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One of the biggest challenges for worship leaders and educators is coming up with ideas for including children in worship. These books provide a whole year’s worth of activities and ideas complete with artwork and visual aids. The activities have been developed and used in an Anglican parish (Church of England) over the last eight years by a professional educator, artist, and experienced children’s minister.

The worship outlines include simple children’s liturgies and a complete lesson or story plan that harmonizes with the lectionary. Through fun ideas, children encounter a real aspect of the Christian faith focused on a theme from each Sunday’s Gospel. Each outline includes a variety of options, which make them appropriate for small and large groups of children as well as mixed age groups. Illustrated throughout, the text and full-color artwork are included on a CD ROM for downloading, printing, and copying.

Finding God in the diversity of races, cultures, and creeds that make up our neighborhoods and cities, our country and our world, is one of the most important tasks for people of faith today. Seeing God in Diversity: Exodus and Acts, takes that task seriously. Here readers will find a parish study resource that promotes tolerance, diversity, and inclusiveness by looking at two biblical stories from multiple points of view: the story of the returning Jews in the Book of Exodus and the story of the new Christian community in the Book of Acts.

The lessons of these ancient communities - and the way they dealt with many of the issues we face today - lead readers to put themselves in the place of each group and re-examine their faith and work for greater inclusiveness in their own communities. Lessons are arranged as six two-hour sessions, and include background commentary for study leaders, readings, activities, and discussion questions.

Millennials, born in the 1980s and 1990s, are often described as an inexplicable enigma by the media and come across to some as a frustrating cadre of narcissists. Though likely to check the “None” box when asked about religion, millennials have entered into adulthood with a great deal of thought devoted to God, faith, and organized religion. Many also crave spiritual richness and inclusive community and are willing to move heaven and earth to find a place—online or in real life—to feel at home, much like the pioneers who set out on the original Oregon Trail. In this book, the iconic Oregon Trail computer game from MECC—highly influential for millennials born in the decade of the 1980s, for many of whom it became an absorbing pursuit, is used as a template throughout to illustrate the journey of faith in which they, “the Oregon Trail generation,” now find themselves engaged as adults. While books have been written about ministering to millennial Christians, the perspective of Eric Atcheson, a millennial pastor whose life story spans the gamut of the historic Oregon Trail, offers a fresh take on an oft-written-about concern for the wider church.

Gene Robinson is bishop of the tiny, rural Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, but he's at the center of a storm of controversy raging in the Episcopal Church and throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion involving homosexuality, the priesthood, and the future of the Communion. This book offers an honest, thoughtful portrait of Robinson, the faith that has informed his life, and the controversy that continues to rock his Church.

Is belief in the Nicene and Apostles Creeds required to be a Christian? Does science support or diminish belief in the divine? How does one live Jesus' way in the world?

A careful study of Jesus shows that his intended legacy for us was not a set of propositional beliefs, but a way for being in the world, a way that opens us to the extraordinary opportunity of the present, a way that can convert our hurried, anxious lives into something luminous.

Our obsession with "what to believe" misses the primary message of the Bible, says McQuiston, who illustrates that the paramount message of Jesus, and even the Hebrew Scriptures, is not about what stories to believe, but how to live.

Truly a practical guide to hospital visitation and a useful resource for the experienced pastor or concerned lay visitor.––The Clergy Journal

Hospital visitation is a vital part of any church’s ministry. Written for the divinity student, the beginning or experienced pastor, and the lay person, this helpful handbook offers comprehensive guidance on many important aspects of pastoral care of the hospitalized.

Valuable advice and practical information on how to understand the hospital structure, gain access to its systems, and establish rapport with the staff.

• General explanation of hospital protocol and etiquette.
• Discussion on the emotional aspects of illness and the opportunity for spiritual inquiry.
• Resources for prayers, scripture readings, and sacraments.
• Detailed information on the needs of specific patient types, including children, adolescents, substance abuse, AIDS, psychiatric, and the terminally ill.
• Glossary of medical terms.

This is a practical how-to guide introducing new, mission-shaped practices in a traditional parish setting. This book looks at the church's bread-and-butter activities -- worship, pastoral contacts, civic and public responsibilities, faith formation, administration and leadership -- and creatively points out how to reframe them with a focus on God's mission.

Bill Williams claims he was born with a “spine in the shape of a question mark.” The question “why?” has haunted him ever since his two siblings died of cystic fibrosis while he wrestled with the disease. Naked Before God: The Return of a Broken Disciple chronicles Williams’ quest to find the answer. His poetic prose, the sharpness of his wit, and the profound nature of his struggle will leave you alternating between tears of sorrow, periods of laughter, and moments of breathtaking insight.

In this beautiful book for children, a child tells her story of losing a beloved neighbor and friend.

A young girl remembers playing with her neighbor’s cat, stories that her neighbor told her, and the special mementos her friend kept on a shelf above her kitchen sink, including a little blue bottle she kept to remind her of Psalm 56:8: “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” A Little Blue Bottle doesn’t provide pat answers or heavy-handed messages about life or death, but allows the grieving child to articulate her loss and her love for the deceased friend, while wondering how God is near when we suffer.

A gentle and insightful resource for children who are grieving, and for those who care for them.

Age range: 3 - 8 years old

At once “travel guide” and vision for the future, the Transformation series is good news for the Episcopal Church at a time of fast and furious demographic and social change. Series contributors - recognized experts in their fields - analyze our present plight, point to the seeds of change already at work transforming the church, and outline a positive new way forward. What kinds of churches are most ready for transformation? What are the essential tools? What will give us strength, direction, and purpose to the journey?

• Each volume of the series will:

• Explain why a changed vision is essential
• Give robust theological and biblical foundations
• Offer a guide to best practices and positive trends in churches large and small.
• Describe the necessary tools for change
• Imagine how transformation will look

How can our patterns of congregational life and mission renew themselves and adjust to changing culture without selling out what Episcopalians stand for? How can local faith communities stay resilient and hopeful? What styles and practices of spirituality do most to enrich our mission?

These are some of the questions James Lemler poses in this book on mission for clergy and congregational discussion. As with evangelism, there is both good and bad news about Episcopalians and mission. Lemler also provides a variety of models for moving forward in mission and hope, to a more abundant future.

Dozens of books about spirituality and management have demonstrated the yearning for spirituality in the workplace that exists in people like Kerry Hamilton. No longer content to abide the widening chasm between their deeply-held values and the all-too-common business practices they encounter, these readers long for congruence between their values and their work. They wonder whether the days of the giants of corporate character like Johnson & Johnson, businesses who believed that integrity and profitability could co-exist, are gone for good. Are we living in a state of business and organizational entropy? Are we doomed to endless repetition of the Enron, Worldcom, and Global Crossing scandals? Must integrity and profitability now be opposed? What has happened to American business, healthcare, and non-profits in the last forty years?

Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations demonstrates vividly that another way is possible, based on the contemporary restoration of the partnership between integrity and profitability. It translates the core of what companies like Johnson and Johnson stood for forty years ago into contemporary forms. Through compelling stories of contemporary businesses, healthcare organizations, and nonprofits, Soul at Work shows how integrity, profitability, and personal and organizational transformation are all of a piece.

Young people desperately seek to develop an inner core that will not only rescue them in times of distress, but also help them to define and shape moral convictions, passions, and interests in building a better world. To find this inner coherence, they turn to their parents and teachers — the adults who are supposed to know them better than they know themselves. But these same adults are often driven and desperate to stay young, and are unclear how to achieve the wisdom and maturity of an elder to put the needs of their children and students above their own.

Young people do not want us to become part of “their” world, according to author Dan Heischman, but they invite us — and need us — to be different… to be adults, for them.

This book will help adults understand what young people are searching for, describe how to have a lasting impact on your children’s or student’s development, teach credible models of adulthood, and guide adults towards achieving the passion and wisdom for spiritual mentorship.

Drawing on thirty years of experience with parents, teachers, and students, the author uses stories and sound principles not so much to help bridge the generation gap, but to use the natural difference in maturity as a basis and guideline for more effective communication and connection.

