Church Publishing Incorporated

Youth (and their parents, mentors, and leaders) are continually seeking a devotional from a mainline Christian perspective that honors them. Different than many youth devotionals, which use punitive language and the context of purity, Cross Words is a devotional for students that is engaging and realistic about their brokenness alongside God’s redeeming grace and forgiveness. It will help them walk through the daily blessings and challenges of life, offering opportunities to consider how their faith might be strengthened through those experiences.

Each week offers a brief reflection followed by a question to ponder, Scripture, prayer, or quote to use as a daily touchstone in the coming days, set in a format with open space for their own writing and drawing. Using approachable wording that doesn’t require them to learn a new language in order to understand the reflection will appeal to today's teens. Meeting young people where they are on their journey, it can be used for personal devotion or in educational settings, youth meetings, confirmation classes, mission trips, pilgrimages, retreats, coffee shops, or with families around the supper table.

Retellings of the "walking stories" of Scripture and how they unpack the truths about spiritual life.

Jesus walks everywhere with his disciples—always arriving, departing, on the way somewhere else. Adam and Eve walked out of the garden, Lot and his daughters walked out of Sodom, Abraham and Isaac walked to Mt. Moriah, the Israelites walked for forty years to the promised land, the Prodigal Son walked home barefoot, the disciples walked to Emmaus.

The spiritual life is oftentimes about putting one foot in front of another, always on the way, never home, until crossing another new threshold. However, the point of all our walking—whether tedious or joyous, rambling or goal-oriented—is getting home, as this splendid author illustrates in this reflective work.

" . . . a lively story of the Episcopal tradition."—E. Brooks Holifield

A carefully researched history that sets church events against the background of social changes, now available in Spanish. The author has interwoven new content recognizing the diversity of the church and the significance of events and individuals previously less acknowledged.

For church historians, seminarians, and those who have interest in the past, present, and future developments within the Episcopal and broader religious landscape.

An essential guide for anyone who plans, performs, or takes part in the music and worship of the church. Includes helpful planning forms and extensive indices for The Hymnal 1982 not found elsewhere.

Our inherent value and worth comes from God's love for us, but our modern world is filled with sexual expression that too often leads us away from the life of Christ. As Christians seeking to live a life worthy of our calling and desiring to pass along these values to our children and youth, this book explores how we (as parents and adults) can explore issues of sexuality in the context of our faith.

A sexuality education resource from a mainline/progressive denominational prospective aids the adult reader/teacher/parent in learning and using skills that enable them to embrace and affirm the wholeness of sexuality and to talk openly and honestly about the connection of sexuality and faith. This book, grounded from a theological perspective, focuses on foundational issues for addressing how we (and why we) are called to have these conversations in a faithful community to support families. The importance of looking at one's sexuality throughout the lifespan through the lenses of decision making, faith and daily life, respect, growth and change, behavior, responsibility, values, prayer, and intentionality is be explored, offering a grounding as well as stand-alone resource for individuals and churches to build upon.

Topics chosen by youth and prayers written by youth—their ideas, their language.

This collection of prayers for youth written by high school students offers a fresh approach and artwork contributed by youth from across the country. Other features include a four-page introduction that suggests multiple ways to use the book, a one-page introduction for each season of the church year, scripture index and topic index, plus more than 150 prayers.

Faith formation resource for children on human sexuality.

This sexuality education resource from a mainline/progressive denominational prospective aids the leader, child (participant), and parent in learning about their body and using skills that enable them to embrace and affirm the wholeness of sexuality as part of who they are. Session plans will address facts about sexuality, vocabulary, decision making, faith and daily life, respect, growth and change, behavior, responsibility, values, prayer, and intentionality in an age appropriate manner for children and their parents. One Leader Guide will cover all ages, with three Parent Books (Preschool: 3- to 5-yearolds, Primary: 6- to 8-year-olds, and Intermediate: 9- to 11-year-olds), and two Participant Books (Primary and Intermediate ages).

Session topics include: • We are Wonderfully Made • We are Complex • We are Changing • We are Knowledgeable • We are Equipped • We are Called • We are Growing Up

Illustrated devotions to enrich your understanding of the Nativity narratives.

This devotional guide for the days from Advent to Candlemas builds on the popularity of the ancient Christian tradition of walking the Stations of the Cross. Readings and prayers will help individuals and groups walk the Stations of the Nativity, from the vision of Zecharias in the temple to the return of the Holy family to Galilee. Along the way readers can pray and meditate on the Annunciation, the Visitation, the birth of John the Baptist, Joseph’s dream, the Nativity, the appearance of the angels, the shepherds and Magi at the manger, the Presentation, the flight into Egypt, and the massacre of the innocents. Each station includes an opening sentence and a response, a Bible reading, a reflection, prayers, a longer meditation, and a short closing prayer. Striking engravings or woodcuts provide a visual meditation on each station.

A personal story of the struggle for authentic inclusion in the church.

From a strong voice in the dialogue about what Black lives matter means in relation to faith, a powerful lament and a hopeful message about the future. Historically, to be Episcopal/Anglican, as it was to be American, was to be white. Assimilation to whiteness has been a measure of success and acceptance, yet, assimilation requires that people of color give up something of themselves and deny parts of their heritage including religious practices that sustained their ancestors.

Despite the fact that Blackness is on display on Black History Month for example, and Black/African heritage is given primacy in the liturgy, music, and preaching during that time, at other times this doesn't seem to be the case. The author argues that whiteness is embedded in every aspect of religious life, from seminary to Christian education to last rites. Is it possible to be Black and Episcopalian and not feel alien, she asks. In her words we learn that inclusivity, above all, must be authentic.

