dimensions clear enough? Let me know if I can provide any more information. And, by all means, send me a picture if you make one yourself.

2 comments:

BoldLion said...

That would be a wonderful Christmas present for someone to make for their pastor and for others too.

Hungry to eat His Word,
'Guerite ~ BoldLion

Anonymous said...

sadly, many Protestants can't distinguish between what the church of Rome does and what the church of Rome shouldn't do- it's all just lumped together as "Romanish".

The Anglicans still use them. Perhaps I ought to keep my eyes out for one that is closing. :-)