A fascinating profile of one of the most colorful, controversial and celebrated religious figures of our time, Malcolm Boyd—best-selling author, civil rights activist, gay cleric, and spiritual director.

Through unparalleled access to the personal recollections, writings, and archival records of Malcolm Boyd, Michael Battle provides profound insight into one of America’s most celebrated—and reviled—public religious figures. In the dialogue between Battle, a younger, black heterosexual Christian, the reader comes to view this older, white, gay Christian’s life of activism and ministry with a fresh perspective.

"We do not create prayer,” writes Kenneth Leech, “but merely prepare the ground and clear away obstacles. Prayer is always a gift, a grace, the flame which ignites wood; the Holy Spirit gives prayer.”

Downtown Monks tells the story of the challenges facing a community of Benedictine monks in their ministry of running a boys’ school amid the gritty realities of inner-city life in Newark, New Jersey. Father Holtz’s story remains an inspiration for readers and also serves as a model for
Christian living and discernment using Benedictine disciplines.

In times of conflict, the Bible is often used as a club to beat those whose opinions differ from one's own. We recoil from such usage, yet the Bible actually represents many diverse and conflicting points of view. It is like a library, full of books that speak to all sides of every question.

Like Christians today, the communities and individuals who wrote the biblical texts often strongly disagree with each other. Ruth and Ezra, Isaiah and Ezekiel, Micah and Joel, Deuteronomy and Daniel, Mark and John. What would they say to each other? Do they have anything in common? Each of these voices is firmly committed to his or her specific view of "the truth," whether it reflects a particular place or community, a prophet, a style of worship, or an "understanding" of who is in and who is out.

The author guides us in considering how we can do justice to this welter of disparate voices. What can the Bible teach us about living together? How can we use it as a powerful resource for understanding and for moving beyond conflict?

A study guide and template for creating safe spaces for conversation about the tough issues in which the bible may be dividing your community is found at the end of the book.

Contemporary, real-world prayer book for levelling up faith and getting closer to God.

For thousands of years men and women found meaning and a deep sense of belonging though faith in God. But today, traditional images of God (as an all-powerful father figure) and much standard prayer and worship language are no longer plausible for many believers. Yet the hunger to know - and communicate with - the Sacred in some form remains strong.

In this unique prayer book John McQuiston, bestselling author of Always We Begin Again, provides morning and evening devotions for two weeks, plus complete Morning and Evening Prayer services, along with a Service of Commemoration for Our Union. All use a language for and about God that reflects contemporary understandings of God and God's actions in the universe. This pocket-sized devotional is an excellent resource for individuals and congregations who are seeking to worship in a language that acknowledges today's realities and theology.

Follow the REAL rubric for success in starting new ministries

If congregations were to look outside their doors, they may find that the people who need the good news don’t look like them and that the way to engage them is by having ministries that are REAL. REAL ministry is respectful relationships, excellence, authenticity, and love. This easy-to-understand perspective on relationships can be implemented in any setting with any group. To continue the mandate, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,” we have to have relationships with those whom God has put in our neighborhoods.

Written both in English and Spanish, each chapter contains a study guide with Bible verses and reflection questions. The author also offers real anecdotes and examples of what to do—and what not to do—so that when using the REAL rubric with any group of people, you can emulate Jesus and bring the good news to them. Church leaders wanting to be more inclusive or trying to grow in their changing neighborhood will find this book a welcome resource.

In this provocative book, the author argues that American Christianity, especially evangelicalism, has been corrupted by the dominance of consumerism in modern life. The church's mostly uncritical adoption of this secular condition has resulted in an idolatrous morphing of the message of Christ into just another brand. With Brand Jesus, Wigg Stevenson names the growing concern felt by many Christians at the commodification of their faith.

Using Paul's letter to the Romans as a starting point, Wigg Stevenson 'reads' the letter to today's church, speaking to our consumerist situation through the parallels with Paul's Rome. Though rooted unapologetically in a love for the church, Brand Jesus does not shy away from provocative claims about the melding of Christian faith and consumer ideals; the rise of market-driven theology; the blurring boundaries between the law and religion; and other topics. Wigg Stevenson describes the current situation of both church and society and issues a challenge to it: When faith is a product for consumption, how can the church be faithful to Christ as living Lord, instead of as Brand Jesus?

While there is truth in the idea that our past shapes our future, the gospel is all about the counter-intuitive promise that God is shaping us right now toward God's vision of who we will become. It is not our past that makes us into the image of God; God's redeeming love does that. In God, who we are not yet is shaping who we become.

Appealing to anyone drawn to a deeper understanding of their own story and a richer sense of God’s transforming presence, this book will have special resonance for people at turning points in their lives. Career changes, loss of a loved one, graduation, illness, divorce, birth of a child, entering middle or later years: Life is filled with turning points at which we feel compelled to tell our story in a new and different way. Each chapter focuses on a gospel passage, leading to a reflection on a significant point in the author's life which uncovers deeper and more personal meaning in the biblical text. Questions conclude each chapter, engaging readers to look at their own lives—good and bad—and find God, experiencing the joy, surprise, and healing of God's future rewriting the past.

A foundational volume for seekers in formation programs and a “refresher” study volume for individuals and congregational study groups.

We live in a world increasingly separated from the Christian tradition and the basic understanding of the faith that previous ages might have taken for granted. The voices of faith seem increasingly strident and off-putting to many. There is a need for a calmer, basic introduction to faith that recognizes the value of doubt and the questions raised in a secular society.

A systematic introduction to Christianity for newcomers needs to begin with a discussion of faith itself and then move on to a discussion of such Christian basics as God, Trinity, Church, sin, atonement, prayer, and Christian living.

I pray in poems explores the intersection of great works of poetry and Christian faith, offering meditations on what these works illustrate about Christian living. Readers will encounter authors as diverse as William Shakespeare, T.S. Eliot, Rumi, Mary Oliver, and Anna Kamienska. Each poem is followed by an analytical reflection that explores the work and places it within the context of one or more Biblical passages. These meditations will assist the reader in understanding and appreciating the poetry, and will also offer insightful, perhaps even inspiring, thoughts on what it means to live a life in faith.

This unique collection of writings by Verna Dozier, eloquent prophet and teacher of the Bible, features selections from all her available work, including The Authority of the Laity, Equipping the Saints, her unfinished manuscript on the Bible, sermons, and interviews. Many of these materials, designed to give the unique flavor of Verna Dozier's wit and wisdom, have never appeared before in print.

Beginning with a short biography of Verna's life in order to place the writings in context, the book consists of six chapters organized both autobiographically and thematically. Beginning chapters cover her early life and family--her parents and sister, growing up African-American and Baptist in the segregated city of Washington DC, the influence of Howard Thurman and other theologians at Howard University, and her dual career, shaped by one set of values, teaching English literature and teaching the Bible. Subsequent chapters cover her approach and method of studying Scripture, teaching on Bible stories, her challenge to the church, and questions of ambiguity, morality, and faith.

Language about God is something like the language of poetry—intended not to increase our information about the world—we know facts about the world already—but to evoke in us a certain attitude or way of looking at things or feeling about things. What sort of view of the world, then, is language about God trying to convey? Keith Ward suggests it is that the world is an expression of a reality beyond it. In this book, he unpacks the meaning of the word God and explains why we need to get rid of the crude and unhelpful assumptions that still abound. This is a book for all who are curious about how God, and God’s actions, can be understood today.

Faithful Neighbors outlines an introduction to the rationale for interfaith work through both theological and practical viewpoints, using stories from real experiences of interfaith cooperation to offer encouragement, inspiration, and practical steps to do the same.

The book has eight chapters in three main sections. Section one provides a Christian and Muslim rationale for engaging with the Other. Section two outlines stories of those involved in interfaith work in a series of contexts: academic research, intercultural, pastoral care, youth work, and peace work. The concluding section details recommendations and resources for best practice. Faithful Neighbors exhorts both Muslims and Christians to be faithful neighbors drawing on their traditions and real life practice for the sake of life-giving community.