As congregations explore their emerging visions, they need support in “equipping the saints” for their day-to-day lives and ministries beyond the doors of the building. The Dismissal — “go in peace, to love and serve the Lord” — becomes as important as the Eucharist in feeding the people for the journey. But churches often fail to focus on this baptismal calling to “go” into the worlds of work, family, and community. This book fills that void, focusing on how the baptized become “go-ers,” providing practical and tested ways of fulfilling that calling.

Go to Love and Serve builds on and complements the work of Stephanie Spellers’ Radical Welcome, which called congregations to move beyond diversity and inclusion to be places where the transforming gifts, voices, and power of marginalized cultures and groups bring new life to the mainline church. Each chapter is followed by discussion questions for use with small groups or for personal reflection.

Everyday actions work to transform life personally and in community
It's all too common for Christians to wonder, if Jesus came to bring transformation and wholeness, why do I still feel like the same old me and struggle with the same issues as always? Paul Fromberg, rector of St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco, offers a practical approach to life transformation that proves that church, if done right, can be the catalyst for bringing about real change in people's lives.

For those frustrated that they haven't had real experiences of transformation in their churches and for church leaders who are frustrated that members aren't being transformed by their experiences in church. Fromberg presents a way to move beyond cynicism, sadness, and alienation and reconnect with the deep, passionate, beautiful life that God has in mind for us. The first step is to question assumptions, but it takes relationships to make this change and courage to risk what you know for the sake of being made new. The intersection between beauty, justice, and friendship is the place where people can dare to be transformed. The best gift the church can give is to make transformation a real part of people's lives.

The Leader's Guide combines practical exercises with inspiring reflections on the experiences of individuals involved with baptism.

Clergy and lay people will find a wealth of ideas, tips, and discussion starters to help parents and godparents make informed and committed choices on behalf of their infant or young child. Christ's Own Forever is a unique resource developed with the varying needs of Episcopal communities of all sizes in mind. Flexible session plans are ideal for both one-on-one conversations with parents or meetings that include several families together.

Includes background on baptism and Christian initiation, as well as guidance on preparation for baptism in the Episcopal Church today. Guidance is provided for preparation and follow-up with parents who are parish members and those who are unchurched.

Take the fear out of "the art of the ask."

Every major gift is planned, and every planned gift is major. This book is written with the premise that if you know how to identify, evaluate, cultivate and finally ask for the gift, it does not matter if it is a major gift or a will. Clergy and others need help learning how to 'make the ask' before thedr major gifts have been allocated to other non-profits and schools so willing and prepared to ask for them. LaFond recounts, "I remember sitting with a beloved, dying parishioner who turned to me in her last three hours and quietly said 'I wish I had remembered the church in my will.' I asked why she had not and she said, sweetly, 'They never asked, and everyone else did, and so thoroughly.'” Clergy and lay leaders are terrified of asking for major and planned gifts while parishes need them and donors need to give them. Clergy are not taught in seminary how to do this essential work of ministry. LaFond, in his various roles, is filling that educational gap.

A roadmap for church leaders to break the model of “managing” their parish to setting a foundation for growth and hope.

This practical, no-nonsense guide challenges church leaders to get out of “survival mode” and start imagining—and living out—a future filled with growth and hope. In his years of work with congregations in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, Gerald Keucher discovered that the shrinkage in numbers in many congregations of mainline churches “has deeply affected the psyches of those who lead our congregations. In many cases, they’ve been ‘managing decline’ for so long that they’ve forgotten to look to the future.” Keucher outlines a method for sound leadership and asset management in clear, easy-to-follow chapters.

Reading hymns as poetry for meditation and understanding has long been an Anglican practice. Some hymnals in England print one stanza with music and the rest as poetry. Americans have preferred that texts be interlined with music for ease and instruction in singing.

This text-only edition of The Hymnal 1982 brings out the beauty and meaning of the poetry that has moved Christians to ministry for hundreds of years. This handsome red book is a companion to the study edition of the Book of Common Prayer and is an ideal accompaniment to A Closer Walk: Meditating on Hymns for Year A and Awake, My Soul: Meditating on Hymns for Year B by Nancy Roth.

Completely updated to reflect the sweeping changes in worship patterns which began with "The Liturgical Revival" and culminated in the adoption of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Chapters cover preparations for the various services of the Church, plus special celebrations such as Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, weddings, burials, ordinations, consecrations, and others. A glossary of church terms is included.

A way for churches to conduct an artful exploration of faith.

Arts Camp provides practical, concrete instruction that a church needs to plan, organize, staff, and conduct an annual five-day Arts Camp, including guidance on logistics, funding, finding art instructors (within both the local church and the broader community), ideas for structuring and scheduling the five days of camp, and a celebration on the Sunday following camp. Each chapter includes details on art projects, programming, music, drama, games, and resources.

This brilliant series of theological reflections from internationally known scholar and Anglican cleric Samuel Wells reflects on the challenges of our understanding of Christ’s crucifixion that arise today using contemporary ideas in history, biblical studies, and philosophy. Wells deals with such questions as: “Does the improbability of one event having significance for everything, everywhere, for all time leave our faith hanging by a thread?” “Does the possibility that elements of the story did not actually happen leave our Christian heritage hanging by a thread?” “Does the history of persecution that flowed from the classical belief that the Jews were responsible for Jesus’ death leave our morality hanging by a thread?”

After reflecting upon six biblical stories, Wells discovers that the cross has an enduring power to shape how we live, how we relate to one another, and how we allow ourselves to be enfolded in God’s story.

