A Digital Sanctuary in Your Pocket

Pastor Abigail Browka

In my years as a pastor, I’ve met so many people—busy moms and dads, young adults, and even retirees—who sincerely wanted to connect with God but couldn’t find space in their lives for it. Small groups didn’t fit into their schedules. In-person Bible studies felt out of reach. Sunday worship at 9 a.m. was a stretch. They weren’t uninterested in faith; they were overwhelmed.

I’m Pastor Abigail Browka, a United Methodist elder, boy mom, and the creator and curator of Everyday Sanctuary —a worldwide mobile app that offers a satisfying spiritual practice in five minutes or less, everywhere you are.

After fifteen years in local church ministry, I felt God nudging me toward something new: to plant not a physical congregation, but a digital sanctuary. A space for people who are tired of religion but are deeply spiritual.

At Everyday Sanctuary, every day I write for people who crave a connection with the Sacred but feel too busy, too distracted, or too unsure where to begin.

I realized I didn’t want to just preach sermons—I wanted to create space. A space where anyone—overwhelmed parents, creatives in existential crisis, curious skeptics—could open their phone and find a doorway to faith. Not another obligation, but an invitation. Not more noise, but a deep breath.

Why I Do This Work

I had tried daily devotionals, sacred calendaring, the Divine Hours – and while beautiful, my shoulders are muscled rocks from carrying around those tomes. I created Everyday Sanctuary for something sacred and simple. I believe God meets us where we are. Not just in sanctuaries, but in grocery store lines, hospital waiting rooms, long commutes, and late-night scrolling.

Everyday Sanctuary was born from that conviction: that faith can meet you right where you are. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It can be small. And daily. And enough.

Everyday Sanctuary’s values are simple:

● Faith is a daily practice.

● Meet people where they’re at.

● Put Seekers First.

65% of people we surveyed didn’t have a satisfying faith practice. The number one reason? “I’m too busy.”

That’s why Everyday Sanctuary exists. Not to add something else to the to-do list, but to help people experience sacredness right where they are. On a lunch break. In the school pickup line. Between meetings. Before bed.

I wanted to help busy people have a satisfying spiritual practice in five minutes or less. I wanted to make it easy for anyone, anywhere, to pause—to bring Sacred into their everyday surroundings. That’s why Everyday Sanctuary isn’t just another social feed or inbox subscription. It’s an app and a podcast—a curated, dependable space set apart for Presence, Prayer, Scripture, and Gratitude.

As a Phygital Fellow, I’m learning alongside others who share a common hope—that digital spaces can become sanctuaries, and that the Spirit of God can move through screens as surely as through stained glass. So, it feels good to cast aside the tomes in favor of the phones and practice simple spirituality that joins me with a community across the world who also need something sacred and simple