Bivocational: Returning to the Roots of Ministry offers one answer to the pressing question of the future of congregational life in the mainline Protestant Church. The contention of the book is that the model of professional ministry we have received from the past century of congregational life is imposing unsustainable costs on most congregations and parishes. In consequence, these faith communities face stark choices for which there are no self-evident answers. Shall we close? Shall we merge with another congregation—a decision shaped by a primary value on maintaining a full-time professional in the role of ordained minister? Can we find someone who will do the job part-time? What will it mean for them—and for us?

Bivocational explores the impact on the ministry, on congregations, and on denominational polities of encouraging a way forward—one in which bivocational ordained professionals, ministers working simultaneously in the church and in secular life, come to leadership positions in the church. It explores the different sorts of gifts and preparation such ordained ministers need, and how a bivocational ethos looks when it characterizes not only the ordained minister, but all ministers of the congregation—lay and ordained alike.

The author shows in this book how a parish can incorporate its children into full participation with the worshiping community. Tapping their creativity to design a spectacular array of materials for worship -- a storyteller's cloak, prayer cards, confessions stones, rap sermons, sculpture, and painting -- liturgy comes intensely alive for parishioners of all ages. As Fairless demonstrates, the full participation of children in corporate worship, while not a simple matter, is deeply rewarding.

An introduction by Louis Weil, professor at Church Divinity School of the Pacific, provides the theological rationale for the inclusion of all baptized members in the worship life of the community.

Applies the popular Christ Walk approach as a path to reconciliation and healing

“Walk it off,” that much-used advice of coaches, turns out to work in the spiritual realm, too. Take a walk with Anna and David as they explore reconciliation and healing using the best-selling framework found in Christ Walk: A 40 Day Spiritual Fitness Program. Through their own experiences with moral injury, illness, and trauma, the authors have found that sometimes the best way to deal with stressful experiences is by moving their feet. Over the course of forty days, readers will experience God in each stage of the healing process in tandem with a biblically inspired journey.

Transition is the word we use to describe the time following significant change. In congregations, that change might be the departure of the pastor, a catastrophe such as Hurricane Katrina or 9/11, or simply the changes caused by growth. Transition calls for clergy with special training to respond to the needs generated by the special time. “Task, training, and time limit” are the hallmarks of transitional ministry. Trained intentional interim clergy must have the skill and experience to lead congregations during transition.

However, transitional or interim ministry has a bad reputation in some places. As one diocesan leader said, “We have never had a church in this diocese that was so bad off that an interim was needed.” Indeed, there are some “sick” churches, but most congregations have some good things happening and some things that need attention. Intentional interim ministry can be medicine for the sick, but in most cases it is better compared to vitamins that are taken to promote health.

This book seeks to clear up misconceptions about transitional ministry and present an accurate and up-to-date picture of transitional ministry and to describe the various settings in which this specialized ministry can be helpful.

Chapter authors, all expert in transitional ministry in mainline Protestant denominations, include: Robert Friedrich, John Keydel, George Martin, Loren Mead, Barry Miller, Nancy Miller, Ineke Mitchell, Ken Ornell, Molly Dale Smith, and Rob Voyle.

Social media has ushered in a dramatic global shift in the nature of faith, social consciousness, and relationships. How do churches navigate the Digital Reformation?

Tweet If You Heart Jesus brings the wisdom of ancient and medieval Christianity into conversation with contemporary theories of cultural change and the realities of social media, all to help churches navigate a landscape where faith, leadership, and community have taken on new meanings.

A modern approach to spiritual deepening using the ancient, but wise Rule of St. Benedict.

The Rule of St. Benedict continues to attract those who seek to live a deeper life, connected to Christ. But with such an ancient text, how can we authentically engage St. Benedict’s Rule in a manner that is true to its profound insights—and to our own spiritual journey? Norvene Vest suggests that the answer lies in the way we read the Rule. “It shouldn’t be studied like a book of regulations, or a school textbook. It should be read as lectio divina.”

This profound yet very practical volume speaks to our urgent spiritual need. People yearn for an interior life deeply rooted in God, humanly balanced, and substantially founded in the Christian heritage. Vest offers a valuable resource by rendering much more accessible the spiritual wealth of the key text of the ancient Benedictine charism. Here is the solid, balanced wisdom that has nourished and guided innumerable Christians for nearly fifteen centuries.

Its momentum building, the “Jesus Movement” is unfolding, with Episcopalians longing to embody our branch of the movement in the world. John Newton’s contribution is this look at God’s reckless love. His aim is not for the head, but for the heart, to connect people with their passion and love for Jesus Christ, reawakening what may be dormant, because ultimately, it is not clever ideas but passion that mobilizes people. The Jesus Movement is not about our move toward God, but about a God who is for us in Christ Jesus, constantly moving toward fragile and broken humanity, recklessly loving us in all seasons and circumstances. Newton draws heavily from the gospels, and speaks to the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Each chapter begins with a gospel passage used to challenge the way we think about God, love, morality, grace, mission, evangelism, and the church. Three discussion questions in each chapter and the book can be used as a 10-week study, with groups discussing two chapters at a time. Chapters are intentionally short, and each unpacks a specific episode in Jesus’s life that illuminates the reckless love of God in Christ.

"Ehrlich’s insightful self-help guide will resonate with Christians wishing to streamline an overstuffed life."—Publishers Weekly

Logically, we all know our purpose in life is not wrapped up in accumulating possessions, wealth, power, and prestige—Jesus is very clear about that—but society tells us otherwise. Christian Minimalism attempts to cut through our assumptions and society’s lies about what life should look like and invites readers into a life that Jesus calls us to live: one lived intentionally, free of physical, spiritual, and emotional clutter.

Written by a woman who simplified her own life and practices these principles daily, this book gives readers a fresh perspective on how to live out God’s grace for us in new and exciting ways and live out our faith in a way that is deeply satisfying.

Pilgrimage-going to ancient holy sites in search of God-has become increasingly popular for people seeking to deepen their relationship with the Holy.

Sister Cintra Pemberton seeks to enrich the experiences of today's pilgrims by helping them draw on the history of pilgrimage itself, as well as by suggesting particularly rich sites to visit. Part One of Soulfaring explores the history of pilgrimage, beginning in Celtic times, and moving through the early Christian period, the Middle Ages, and even the revival of pilgrimage today. Part Two explores fifteen sites in Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. Each of the descriptions of the various sites includes not only suggestions of what may be seen there, but the author's personal meditations on the experience of the Holy in each place.

Everybody figures it out sooner or later: Even in a Botox world that promises eternal youth, some things—from aches and pains to wrinkles, from menopause to the empty nest—you just have to live with. But despite the challenges, those who are reaching middle age—yesterday’s Baby Boomers—might not want to turn back the clock. Instead, as their bodies change and their priorities shift, they’re looking to cull wisdom from their experience and find spiritual meaning in their re-examined lives.

In Some Things You Just Have to Live With, author Barbara Cawthorne Crafton explores the “spilled milk” of our lives, the physical changes our bodies endure, and the new and energizing purpose we can discover by plunging into the middle of life in a deeper—and sometimes mystifying—relationship with God. A wonderful storyteller, Crafton writes with humor and pathos rather than a heavy hand, allowing readers to see themselves and their own lives in the unfolding pages.

Some Things You Just Have to Live With is a source of inspiration—and smiles—to those navigating the turbulent waters of the middle of life.

Well-known and well-loved bishop of the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion

This official biography tells the compelling story of the Rt. Rev. Mark Dyer: Irish Catholic boy from New Hampshire, U.S. Navy vet, Roman Catholic then Episcopal priest, bishop, and seminary professor—and one of the most influential, beloved leaders of the American Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion. Following a dispute with ecclesiastical authorities, Dyer left the Roman Church for the Anglican Church of Canada. Later received as priest in the Episcopal Church, his gifts as teacher, preacher, and pastor were recognized with election as Bishop of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. There, he established a new model of leadership, delegating administrative duties to concentrate on spiritual direction, pastoral care, and creating mission projects at every church in his diocese. Also renowned as a story-teller, many of his favorite stories appear here, told in his own voice. Called by leadership of the Anglican Communion to a variety of roles, for more than 20 years Bishop Dyer was on the front lines of the most contentious issues facing the church throughout the world, including ordination of women and gay people. He also was co-chair of the ecumenical dialogue between the Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Churches, which produced a landmark agreement after 17 years of meetings.