A brief guide on how this spiritual practice can enrich your life.

As Jesus went to the highways and byways, he sends us beyond our circles and comfort, to witness to the love, justice, and truth of God with our lips and with our lives. We go to listen with humility and to join God in healing a hurting world. We go to become Beloved Community, a people reconciled in love with God and one another. We seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves. We strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being. With God’s help we cross boundaries, listen deeply, and live like Jesus.

This series of seven Little Books of Guidance are designed for you to discover how following certain practices can help you follow Jesus more fully in your daily life.

Ways to help Episcopalians articulate and feel comfortable about speaking of their faith with others.

Today, in a rapidly changing religious landscape, the structures of Christendom—which once almost automatically instilled faith in generation after generation of believers—are gone. For faithful Episcopalians, it has become essential to learn how to “tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love.” This is especially important for those generations born after the Baby Boom, which are experiencing the rapid rise of the “nones”—people who have lost their faith, or who have no faith at all. The time to speak, to share our faith, is now. Kit Carlson offers a road map for those who want to learn to speak about the faith that lives within them. Speaking Our Faith will help them put words to their own experiences of God, create their own statements of belief, and to begin to have compassionate, caring conversations with other people about spirituality, belief, and Jesus Christ.

An unflinching look at the failure to achieve an equitable society with faith-based approaches to a meaningful racial reconciliation.

While the dream of post-racial America remains unfulfilled and the current turmoil (George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, to name a few), this examination of racism is more relevant and consequential than ever. Living into God’s Dream combines frontline personal stories with theoretical and theological reflections. It aims to forge new and truthful conversations on race and doesn’t shy away from difficult discussions, such as reasons for the failure of past efforts to achieve genuine racial reconciliation and the necessity to honor rage and grief in the process of moving to forgiveness and racial healing.

This collection of nine essays is honest, pragmatic, and courageous in its real-world view of racism and how people of faith and conscience can work together to “dismantle racism.” Review questions at the end of the book, appropriate for individual or group study, can engender deeper discussions and reflections.

Human beings do not want to die; we spend infinite resources to sustain life, without regard to cost or quality. And yet we do die. Facing terminal illness and unprepared for death, we can feel abandoned by both secular and faith based institutions, whose focus on restoration can fall short of the wisdom and grace needed to embrace a holy death as a part of life. Ellen Richardson hopes to change things by offering stories from her work in hospice and palliative care, and the rich resources of the church’s Scripture and tradition, to create safe space for exploring questions we carry about dying. Her book is intended for individual readers, and to be used in group, workshop, or retreat settings within the church, so that practices of prayer and healing can become once more a source of comfort and strength, not simply tools of defiance against illness and weakness. No amount of faith will buy immortality for earthly bodies, but death need not be a time of failure and isolation. Holy Dying helps us lay claim to our scriptural stories as hard teachers of our mortal heritage.

What does it mean to be human in this season of waiting? And what does it mean to believe that God became human? In language drenched in poetry, this collection of meditations for Advent and Christmas explores what it means to gaze into the mystery that is Incarnation.

In these inspiring monologues, women of the Bible speak in their own voices: the Virgin Mary, Miriam, Mary Magdalene, Elizabeth, Lydia, and others.
There are many powerful women in the Bible, but their descriptions are almost always tantalizingly brief. If they had the chance to tell their own stories in their own voices, what would they have said? Basing her interpretation of these women on extensive research, Katerina Whitley puts herself in their shoes, giving today’s listeners a fuller understanding of each of their stories.

The women explored, some well-known and others less familiar, include the Virgin Mary, Miriam, Mary Magdalene, Elizabeth, the Syrophoenician or Canaanite woman, Lydia, Ruth, Martha, Gomer, Michal, Tamar, and Peter’s wife. Each woman speaks for herself in these monologues, in a way that brings the biblical issues and questions into contemporary focus. An introduction to each woman and study questions at the end of each piece make this an ideal book for individuals and groups.

Brief extracts from the Underhill book, Fruits of the Spirit, first published in 1942, the year after Underhill's death. Each of these brief pieces is actually a meditation on some aspect of the spiritual life, and makes excellent devotional reading.

How to build resilience in local communities and evangelize the millennial generation.

Resurrection Matters is a fruitful study and action guide for any church institution that owns property and in which groups gather together to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. It helps groups connect their faith and the assets that they steward for God’s mission, recognizing these assets as gifts for ministry with their wider community. It encourages theological reflection and practical action for renewal for the church, greater biodiversity for the planet, and relief for the poor.

Powerful sermons from Washington National Cathedral that inspire and a foreword by John Meacham.

Through their sermons, Cathedral clergy and guest preachers such as Jon Meacham, Kelly Brown Douglas, and Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry share inspiring words. Collectively, they offer lasting guidance for difficult times, reinforcing that even in the midst of loss and chaos, God is at work among us, lifting us up and giving us hope for the future.

Topics include hope, faith during times of distress, love, grief, and the presence of God. With a foreword by Jon Meacham.

As the Church considers prayer book revisions, discover new ways of bringing prayer to life.

In many liturgical churches, it seems that the prayer book confines—more than frees—the transformational potential of worship. Drawing on his experience at St. Gregory of Nyssa, Paul Fromberg encourages us to question the assumption that there is a “right way” and a “wrong way” of using prayer books. Instead, he encourages readers to pay attention to doing worship well and engaging worshippers’ desire to be transformed.