Social media has become a virtual world in which all manner of human communities are being formed, including many centered on prayer, faith, and spirituality. But with the benefits also come liabilities in terms of attentiveness vs. distraction, self-assertion, consumption, and anonymity—all enemies of healthy community. How to Be a Disciple and Digital provides a framework for an ethic of social media community to help foster the growth and stability of prayerful spiritual communities online.

Meditations for each day of Advent and Christmas, based on the well-loved hymns of Charles Wesley, Anglican priest and co-founder of Methodism.

Each daily meditation, keyed to the scripture reading for the day and to portions of Wesley's texts, concludes with a brief prayer based on the day's theme. Reflective material on the hymns place Wesley in the rich soil of his Anglican heritage. Daily readings, including all of these materials, are between 500-600 words in length.

Explores way Christian individuals and communities can cultivate peace both locally and on a global scale.

Peace can seem so very far away, whether we are watching news of atrocities committed in other countries or we encounter the violence in our own neighborhoods. Mike Angell engages peace as more than an absence of conflict. Peace, following the Christian tradition, is more concrete. It must be planted, tended, and grown in our own hearts and in the world. This book explores ways individuals and Christian communities can cultivate peace personally, locally, and on a global scale. Non-violence is a core value of The Episcopal Church and integral the Jesus Movement’s focus on reconciliation. As part of our baptismal covenant to strive for justice and peace among all people, we are called to be models of reconciliation and peace towards our neighbors. This book is a simple guide for building peace when the streets around us are filled with anger and violence.

This classic book on sewing linens for the church explains the materials and equipment needed, a variety of hemming options, special instructions on the small linens such as purificators and palls, working with fair linens, white work embroidery, and caring for church linens. New to this edition are directions for rolled hems, chalice veils, more specific directions and an improved worksheet for planning shrinkage, special advice specifically for beginners, an updated “Sources and Resources” section, and new patterns.

• Offers readers a way to find their place in God’s story
• A creative invitation to those who are on the margins of the church

Crucial conversations about mental health and mental healthcare, from a faith perspective.
Emerging from David Finnegan-Hosey’s personal experience of living with a diagnosis deemed a “preexisting condition” by insurance companies, Grace is a Pre-existing Condition explores the theological and spiritual dimensions of our public discourse around mental healthcare and mental illness and finds there the transformative reality of grace.

The author's insights will be of benefit to anyone concerned about creating a more just healthcare system, but particularly those who struggle with–and care for those who struggle with–mental health. Though focusing on mental health, including preexisting conditions and medical debt, his observations are equally applicable to people dealing with a variety of physical and chronic illnesses. While intentionally approaching the subject through the lens of Christian theology, this book is a contribution to a broader conversation about healthcare policy; a conversation which is likely to be in the spotlight in future political debates. Combining the accessibility of personal narrative with issues receiving attention on the national scale, Grace Is a Pre-existing Condition can begin vital and creative dialogues at a crucial time for the church and the country.

This practical handbook for homes and church communities helps to enrich the Christian celebration of Advent through the creation and use of an Advent calendar. Written for people of all skill levels, Baumgarten provides instructions for a calendar made of paper or junk mail, a no-sew felt version, and a fabric version for more advanced sewers.

Teach Us To Number Our Days, however, is more than a simple crafts' book. Baumgarten provides readers with a brief history of the development of Advent in the Christian calendar, as well as detailed explanations of the various Christian symbols that can be used during the season. Paying attention to both the Old and New Testament symbols, as well as the Sundays of Advent and the Great 'O' Antiphons from December 17-23, this book is a complete guide to Advent for individuals, families, and churches.

Ecumenical examination of immigration issues drawn from engaging, first-person narratives.

A group of bishops (Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, and United Methodist), all based along the US-Mexico border, found common ground to jointly address some key immigration issues, especially those being played out in the state of Arizona. The bishops worked together on behalf of local immigrant populations to address theological and pastoral concerns—and prayed for those whose lives were being directly affected. This book grows out of their shared work and the relationships that developed among them.

In his thirteen years as Vicar, popular author David Adam welcomed over 1 million pilgrims to the Holy Island of Lindesfarne in Northumberland. Each pilgrim had a story to tell and each came for a different reason. Some radiated a sense of God's presence, and others were simply too hurried to do anything but look around quickly and move on to the next site.

Using the stories of pilgrims Adam encountered on Holy Island, he explores how we can approach our own lives as pilgrimage, without ever leaving the comfort of our homes. How can we move beyond what is safe in our world and encounter the Mystery? How can we learn to disconnect from all the technology that keeps us multi-tasking all day and all night? How can we rediscover awe in the world around us?

In the wonderful prose and poetry for which he is so well-loved, David Adam helps us get on the road of life, even when we don't have time to travel to distant lands.

A brief history of the simple, but powerful design of the cross, with more than 20 patterns for appliqué.

Throughout the ages many cultures have developed their own designs to depict the cross. A symbol of both suffering and victory, the cross can be used to create a powerful, meaningful image on functional and decorative pieces in the church, home and office. In Crosses of Many Cultures, Joyce Mori provides historical explanations along with easy-to-understand instructions and line drawings for over twenty international cross designs for appliqué. Writing for the beginner and intermediate levels, Mori explains several appliqué techniques, from hand and machine sewing methods to no-sewing techniques. The versatility of these designs is evident in the wide array of suggested projects which include wall quilts, banners, church linens and vestments, table runners, place mats, apron fronts, and door-toppers.

The Anglican Communion is said to be coming apart at the seams. But is that really true? Thisbook challenges that tired narrative of Anglican disunity.

Jesse Zink has traveled tens of thousands of miles around the world, visiting and worshiping with Anglicans in some of the Communion’s most diverse provinces—Nigeria, the largest province ministering in an unstable political environment; South Sudan, at one point the fastest-growing church in the world, now rebuilding after devastating civil wars; England, the mother church of Anglicans, struggling to adjust to a new, secular age; South Africa, a church dealing with the legacy of entrenched discrimination and rapid social change.

The story Zink learns at the grassroots level of the church is far different from the one that dominates its highest levels. He shows that when conversations about power, history, and sexuality are undertaken in a spirit of mutuality and trust, they can strengthen, not weaken, the Anglican Communion. The result is a book that presents vivid slices of Anglican life around the world, argues convincingly that unity is central to the Communion’s mission, and presents a credible path to achieving that unity in a global church. It is a book that will be sure to shape coming debates about the future of the Anglican Communion.

A scholarly review of early Christian history and its policies against heresy and lessons for today’s church leaders and reformers

Ancient heresies have modern expressions that influence our churches and culture, creating cruel dilemmas for today’s Christian in the form of error, sin, and various distortions on orthodox faith. In The Cruelty of Heresy, Bishop C. FitzSimons Allison captures the drama and relevance of the Councils of the fourth and fifth centuries and shows how the remarkable achievements of these early struggles provide valuable guidelines for believers today.

“Bishop Allison has combined a lifetime of scholarship and pastoral experience in this remarkable, readable work. . . . He vividly describes how the two human tendencies toward self-centeredness and escape from the difficulties of life—both very popular today—always distort the gospel. . . . Invaluable reading for any minister of the gospel, those who are preparing for Christian ministry, and all who seek a deeper understanding of authentic Christian orthodoxy.”—Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Chicago (1982–1996)

A fresh perspective on how liturgy can support social justice work

Proclaim! is an exploration of Episcopal liturgy from a black, queer, millennial perspective, with an eye toward proclamation and justice. Part memoir, part history, part biblical studies, and part practical theology, Proclaim! suggests that the politics of our liturgical tradition is the ground from which we can engage in the justice work that our world needs. Each chapter explores theology, a biblical story, and the real-world practice of evangelism and mission. The liturgy can serve as the theological well from which we might draw wisdom to engage the issues of justice, equity, and compassion in the world today. The question is not whether or not to engage politics; rather, the question is: whose politics are being reflected?

Furthermore, what shape might our lives take if we took our worship of God seriously? People who are curious about what justice looks like in the Church or who are seeking new resources to sustain their work will be affirmed in Halley’s book.

Can we really enjoy the world while trying to save it? Many of us want to do both, but find a balance difficult to achieve. Part how-to and part memoir, Schaper's book shows us a socially responsible way of having it all.

The short, humorous chapters are about simplifying: food, children, money, romance. From the Slow Food Movement to the lighting of simple fires, Schaper provides basic strategies and spiritual solutions for living well and doing good, drawing from her own experience of working for social change while attempting to live fully.

This volume is a documentary history of the Episcopal Church from 1782 to 1985. The documents selected illustrate what the Episcopal Church believes and what it has done. They also show how the Episcopal Church has developed in the context of American culture. The documents are arranged chronologically in thematic chapters. Care has been taken to see that the documents are widely representative of various positions in the church.

The editors hope that the reader can hear the history and drama of the Episcopal Church through the many voices assembled here. The goal has been to let these witnesses speak for themselves, with few editorial inter­ruptions. These documents have much to say about the Episcopal Church: what it has been, what it is, and what it needs to be.

Connects the metaphor of home that runs through the stories of our faith with the deep desire to belong and to feel wanted.

The author writes, “One of the characters in Robert Frost’s ‘Death of a Hired Man’ says, ‘Home is that place where, when you go there, they have to let you in.’ I have found that place in my marriage, around our dining room table for Thursday Night Dinners, with friends who have helped me make a mosaic out of the shards of my fractured past. Home, for me, means to belong, to feel wanted.”

As a writer, chef, and minister, Brasher-Cunningham has spoken to churches, taught cooking classes, hosted dinners, and found as many ways as possible to get people together to talk about food and faith. That discussion turns often to what it means to live life together, which is an entry point to talk about what it means to feel at home together.

Engages in how we should now live into this time of climate change crisis

It is hard to be hopeful in the face of climate crisis. The problem is on a scale difficult for us to understand. Actions needed to address the crisis require a radical change in way of life. Does the Church have anything unique to offer? Is there something in our life of community, worship, and prayer that suggests a different way through this time? Church, Creation, and the Common Good is a program resource offering a hopeful answer to these challenges. Through scripture, tradition, and Christian practice, it guides church communities into deeper understanding of their role as the Church in the world and how they might be communities for the common good in this time. This curricular resource is sure to foster rich conversations and provide a path toward love of all creation and our particular places as we face the climate crisis together.

Embracing Interfaith Cooperation is a 5- to 10-week study for adults, young adults and high school teens.

Join interfaith commentator Eboo Patel as he explores what it means to be “literate” about other faiths, how interfaith cooperation “works” and why, the skills needed for interfaith cooperation and the significant role that our institutions, including colleges and faith communities, can play in this process. The study's appealing video-journal format invites engagement and response.

The Five Sessions: (10-15 minute presentations each by Eboo Patel, including Patel interacting with a small, diverse group of adults and young adults as they respond and discuss interfaith issues.

1. Interfaith Cooperation in American History
2. Interfaith Literacy
3. The Science of Interfaith Cooperation
4. The art of Interfaith Leadership
5. The Role of Colleges, Seminaries and Houses of Worship

Participant's Workbook sold separately.

Preaching Through the Year of Luke is the ninth in a series of books devoted to presenting examples of preaching excellence.

These sermons, collected from the 1999 Preaching Excellence Program and from clergy nationwide, use biblical passages for the liturgical year C, which focuses on the Gospel of Luke. Sermons for the major holy days as well as a selection of Sundays throughout the year will be helpful to pastors preparing to preach, as well as laypeople who seek a better understanding of the year C lectionary passages.

Unpacking a common, but rarely addressed problem—from the theological dimensions of codependency to treatment of the minister and congregation—clergy experts Platt and Knudsen cite real-life experiences with clergy addiction and congregations in crisis in this ecumenical approach to recovery.

Chapter 1: The Theological Dimensions of Codependency

Chapter 2: How It All Begins: The Seeds of Codependency in a Congregation

Chapter 3: Symptoms of Codependency in the Congregation

Chapter 4: The Minister and Addiction

Chapter 5: Options for Ending the Codependency

Chapter 6: Treatment and Early Recovery

Chapter 7: Change

Chapter 8: Recovery for the Minister and the Congregation

Chapter 9: The Search Process, or, How They Find Each Other

Appendix

Questioning and renegotiating the authority, roles, responsibilities, and relationships between lay and ordained leaders has become the order of the day for the church. In her new book for clergy and congregations, leadership expert Katherine Tyler Scott provides models and spiritual practices to feed the growing hunger in our churches for grounded spiritual authority.

From marine to lay minister, an inspirational story on the power of healing and faith.

“My journey has transformed me from Royal Marine Commander to lay minister of healing. Twenty-five years ago, I was trained to kill or be killed. Now it is my privilege to teach people to heal and be healed.”

This long-awaited sequel to Hand to Hand: From Combat to Healing, Mumford's experience of healing in the trenches, offers vivid snapshots of God at work in the world. These true tales from the author's healing ministry and prayers gives the reader insight into the little-known world of modern miracles.

Inspiring to Christians and non-Christians alike, these accessible stories challenge us to explore the depths of our faith. They will encourage healers in their ministry of prayer and those who are ill to seek physical and spiritual healing for themselves.

Author Kristen Johnson Ingram was photographing Native American dancers at an Oregon pow-wow when an official tapped her on the shoulder and asked her to stop taking pictures. "This is the prayer the dancer is doing," he explained.

For people of faith, Ingram realized, there are many forms of prayer besides the ones we speak with our lips: Devout Jews bow while reading Torah; Episcopalians stand, sit, or kneel in church; exuberant Christians raise their arms; and mystics of all denominations walk while murmuring the Jesus Prayer. As Christians, we can use our entire bodies to praise God, transforming simple acts like hearing music, looking at shafts of sunlight, or walking in the woods into acts of prayer that celebrate God's presence in everyday life.

Beyond Words is a book for spiritual adventurers who seek new ways to pray. Readers can put into practice the concepts they find here, making the book not just a source of inspiration but a springboard to action that deepens their prayer lives and draws them closer to God.

Originally part of a series of broadcasts made by the author prior to World War II, this small book was meant "to present some of the great truths concerning man’s spiritual life in simple language.” As one critic has noted, “Underhill has admirably and eloquently achieved her objective.” Evelyn Underhill was a prolific British writer on mysticism and spiritual growth. Her other books include The School of Charity and Abba.

A daily devotional inspired by the hymns of Charles Wesley, this book paves the way for spiritual pilgrimage throughout this sacred period of the Christian year. Wesley’s lyrical theology and hymns represent a monumental devotional treasure within both the Anglican and Methodist heritage.

Sacred texts from Wesley’s Redemption Hymns and Resurrection Hymns are particularly well suited to the themes of Lent and Easter. Selections from both these collections are featured in the volume, including “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling,” as well as hymns, such as “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” drawn from a wider selection of Wesley’s works.

The hymns are arranged around themes tied to scriptural texts proper to each day. Each of the fifty-four meditations includes a biblical text, the Wesley hymn selection (with a recommended tune for singing from the Episcopal Hymnal 1982), a brief meditation, and a prayer for the day. Suggestions are also provided for the use of these materials in a pattern of either Morning or Evening Prayer.

At once a “travel guide” and a vision for the future, this series is good news for the Episcopal Church at a time of fast and furious demographic and social change. It analyzes the present plight of the church and sketches a positive way forward, sprouting from the seeds of change—those transformative practices already at work renewing the church. What church models can help point us toward transformation? What are the essential tools? What will give us strength, direction, and purpose to the journey?