This book is for those who plan and lead worship, as well as those who are curious about the ways that worship is transformative in people’s experience. Additionally, fans of St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church will discover more about the ways in which this ground-breaking congregation has engaged the work of liturgical disruption and trusted in the transformative potential of the liturgy for more than forty years.

Explore how the Revised Common Lectionary enriches worship
How does this contemporary lectionary nourish Christian faith and life? Further, why does the lectionary employ metaphor, the richest form of language, in the midst of the worshiping assembly? How do the biblical readings prepare worshippers for the church’s mission? Well-known liturgist and author Gail Ramshaw opens up the logic and purpose of this widely used resource.

The basics of Episcopal and Anglican worship in North America are explored in this Little Books series, which invites parishioners and newcomers to consider both the beauty of worship and Episcopal ethical commitments.

As science and politics engage in a never-ending battle over the environment, A Life of Grace for the Whole World re-claims the theology of salvation and redemption for all creation. Using the House of Bishop’s Pastoral Teaching on the Environment -- the first statement on the environment from The Episcopal Church leadership -- as a guide, A Life of Grace engages participants in understanding how the call to care for Creation informs and deepens appreciation and love for God and God’s work in Creation, and how that finds expression in the faith life of individuals and churches.

The adult sessions use Bible study, discussion questions, reflections on sections of the Book of Common Prayer, and other activities to encourage active learning. Each week participants are asked to reflect, in different ways, on their faith communities and their own spiritual journey and how they can find a more meaningful connection with God’s active work among all creation. The youth section, which parallels the adult sessions, encourages active engagement through viewing of videos, use of technology, and a range of activities. Exploratory questions for the facilitator allow for open-ended conversation and discussion of current events around environment and faith. Connecting the five-week session is the creation of a Tree of Life, which is added to during every session.

Both an Adult Booklet and a Youth Booklet enhance the experience of A Life of Grace, both within and outside of the sessions, with additional content, activities, and journaling space.

How to break free from the personal money story developed early in life that can shape your financial future.

Family experiences can define our attitudes about money even as we mature, including how we spend it, save it, and give it away. Consequently, our childhood often determines our approach to money during our entire lives. Donald Romanik, President of the Episcopal Church Foundation, helps readers discover the consequences of that money legacy, for individuals and for the churches and other organizations to which they belong.

The complete readings for the Revised Common Lectionary Years A, B, and C as authorized by the 2006 General Convention of The Episcopal Church, together with readings for the major Holy Days of the church year, in the Good News translation.

This handsome, well-made cloth edition with smyth-sewn pages, two ribbon markers, 16 point type, and a lay-flat binding is ideal for use in a pulpit or lectern.

The Revised Common Lectionary in Spanish uses the Good News translation, often used by Spanish-speaking congregations.

The Revised Common Lectionary in Spanish is intentionally designed for use beyond The Episcopal Church and includes notations of lessons (where they differ) for the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), the United Methodist Church, and the Presbyterian Church in the USA.

Leccionario Común Revisado, Español Edición Atril

Encuadernado en tapa dura, atractivo, embozado al relieve, 2 cintas marcadoras, encuadernación permite que el libro permanezca abierto.

Lecturas completas dominicales, Leccionario Común Revisado Años A, B y C autorizadas por la Convención General 2006 de La Iglesia Episcopal. Incluye lecturas para Fiestas Principales del año eclesiástico; versión: Dios Habla Hoy.

Esta edición del Leccionario Común Revisado es ideal para ser utilizada tanto en el púlpito como en el atril, elegantemente encuadernada en tela, con páginas cosidas, dos cintas marcadoras y punto tipográfico 16 pt.

El Leccionario Común Revisado utiliza la traducción Dios Habla Hoy, edición frecuentemente utilizada por congregaciones hispano-hablantes. Este Leccionario Común Revisado en español ha sido creado para el uso de La Iglesia Episcopal y para otras denominaciones como la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en América, Iglesia Metodista Unida y la Iglesia Presbiteriana (Estados Unidos de América). El Leccionario Común Revisado incluye las referencias a lecturas de estas denominaciones cuando difieren del leccionario.

Fresh and imaginative ways for kids to pray using all of their senses.

Prayer does not have to involve silence, sitting still, and solemnity. It can be active and engaging, especially essential for kids, who often enjoy movement and creativity. In an easy-to-use format with illustrations, the author connects scripture and biblical characters to dynamic prayer practices such as wrestling, singing, breathing, and dancing.

Praying while using sign language, tracing a labyrinth, applying Band-Aids, planting a seed, eating something delicious, or riding a bike—these fun ideas are just some of the ways wiggly, tactile, and nonverbal kids will learn to reach out in love, gratitude, and need to God.

United Methodist Women’s Reading Group Selection

“What can I do about the environment? What has God said about the environment?” Most books about climate change only address one of these questions. Those from a religious perspective do not address what individuals can do to help society transition from fossil fuels, other than changing personal behavior. Readers know instinctively that will not suffice, and so are left feeling the situation is hopeless. In contrast, books that primarily address environmental issues fail to reach people motivated more by faith than science, leaving out many who could constitute the tipping point for full American engagement on the issue.

Borrowing an approach from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s leadership, which brought together both secular and religious arguments for ending segregation, this book addresses physical evidence of climate change while demonstrating through biblical teachings the religious imperative for preserving our inherited world. The compelling biblical case for creation care is grounded in environmental teachings Jesus knew, primarily in the Hebrew Scriptures. Topics addressed include air pollution, treatment of the land, preserving biological diversity, and treatment of animals, and each is connected to contemporary issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, care of the needy, the extinction of species, and factory farming.