Each volume of the series will:

• Explain why a changed vision is essential
• Give robust theological and biblical foundations
• Offer a guide to best practices and positive trends in churches large and small
• Describe the necessary tools for change
• Imagine how transformation will look

For most Episcopalians, stewardship is synonymous with pledge drives, budgets, and capital campaigns, but the Bible is clear that God wants more than our tithes and offerings. Looking to its scriptural roots in 1 Chronicles, Luke-Acts, and the letters of Paul, as well as St. Francis’ “third way,” Robertson offers a vision of holistic stewardship for the whole church, holistic because it can’t be separated from evangelism, outreach, scripture study, and ministry to the newcomer. It does not involve strong-arm tactics, only a willingness to risk changing existing structures and ideas in order to enrich the faith community and strengthen connections to the neighboring world.

Transforming Stewardship delivers both good and bad news about Episcopalians and stewardship. Robertson provides essential models and spiritual practices in order to transform the church’s outmoded attitudes toward stewardship and wealth into a broader context of faith.

Fireweed, always the first flower to spring up and bloom in ruins and burned-over places, is Elizabeth Geitz's metaphor for evangelism that comes from the heart. It is the motivation that makes some Christians eager to welcome the stranger and invite people into their churches, while others hang back. In this prequel to Entertaining Angels: Hospitality Programs for the Caring Church, Geitz explores this missing ingredient in Christian hospitality, reminding us that in a multi-faith world where Christians wish to honor the validity of other religious paths, we may hesitate to talk about the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. Her book helps both individuals and communities to understand what holds them back from evangelism and discover the path that is right for them.

This book unfolds in three sections. In the first we look at the factors that inhibit our evangelism, including the awareness that we live in a pluralistic world and do not wish to offend those with other faith commitments. Geitz offers both reflection and exercises to help us discover our own motivation for evangelism. Part 2 addresses the question of context. Where does evangelism take place, and for whose benefit? To what sort of communities do we invite those to whom we reach out? Section 3 focuses on the uniqueness of Christian hospitality and describes the nuts and bolts of newcomer ministry and the programs needed to sustain Christian hospitality in a pluralistic society. It includes workshop and group process material.

Part of the well-established Welcome to... series from Morehouse Publishing, this book addresses church history from the grassroots perspective of how Anglicans have prayed, thought about, and lived out their faith through the centuries.

A historical and enlightening introduction to Desert Mothers and the wise spiritual lessons we can glean from their lives, trials and tribulations, and writings.

At the dawn of Christianity, holy women went into the wilderness of the desert of Northern Egypt to give themselves totally to lives of prayer. Explore the unique spirituality of Desert Mothers, and learn ways to apply their wisdom today.

“The Desert Mothers are often overshadowed by the better-known Desert Fathers, but these women who went into the wilderness to pursue deep prayer deserve to be heard. Mary Earle has taken nine concise sayings from Desert Mothers and explore them in original ways.”—Frederica Mathewes-Green, author, columnist, and speaker

“Mary Earle is a modern-day Desert Mother, and we are fortunate, indeed, for her introduction to Desert Amma’s ancient wisdom, and for her gentle guidance on ways to incorporate that wisdom into contemporary spiritual practices.”—Debra K. Farrington, author of Hearing with the Heart: A Gentle Guide to Discerning God’s Will for Your Life

Writing for a wide popular audience, philosopher Diogenes Allen examines the problem of human suffering and helps us to discover "traces of God" in the world, even as we suffer from physical pain and loss, natural disaster, and human evil. Written for beginners in the spiritual life, Traces of God describes how we can prepare ourselves for the inevitable sufferings of life. Allen explores the human pilgrimage through adversity and takes a close look at Simone Weil's studies of affliction.

From booting up the computer or driving a car, to pregnancy, childbirth, and sending out a child in shared custody, this collection offers simple prayers for living into and through the joys, anxieties, and complications of modern life. Traditional prayers — on waking, table graces, and preparing for sleep — are included, too.

Phillips is equally at home with lament and thanksgiving; prayers for recovery from a robbery or divorce mingle with thanks for healing and the ordinary ticking of a clock.

Prayers include: A Child’s Breakfast Prayer, Dashboard Prayer, At the Computer, For Watching Television, Writing Checks, Prayer for a Marriage Bed, Delivery Room Prayer, For a Couple Longing to Conceive, A Prayer for Imperfect Parents, Out of This Muddle, After a Robbery.

As the Church continues to try to clarify the meaning of baptism, well-known liturgical scholar Kenneth Stevenson provides important insights into the historical issues with which we still wrestle. Is baptism a private or a public act? Is the symbolism of the rite still appropriate? Does the language of the baptismal service remain meaningful in a secular age?

In order to answer these and other pressing questions, we must understand the thinking of those who have come before us. Stevenson does just that by looking at the writings of the 17th century Anglican divines such as Lancelot Andrewes, George Herbert, Richard Hooker, Richard Baxter, Jeremy Taylor and others, all of whom have a vital and prophetic significance for our understanding and practice of baptism today.

Drawing on the resources of five other volumes in the series, Transforming Vestries creates a single source designed specifically for this governing body. The chapters highlight the nature - and the needs - of vestry membership: stewardship, leadership, evangelism, discipleship, and vital congregational life.

A major study on the theology of Beloved Community.

This long-awaited work by the church's top clergy, scholars, and thought leaders examines the theological foundation of Beloved Community and its threats. It addresses such important topics as the legacy and sin of white supremacy, economic disparity, racial healing, and the call for reparations. The committee's work sheds light on the societal and cultural implications of the largest obstacle to the core mission of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and outlines what is necessary for the future of racial justice.

"I am so grateful for the... work of the theologians and bishops who have spent the last five years working on [this study] . . . This is hard and holy work, not to hurt or harm, but to help and heal."
—Michael B. Curry, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church

• Reflections deal with issues that matter
• Author is a renowned preacher, broadcaster, and internationally known ethicist

Essays by a preeminent Anglican figure on the salient issues of our time, “issues on which I believe the Church should have a view,” says Wells. The issues run the gamut from social, political, personal, life-cycle to theological. Some of the issues treated include Islam, migration, the rise of religious extremism, dementia, Israel, marriage, LGBTQ identity, domestic violence, death, shame, old age, retirement, assisted dying, ecology, obesity, inequality, Brexit, and the Trump presidential election. “Sam Wells arguably has the liveliest, most agile, best informed, critically disciplined mind in the entire Christian community; and he has a baptized heart of honesty, compassion, and passion to match his baptized mind. In this book he ranges over a cluster of complex issues, all the way from hard public questions of economics and politics to the most pathos-filed personal issues of retirement, dementia, and death. Concerning every issue, Sam’s sound judgment instructs us as he moves easily from life to Scripture and back through church tradition. This book will serve many of us well who live with daily perplexities that admit no resolution.” —Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary

At once “travel guide” and vision for the future, the Transformation series is good news for the Episcopal Church at a time of fast and furious demographic and social change. Series contributors - recognized experts in their fields - analyze our present plight, point to the seeds of change already at work transforming the church, and outline a positive new way forward. What kinds of churches are most ready for transformation? What are the essential tools? What will give us strength, direction, and purpose to the journey?

Each volume of the series will:

• Explain why a changed vision is essential
• Give robust theological and biblical foundations
• Offer a guide to best practices and positive trends in churches large and small.
• Describe the necessary tools for change
• Imagine how transformation will look

Making disciples through Christian formation too often looks like a limited number of educational programs offered to child, teen, and adult “consumers” who move on if they don’t find what they want. How can we make the transition from consumer religion to participatory faith by building congregational relationships that nourish people spiritually and empower them to risk living, worshipping, learning, and serving God and each other in new and enlivening ways?

This small, pocket-sized book of prayers and short Bible readings is designed to be a companion to Christian men and women in the military, serving on bases in the U.S. and around the world and in harm's way on the battlefield. It is also intended for use by the families of military personnel, linking them through the strong bond of prayer with their loved ones across time and space.

Included are brief forms of morning and evening prayer; prayers for the realities of daily life in service; prayers for protection, for the nation, for those who have died, and for a safe return home.