A landmark series of studies devoted to the revision of the Book of Common Prayer — Volume One concerns the core liturgy of the Church: Communion, Confession and the Eucharist.

The creation of the landmark 1979 American Book of Common Prayer was the fruit of nearly four decades of discussion within the Episcopal Church. Prayer Book Studies is a series of official reports by the Church’s Standing Liturgical Commission that were published irregularly over the course of that period, representing the work of the committees deliberating over and drafting the materials that would eventually become the 1979 revision. These reports provide an extraordinary window into the work of leading liturgical scholars during an age characterized by huge transformation in the fields of liturgy. Long out of print and unavailable, these reports, collected in nine volumes, are an invaluable resource for liturgical scholars and clergy. 

The studies included in Volume One were published between 1950 and 1953, and address Christian Initiation, the Epistles and Gospels for reading at Holy Communion, Confession, and the Holy Eucharist.

The Psalms, a collection of 150 ancient Hebrew poems, songs and prayers, provide one of the richest accounts of humanity's relationship to God.  They are dear to the hearts of many generations, particularly when people are navigating life's challenges and seeking joyful restoration.

In the first of a five-part series, Marty Folsom, a leading relational theologian, invites the reader to contemplate each psalm, to hear its heartbeat, to discern its relational themes, to listen deeply into its intentions, and to reflect on the voices that speak when the psalms are unleashed. The reader will find a sanctuary to soak in the Psalms and allow their authentic selves to dwell with the God of grace and mercy. 

Ultimately, this is a spiritual guide that lets you know you are not alone. It takes ancient wisdom and crafts melodies and pathways that lead us to intimacy with our Companion Creator as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is an invitation to the art of bringing the Psalms to life.

“Grafius uses his extensive knowledge of horror films to tease out horror tropes from the Bible . . . this book is thought-provoking.” –Library Journal

You may know the Bible as a testament of faith. But within this sacred book are also the world’s first horror stories.

Conventional wisdom has it that the origins of the horror genre are found in the nineteenth century, in works like Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In this paradigm-shaking new book, Bible scholar and cultural historian Brandon Grafius argues that the Bible is, among other things, the world’s first work of horror literature. 
 
The tropes and themes that we find in slasher movies, body horror, folk horror and zombie apocalypses were kickstarted by the Bible. Before Godzilla, there were the monsters arising from the sea in the book of Daniel. Before The Wicker Man, there was the folk horror violence of the book of Judges. And before The Fly, Leviticus and Paul understood that our bodies are untrustworthy. Sometimes, the Bible has decided that the best way to help us understand the world in new ways is to scare us.
 
Grafius’s book is a revelatory work of biblical scholarship as well as a cultural analysis of the contemporary horror genre. It is a book that will make readers revise how they see the Bible and impact how they consume horror literature and cinema. It is guaranteed to make them wiser consumers of both.
 

The Book of Comic Prayer takes a fresh look at prayer from an unexpected perspective: comic art, humor, and their relevance to today’s image-driven youth. Part explanation, part instruction, it explores the role of prayer and faith in mainstream and underground comics, and provides resources for incorporating comics and cartooning into curricula for children and youth. The Appendix includes an illustrated booklet created by one group of young people as a supplement to traditional forms of prayer and offers tips and tricks for creating books of comic prayer. The church has always used visual arts for prayer, worship, and education, and religious themes and figures still permeate popular culture. Comics, with their larger-than-life stories of villainy, morality, and heroism, have religious undertones ranging from explicit to metaphorical, offering opportunities to explore what post-modern prayer and faith look like and why they matter. Comics are inexpensive, accessible, and adaptable to church school, youth groups, Bible studies, prayer groups, camps, and VBS. There have been illustrated comic Bibles and religious books, but no single resource dealing with prayer’s individual and communal aspects as they relate to the comic art form. This is that book!

Advent is a time of preparation, of patience, of remembering what grounds and sustains us. Advent reminds us who God is and who we are meant to be. This book offers a new look at Advent by seeing the four weeks through the lens of morning, mid-day, late afternoon and evening, and night. Photographs, stories, and perspectives enrich our travel and invite us to other dimensions of experiencing Advent, as a season and as a resource in our daily living. The book can serve as a devotional for individuals and small-group study for the Advent season, with a particular focus on the Year C Gospel readings from Luke.

• Advent devotion for individuals or small groups, with an Advent poster-calendar sold separately
• Photographs and stories from daily life, for daily Christian living
• Study guide included

A medida que las congregaciones latinas continúan aumentando en la Iglesia Episcopal, le acompaña una gran necesidad de desarrollar más recursos de formación en español para todos los grupos y edades.

Las maravillosas vistas, sonidos, y aromas de la liturgia anglicana pueden captar la imaginación hasta de los niños más pequeños y lanzarles a participar de manera muy entusiasta en la vida litúrgica de la Iglesia. Pero todo también puede parecer ser muy confuso. A través de juegos interactivos y los crucigramas, este muy divertido libro de actividades puede ayudar a los niños de 4 a 7 años de edad a comprender mejor la vida litúrgica en la Iglesia Anglicana. De tener conocimiento sobre los que participan en la procesión de entrada, y colorear las vestimentas de los sacerdotes y diáconos, hasta identificar las nociones maravillosas que sus sentidos captan sobre la Eucaristía, este libro es un tesoro oculto tanto para los niños como adultos.

Con cuarenta y una páginas de actividades seguidas de una guía de cuatro páginas para asistir a los padres a adiestrar desde las bancas, este libro ofrece consejos a los padres y a otros educadores utilizando estas actividades con los niños. El libro también extiende permiso a las iglesias y escuelas para libremente fotocopiar las páginas e utilizarlas para enseñar.