• Popular author with devoted following
• Non-threatening way to start conversations about Jesus The inimitable Barbara Crafton describes the birth of this book: “We have to learn about Jesus from somebody. Somebody has to tell us. Jesus has been told to people by other people for better than twenty centuries. There are things you only have to hear once and you’ve got it . . . Jesus is different. Him, we have to tell and re-tell. We mostly experience him in each other: in our ways of telling and, more importantly, in our ways of showing who he is. It is this that has prompted me to write a book about Jesus, something I never expected to do . . . But then this happened: You need to write a book about Jesus. This was not a voice I heard or anything spooky like that. It was just a thought that popped into my head one night when I woke up at about 3 A.M. . . . But this one had an air of urgency. And it refused to leave. You need to write a book about Jesus. Well, all right then.”

Since earliest times Christians have used pebbles, a string of knots, or beads on a cord to keep track of their prayers, and prayer beads can be found in virtually every major religious tradition in the world. Anglicans and other Protestants have also begun to use the rosary to help refresh a life of prayer--it creates a rhythm that helps wean us from our distractions and focus our attention so that we can more readily move into God's presence. As the beads and prayers recede into the background, the mysteries that make up the rosary come into our minds and hearts like religious pictures or icons.

First published in 1975, J. Neville Ward's unusual collection of meditations offer an entirely new approach to the rosary for all Christians. He begins with its traditional use and then offers fifteen insights into the life of Jesus and his mother Mary that can speak to us today. Thus a meditation on the sorrowful themes reminds us of the suffering that is so much a part of our own lives, while the joyful and glorious mysteries speak of the desire for faith, hope, and love that will heal them. These reflections serve up a rich spiritual repast for Christians seeking new contemplative practices and learning to pray with the rosary.

Illuminates the spiritual journey we all take and the choices we all take and the choices we make by focusing on five of the monastic hours, from Vigils which reflect on the edges of the day and our own difficulty in choosing to begin the journey, through Compline or night prayer, the time for letting go and remembering the reality of death.

Full of humor and eloquently written, Crossing shows Christians how to bring faith and human experience together.

Working with clay, paint, crayons, or pencils, artists have long known that the act of creating art can help people explore the deepest recesses of their hearts - and bring about real change in their lives. Michael Sullivan discovered the power of art for himself in the midst of grieving the loss of a young parishioner. Ever since, he has been using simple art projects as a form of prayer and a way of helping others explore what God may be saying to them.

Windows into the Soul is a practical, hands-on resource for those who want to explore this means of prayer and contemplation for themselves, approaching the process not as an artist but as a spiritual seeker. Readers will find projects in various media, including clay, charcoal, and acrylic, including not only technical directions, but a gentle guide to the spiritual gold to be mined from the experience.

A modern revision of a timeless but forgotten spiritual classic by Robert Law

In researching Jesus’s emotional life, Episcopal priest and Day1 producer and host Peter Wallace came across a scanned copy of Robert Law’s book, The Emotions of Jesus, in the Internet Archive. He found it to be a brilliant jewel of a book that flashes light on the facets of Jesus’s emotions and personality, brightening our understanding and appreciation of who Jesus was, how he lived, what it must have been like to be with him, and follow him.

Law’s century-old text has been carefully revised for a contemporary audience, without diminishing its beauty. Wallace addresses obscure wording and gender bias and provides background information and notes in order to ensure a fresh appreciation by modern readers. The result is a new approach to understanding Jesus, the wholly human one, who embodied a range of emotions as we do, and who serves as a model for living bold, authentic, and fervent lives today as followers of the way of love. Questions for meditation or discussion are included with each chapter.

This is the indispensable companion for worship planning for the Episcopal Church.

Following the three-year Revised Common Lectionary cycle and the church calendar year, this is the all-in-one liturgical season planner for worship. Included are suggestions for each season: rites, blessings, prayers, litanies, pageants. Readings, psalms, worship, and formation, and hymn suggestions are compiled for each Sunday and holy day.

Presiders and preachers, worship team leaders, musicians, Christian educators, sacristans, and altar guilds will find this to be the perfect resource, putting all the elements for planning worship and seasonal observances in one handy volume.

Esta serie nueva de cinco volúmenes invita a los niños desde preescolar hasta 6to. grado, a ingresar en nuestras historias sagradas. Basado en el método Montesori, Jugar Junto a Dios utiliza una cuidadosa forma de contar las historias de las escrituras, agradables figuras de las historias y una variedad de actividades creativas para animar a los niños a buscar y encontrar sus propias respuestas a sus dudas de fe.

Esta aproximación única a la educación religiosa invita a los niños a preguntarse acerca de ellos mismos, Dios y el mundo en una manera que es juguetona y significativa para ellos. Jugar Junto a Dios respeta la innata espiritualidad de los niños y los anima a utilizar su curiosidad e imaginación para experimentar el misterio y la gracia de Dios.

Las sesiones de Jugar Junto a Dios pueden ser adaptadas para ajustarse a reuniones de 45 minutos hasta de 2 horas. Cada plan de lección incluye la historia y una lista completa de materiales.

Volumen 1: Como Dirigir las Lecciones de Jugar Junto a Dios
Volumen 2: 14 Presentaciones para el otoño
Volumen 3: 20 Presentaciones para el Invierno
Volumen 4: 20 Presentaciones para la Primavera

A noted spiritual director suggests new ways of looking at how different people understand and relate to the divine. Explores the many styles of faith that characterize believers in all religions, examines the various modes of believing, and offers ways for spiritual directors to use this knowledge as they work with their clients. Includes illustrative case studies and practical suggestions for offering spiritual direction.

The Spiritual Directors International Series – This book is part of a special series produced by Morehouse Publishing in cooperation with Spiritual Directors International (SDI), a global network of some 6,000 spiritual directors and members.

The damage done by hatred and prejudice -- based on race, sexual orientation, religion, or gender -- runs very deep. The damage is often invisible, but it simmers beneath the surface anyway. In Race and Prayer, Malcolm Boyd and Chester Talton have collected poems, prayers, and prose that bring the anger and frustration to light, and ultimately, they hope, to a place of reconciliation and healing.

Race and Prayer is divided into five sections: Suffering and Anger; Prejudice and Hatred; Diversity; Reconciliation and Healing; and Growth in Understanding and Sharing. Contributors to this collection range in age from teenagers to the elderly, and include men and women from a wide variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, all of whom speak honestly of their own experiences, heartbreaks, and hopes. Twelve cartoons from three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Conrad, editorial cartoonist at the Los Angeles Times, add to the power of this collection.

A selection from Underhill's enduring devotional writings, chosen for their pertinence to Lenten themes.

Half a century has passed since Evelyn Underhill's death, yet her devotional writings have endured as a beacon to those who seek a deeper understanding of the "interior life" in the mystical Christian tradition. The editor's personal discovery of Underhill's works when he was a young student at General Theological Seminary moved him to pursue an extensive knowledge of her writings. From these he has skillfully culled readings appropriate for every day of Lent, from Ash Wednesday to Easter Eve and broadly following liturgical themes.

Now back in print, these selections were chosen with the purpose of deepening Lenten observance by allowing the reader to follow the thought of Underhill, from the "spiritual stocktaking" theme for Ash Wednesday to Easter Saturday's joyous anticipation of God's ultimate Gift.

Every one of us will experience several major life changes over the course of adulthood. Each of these transitions will be marked by external changes, such as change of location, career changes, promotions, or job losses, plus changes in family circumstances, including births, marriage, and death. These transitions are also marked by inner change, since most of us readily examine our faith life and relationship with God during such periods.

This book helps people examine both the outward and the inward dimensions of major life changes. This blend of interior examination and attention to practical issues is shown in the questions that set the stage for the discernment process:

- What theme or themes do you bring to this process of discernment?
- What details would be necessary to know in order to discern an outcome?
- What are the financial implications?
- What are the implications for family members or others close to you?
- What information do you need to start gathering?

“Why did I give advice to Eve instead of going directly to Adam? I knew I would never be able to stop the Creator’s overall plan, but I thought I might really be able to frustrate it if I could screw up some relationships.” So speaks Satan as The First Family Counselor in this collection of Edwin Friedman’s most popular essays, edited by his daughter, Shira Friedman Bogart.