As Latino congregations continue to grow in the Episcopal Church, there is a concomitant need for good Spanish-language formation resources for all age groups.

The wonderful sights, sounds, and smells of the Anglican liturgy can engage the imagination of young children and draw them into enthusiastic worship. But it can all be a bit confusing, too. Through the interactive games and puzzles in this fun-filled activity book, children ages 4-7 can grow to a deeper understanding of Anglican worship life. From learning about the participants in the entry processional, to coloring the vestments of the priest and deacon, to identifying the amazing things their senses tell them about the Eucharist, this book is a treasure trove for kids and adults.

Forty-one pages of activities are followed by a four-page parent guide designed to promote parenting in the pews and offer tips for parents and other educators using these activities with children. Permission to copy the pages for use in church or school is included in the book.

Archbishop Michael Ramsey was one of the church's most remarkable twentieth-century saints--wise and humble, humorous and compassionate. These introductory lectures on Anglicanism reveal the breadth of Ramsey's theological understanding, his ecumenism, and his vision of the church and the Christian life. Informal and conversational in style, the lectures offer an overview of Anglican theology, spirituality, and history.

Ramsey begins with Anglicanism's enduring characteristics, including its dependence on Scripture, tradition--the ancient writers of the church who guide us in interpreting the Bible--and reason, our God-given capacity for divine revelation. Next Ramsey explores its teachings on theology and the sacraments, Tractarianism and the Oxford Movement, the renaissance of Anglican religious communities, and the evolving doctrines of creation, incarnation, and the Holy Spirit. The final section presents Ramsey's theology of the church and Anglicanism's relationship to Rome and the Orthodox churches.

This vital resource explores the essential considerations of pastoral work with those with intellectual disabilities.

Drawing on the vast experience of the L’Arche community that fully includes and centers those with intellectual disabilities, this practical guide offers ideas for imaginative worship to engage people with all abilities. It gives suggestions for enabling participation and building familiarity while keeping worship fresh and varied, with ready-to-use themed service outlines that are appropriate throughout the Christian year. It includes a compendium of resources for creating your own acts of worship, including prayers, blessings, stories, quotes, a directory of online resources, ideas for what to keep in a “liturgy box,” ideas or seasonal decoration of the worship space, and many more resources from L’Arche.

This book is rooted in the belief that each human being is on a spiritual quest to find meaning in their life, and while each person’s path is uniquely their own, we share the journey together. The important thing is to encourage each other’s personal development, and celebrate the gifts and talents that emerge within and for the whole community.

Step-by-step instructions for painting icons, from original drawings through finished product.

For more than a thousand years, Eastern Christians have used their hands and hearts to create icons, proclaiming God’s reality in a visible–and breathtakingly beautiful–way. This ancient art is enjoying a renewed interest in the West, as people of faith create icons and use them to meditate on mysteries for which there are no words.

A Brush with God is a guide to painting icons and using them in prayer. Written with warmth and energy, it describes the history of icons and examines why they’ve been a spiritual tool for so many centuries. Written from a uniquely Western perspective, the book guides artists–from novices to professionals–through the process of icon painting, using traditional techniques but employing contemporary materials. Included are eight full-color plates of the artist’s icons.

• Popular author and HuffPost blogger
• Good for use by individuals or groups

A practical guide to planning spiritual retreats.

Step-by-step retreat designs, accompanying meditation exercises, and leader’s guidelines based on the bestseller Listening Hearts, are presented in this unique resource. Songs, from the Listening Hearts Songbook, specially-planned Eucharists, Scripture readings, meaningful projects, and meditation options are arranged to result in a Spirit-filled community bonding.

Retreats designed to

• Create an atmosphere that will develop a sense of the meaning and value of spiritual community.
• Present a variety of opportunities to reflect on God’s call to each participant.
• Allow retreatants time to present centered in God.

Retreat Designs and Meditation Exercises can be used with other Listening Hearts series books: Listening Hearts, Grounded in God (Revised Edition), and the Manual for Discussion Leaders.

A resource for Episcopal families who want to pass on Anglican prayers and traditions to their children and teach faith in everyday settings.

A parent as well as an educator, Anne Kitch introduces these Anglican prayers and practices with stories from her own life, as well as brief information about the history and use of the prayers.

The perfect resource for families, especially those who may be new to the Episcopal Church, as well as church school teachers, youth ministers, and clergy, The Anglican Family Prayer Book helps parents and children pray together. Prayers for morning and evening, blessings, nighttime prayers, prayers for ordinary and special occasions, intercessory prayers, prayers of the Eucharist, and prayers for use during the special seasons of the Church year make this book one that families will use every day.

In a revised and expanded edition, this simple pamphlet continues to guide us in dealing with death and arranging in advance for funerals.

These booklets are often purchased in bulk by institutions to distribute to people of all ages to help them plan final arrangements, or to families of the deceased immediately after a death. The original edition was prompted by the death of the author's father: upon his passing and pending funeral, no one knew his plans or directives. Since then, scores of clergy, funeral directors, and parishioners have used this guide to address what needs to be done.

A unique perspective on one of the greatest religious figures of recent history.

An in-depth portrait of Oscar Romero, the Fourth Archbishop of San Salvador, based on research of his diaries and sermons and on interviews with most of his surviving relatives, friends, and co-workers. This biography provides a unique insider/outsider perspective on both Romero and the plight and struggle of Central American immigrants and other migrant and impoverished populations.