Friedman’s signature wit and playfulness goes straight to the heart of human relationships from one generation to another. Throughout his life, Friedman eloquently applied the insights of family therapy to churches and synagogues, rectors and rabbis, politicians and teachers, and his humor, sense of paradox, and unique style of storytelling were trademarks of his teaching style.

How do we deal with and attempt to understand God's presence and overarching love for us when life goes wrong, when we encounter difficulties and tragedies?

This noted Benedictine monk and priest shares his personal journeys through troubled times, using the discipline of meditating on single words of Scripture from the New Testament. He skilfully translates from Greek to English to reveal these "buried treasures" with multiple nuances of meaning that give light along difficult paths in life.

Meditations are followed by questions for reflection, further examples from Scripture, and a quote from the Rule of Saint Benedict to aid the reader.

The resource is designed to help spiritual directors and others use expressive arts in the context of spiritual direction. It is the latest book in the unique SDI series, designed for professional spiritual directors, but also useful for clergy, therapists, and Christian formation specialists.

The Spiritual Directors International Series – This book is part of a special series produced by Morehouse Publishing in cooperation with Spiritual Directors International (SDI), a global network of some 6,000 spiritual directors and members.

The Celtic tradition continues to captivate readers. Centuries old, it seems to speak to the modern world with a fresh voice. In Holy Companions, readers are invited to get to know and journey with eighteen Celtic saints. The authors have provided a theme inspired by each saint, along with a brief biography, a reflection on what the saint's life and words may mean to us today, and some spiritual exercises and practices that grow out of that life and work.

Written accessibly, this is an excellent book for individual exploration or group study.

Lindisfarne is more than a history, its a book of stories about the Holy Island and its people: their trials and tribulations, as well as their celebrations and successes, revealing how Lindisfarne and its people have coped with and adapted to change. This book gives readers a feeling for the tiny island, which played such a large role in the history of England, plus a sense of its sacred enchantment.

Invites readers to enter more deeply into the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation of Christ.

For each day from the first Sunday of Advent to the Feast of the Epiphany, readings, prayers, and suggestions for daily devotions help readers interact imaginatively with the reactions and feelings of the biblical figures involved with the story of Jesus' birth. Rowell and Chilcott-Monk focus particularly on Mary, her "yes" to God at the Annunciation, and her own journey from Bethlehem to Calvary.

The title of the book is a translation of a New Testament prayer, Maranatha!, an expression of the longing, hope, and unity of purpose among the first followers of Christ. At a time of year when commercial pressures threaten to obscure the child in the manger, Come, Lord Jesus! will focus hearts and minds afresh on the miracle of love at work among us.

Religion today is in competition with the leisure and entertainment industries. Gen Y, the postmodern generation, is open to spirituality; but most of todays young adults have not been born into faith communities where they feel any lasting allegiance. Studies suggest that for the young, belief in God is an optional matter, a virtual consumer choice. As a result, different trends in worship and worship styles are offered by different churches to suit lifestyles, attitudes, and personal taste.

This volume shows that stories can reflect and represent the students that hear them.

Working with the same overall themes of his first book, Building a Children's Chapel: One Story at a Time, Bill Gordh presents a wide range of folktales from around the world, stories from different faith traditions, and some updates of the original volume. The stories are presented to be told aloud, complete with storytelling tips and musical suggestions for each. Thirty-five curated folktales and stories from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, African, Asian, Scandinavian, and Native American traditions support the values that many desire to instill in children. As an award-winning storyteller, banjoist, author, and educator, Bill Gordh offers a storytelling approach that honors both the source material and the children who listen.

Those who are engaged with the spiritual growth of children will find this book invaluable.

Age range: 3 - 8 years old, Grade Level: Preschool to 5th Grade

Ready-to-use material for children’s Sunday worship based on the Revised Common Lectionary.
Versatile and practical, with options for small, large, and mixed-age groups alike. Simple liturgies provide a complete resource for children’s Liturgy of the Word for Episcopal and Catholic churches. Joins Year A and B editions completing the series. Ask almost any clergy or educator what one of their biggest challenges in worship is likely to be “coming up with ideas for including children in worship.”

This book provides a whole year’s worth of activities and ideas complete with artwork and visual aids. These sixty-four outlines have been developed and used in an Anglican parish (Church of England) over the last eight years by a professional educator, artist, and experienced children’s minister. The worship outlines include simple children’s liturgies and a complete lesson or story plan that harmonizes with the lectionary. Through fun ideas, children encounter a real aspect of the Christian faith focused on a theme from each Sunday’s Gospel. Each outline includes a variety of options, which make them appropriate for small and large groups of children as well as mixed age groups. Illustrated throughout, the text and full-color artwork are included on a CD ROM for downloading, printing, and copying.

Playing off the last chapter of her previous book, The Courage to Grow Old, well-beloved author Barbara Crafton looks at the world around us: what do we know about creation? What gift is there for us in the "also life" of stars and other organic and non-organic forms of existence? How might that shape the way we see our existence and the God who breathed that life into us? And what might life after death be like?

What does the vestry do? Is there a difference between a rector and a vicar? What exactly is an undercroft, anyway? Young people—and their families—can turn to this user-friendly, clearly written resource to learn the meanings of many of the unique words that are part of the Anglican tradition.

The Anglican Young People’s Dictionary is a concise, engaging, easy-to-read dictionary of some 150 often-used but frequently misunderstood words used by Anglicans. Written in an approachable, kid-friendly style, it’s an excellent resource for teens approaching Confirmation, as well as students in parish Christian formation programs. It’s also a useful tool for parents and parish educators, and a handy reference for church newcomers.

Cancer diagnosis and treatment can make a person feel both frightened and powerless; Anna Fitch Courie takes a different approach: Join her as she embarks on an epic journey with God after finding out she has cancer. Cancer Girl wraps herself in a cape of grace, freely sharing her experiences of diagnosis, traversing the medical system, finding faith in God again, and learning to live with cancer. Cancer Girl learns that there is no stronger “magic word” than “Trust God.”

Part journal, part sage advice, Fitch Courie weaves her experience as a nurse throughout her story. Using her real-time blog posts during the course of diagnosis, treatment, and living with the disease, Fitch Courie covers the cycle of grief and relearning a new norm, offering assurance to others that they are not alone. Each chapter opens with Scripture that reflects the theme of the day. Section 1 covers early stages of the journey; Section 2 offers learnings from the experience; and Section 3 offers questions for the individual to reflect on their own illness and how they felt. Readers are encouraged to explore their thoughts, feelings, and experiences with their illness in order to contribute to overall healing.

The occasion of Dr. Hatchett's thirtieth anniversary as professor of liturgics and church music at the School of Theology of the University of the South is being celebrated with this stimulating collection of essays by an international cadre of authors.

An introduction to the major themes and passages of the holy book of Islam, this book invites readers of any religion -- or none -- to meditate on verses of the Quran as support for spiritual practices and growth.

It guides the reader through the rich tapestry of the Quran, weaving through a number of themes, including the mystery of God, surrender to the divine will, and provisions for the spiritual journey. Quranic verses are supplemented by sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, the words of Rumi and other Sufi poets, and relevant quotations and insights from Jewish and Christian sources. The book also offers practical suggestions for expanding and strengthening one's spiritual sinews.

Lent has traditionally been a time for self-denial and penitence, a time to examine the baser aspects of human nature. But the church increasingly recognizes that this negative focus does not always build a relationship with God, especially among women who already struggle with issues of worth and self-esteem. In its wide range of writings, Gifts from Within invites women to spend the time of Lent focusing on their uniqueness and on the gifts of their feminine spiritual nature. This collection points the way for women to deepen their ability to recognize God's love and to live as God directs.

Starting with Ash Wednesday and ending on Easter Day, each day's meditation explores an aspect of women's lives, their unique spirituality, and their heritage in the biblical stories. By connecting their own stories -- some sad and some joyous -- with the biblical texts, readers of these devotions may find Lent to be a time of inspiration instead of merely something to be endured.