Torres takes readers into Romero’s early life, his seminary formation, and his active ministry, including conflicts with the ruling elites and hierarchy that led to his ultimate martyrdom. The book concludes with his canonization and the pursuit of justice against his murderers.

Here is Barbara Crafton at her best—funny, warm, direct, honest, and vulnerable—on aging.
“I think growing older is both funny and sad, but mostly it just makes me grateful to be alive and able to reflect. I have been an Episcopal priest for 33 years and have had extensive experience in ministering with the elderly. Now, I am growing old myself. I hate it when people are ashamed of being old. We should be proud!” she proclaims. Join her in this celebration of life!

A marriage is a reflection about your love and your faith in God. This practical workbook helps couples to express their commitment while simplifying the many details of the wedding ceremony.

Planning Your Marriage Service is the ideal take-along resource for couples to reflect on the choices they need to make. Here are the guidelines concerning the service, music, the entrance and presentation, readings, prayers, communion, and dismissal. A wide selection of Old Testament, New Testament, Gospel readings are included, as well as supplemental readings by great Christian writers and literary figures, such as John Donne, Simone Weil, Julian of Norwich, Frederick Buechner, Martin Luther King Jr, Madeleine L’Engle, and Saint Augustine. A brief commentary follows each reading, discussing the text’s meaning in the framework of a Christian marriage.

This valuable guide gives couples a better understanding of all the elements of their wedding ceremony so they can experience their special day in all the richness of its Christian significance.

How do we develop the resilience that empowers us to be ourselves in the face of change?

How do we learn to be courageous when days are difficult? How do we build our capacity for healing and growth when we can no longer do the things we once did that gave our lives satisfaction, meaning, and purpose?

Building Resilience offers a path toward creativity in responding to change in your life, regaining some control over your circumstances, and overcoming feelings of helplessness. Whether you’re 17 or 75, if life has thrown you a curve ball, this book can help you get on track toward being yourself in your new normal. With a foreword by Stephanie Spellers.

Distinguished Anglican theologian Jane Shaw presents four of the early 20th century Anglican innovators in spirituality and assesses how they might help us develop a renewed Anglican spirituality for our own “spiritual but not religious” age. These four Anglicans—Percy Deamer, Evelyn Underhill, Somerset Ward, and Rose Macaulay—are people who revived spirituality at a time, like our own, when people were questioning institutional religion.

The dinner table may be the only time that today's busy families sit down together and pray together. This book meets families where they are, offering prayers of thanks for macaroni and cheese, fast-food meals, and, yes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Includes rhyming prayers for little kids, dinner-table prayers for special family occasions, and prayers marking the movement of the church year.

“I would like to think that there are things in my own life that might attract the interest of others–even if only to spark in them a recollection of similar escapades and experiences of their own.”
—Herbert O'Driscoll

Beloved preacher and author, Herbert O’Driscoll, offers his life story in his own words. The first section includes memories from his childhood and student years lived mainly in the south of Ireland. The second section tells stories from his years of active ministry in Canada, the United States, and other parts of the world church. The last portion recalls experiences from his retirement years and his facilitation of pilgrimages to the Middle East, Ireland, and Great Britain.

“One could say it has been a relatively unadventurous life, but it is one in which I have been given gifts of love and friendship, and opportunities to learn and grow, far beyond my counting or deserving . . . These pages allow me to revisit in memory the times when, and places where, I was given something of lasting, permanent value—an image, an idea, an insight—and the people who gave them to me or in whose company I shared them.”

While this one-volume guide is especially useful for Christian educators, showing them how to teach week by week according to the ethos and tradition of the Episcopal Church, it also provides a valuable and useful reference tool for all church leaders and members in connecting Christian faith to daily life.

This new guide to Christian education and formation is based on the Book of Common Prayer, the cornerstone of Anglican liturgy and theology. Keyed to the Revised Common Lectionary, all activities and lessons are structured on the seasons and lessons for Years A, B, and C. The guide stresses the major themes of baptismal theology and shows how teachers, parents, and children can live the liturgical cycle in Christian formation ministries at church and at home.

With contributions from eight noted theologians, this book builds on popular videos from the Day 1 radio.
Science or faith? The battle rages, from millennials and GenXers questioning the relevance of religion to older adults who doubt the validity of science (and vice versa), but these two are not mutually exclusive. They can, in fact, be mutually enriching and complimentary, once their proper domains are understood and respected. The Episcopal Church, with its tradition of the “via media,” offers an ideal setting for conversations seeking to bridge the often antagonistic perspectives on both sides. Faith and Science in the 21st Century presents a way to start that conversation.

Built on existing videos produced by the popular Day 1 program with assistance from a John Templeton Foundation grant, this series features notable faith leaders across the denominational spectrum in 3 to 5 minute video presentations on scientific topics in which they are experts. Intended for use in a variety of settings, including congregations, schools, and campus ministries, it can be presented as an eight-session series of studies, but each session can also stand on its own for a one-time formation offering. A single video download will offer all video presentations. This Leader Guide enables facilitators to foster fruitful discussions of each session topic. It includes an introduction about the program and how it can be used, and eight detailed session plans to utilize with a downloadable video sold separately on the Day 1 website.

This Leader Guide offers five session plans designed to bring the process described in Kit Carlson’s book, Speaking Our Faith, to small groups of adults in a congregational or school chaplaincy setting, in order to help them learn how to speak and share their faith. Guidance for the leader in how to facilitate each conversation is given, noting issues that tend to arise in each of the sessions. Homework assignments continue the work from week to week and are provided as well. The time to speak, to share our faith, is now. Through the sessions provided, participants will learn how to put words to their own experiences of God, create their own statements of belief, and begin to have compassionate, caring conversations with other people about spirituality, belief, and Jesus Christ.

America’s unique and often fractious relationship between church and state is, if anything, more relevant to who we are as a nation than when Diana Butler Bass’ examination of it in Broken We Kneel was first published 16 years ago. This second edition contains a new foreword and introduction, as well as a new conclusion outlining her vision for the future.

Born in the tumultuous aftermath of 9/11 and now a spiritual classic, the book draws on both her personal experience and her knowledge of religious history. Bass looks at Christian identity, patriotism, citizenship, and congregational life in an attempt to answer the central question that so many are struggling with today: “To whom do Christians owe deepest allegiance? God or country?” In writing both impassioned and historically informed, Bass reflects on current events, personal experiences, and political questions that have sharpened the tensions between serious faith and national imperatives. The book incorporates the author’s own experience of faith, as writer, teacher, wife, mother, and churchgoer into a larger conversation about Christian practice and contemporary political issues. Broken We Kneel is a call to remember that the core of Christian identity is not always compatible with national political policies.

There remains a constant need for new perspectives on the liturgical church seasons in order to keep them spiritually fresh and to bring them to life in new ways. This book enables Christian readers to experience a new depth in their faith journey as they celebrate the season of Advent.

This is a short book of spiritual meditations for the Advent season on the four "Middle Eastern" songs sung around the birth of Jesus: canticles that play an important role in the liturgical worship of the church over the centuries. These canticles include: the Song of Mary (Magnificat), Song of Zechariah (Benedictus), Song of the Angels (Gloria), and Song of Simeon (Nunc Dimittis). The devotions emphasize the Middle Eastern cultural elements of these songs.

This collection of short, informal pieces that are both theologically substantial and genuinely popular is aimed at helping us get our bearings in the life of the spirit today. These essays reveal the staleness and oppressive nature of many of our spiritual practices at a time when, more than ever, we need to stand back and let the fresh winds of the Spirit blow through our lives and surprise us.

Whether about the spirituality of shopping or social justice, discernment or channel-surfing, these pieces will delight you and make you think. Ideal for retreats and as a source for sermon ideas, the book can be read in one day, or spread over a month or more.

Provides an abundance of ideas that will equip families to celebrate the Annunciation, Advent, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Las Posadas, Christmas, and Epiphany.

Many of our experiences in life happen when several generations are together – at church, at home, in our communities. Holidays and family events are times for celebration, learning, rituals, food, and fun. This edition of Faithful Celebrations focuses on Advent, the Annunciation, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Los Posadas, Christmas and Epiphany. It includes plenty of activities to learn more about each of these sacred seasons or days in a church setting, at home, camp, or anywhere in-between. These abundance of ideas allow you to create meaningful celebrations within a faith context throughout the months of December, January, and February.

Each event to be celebrated includes key ideas, a cluster of activities to experience the key ideas, materials needed, full instructions for implementation, background history and information, music, art, recipes, and prayer resources to use in a small, intimate or large multi-generational group. For children, youth, adults, or any combination of ages any of these activities can take place in any setting. While these celebrations are popular in our secular culture, all ages will reconnect with the sacred roots and traditions practiced by past generations. All can experience new celebrations that have traditionally been intergenerational events in Spanish speaking communities.

For the 75th anniversary of The Protestant Hour and Day1 ministry, host Peter Wallace has gathered dozens of inspiring excerpts from the most powerful sermons.

Some of the most effective preachers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries are featured, representing the historic mainline Protestant churches and a diverse variety of voices. Diana Butler Bass, Michael Curry, Walter Brueggemann, Barbara Brown Taylor, Juan Carlos Huertas, and many more offer their perspectives on topics such as peace, justice, prayer, love, and community. Clergy and parishioners from across the theological spectrum will appreciate the scope and accessibility of this curated collection.

This book is a superb companion for personal meditation and devotion, or thoughtful gift-giving for weddings, birthdays, sympathy, and other life occasions. Questions for discussion and meditation are included with each topic, making this inspirational collection ideal for use by small groups or for personal study.

A brief guide on how this spiritual practice can enrich your life.
By reading and reflecting on scripture, especially the life and teachings of Jesus, we draw near to God and God's word dwells in us. When we open our minds and hearts to scripture, we learn to see God's story and God's activity in everyday life. There is a prayer in the Book of Common Prayer (Proper 38, page 236) that asks, “Grant us so to hear, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest” the Holy Scriptures. Again we state, “I will with God’s help” when asked in our Baptismal Covenant, “Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching?” This is what it means to learn about God: read, study, discuss, and engage in the story of God and God’s people, including the life of Christ.

This series of seven Little Books of Guidance are designed for you to discover how following certain practices can help you follow Jesus more fully in your daily life.

Porter Taylor, known for his wonderful preaching, always has something unusual and thoughtful to say. "Forgive us our weeds as we forgive the weediness of others," he writes in one sermon on the parable of the wheat and the weeds. In another he reflects on why the book of Ecclesiastes shouldn't be read by anyone who isn't at least 35. "At their best," Taylor writes, "sermons are about things that matter."

To Dream as God Dreams is about those things that matter: finding our home in a storm, the roots and wings we need as people of faith, contagious love, and more. These sermons about the importance of community, the need for conversion, and the power of hopefulness make wonderful devotional reading, and are an inspirational source for others who preach.

Best-selling author Kathleen Norris provides a unique viewpoint of “what matters most,” including:

• Belief Matters: Why does belief matter? To what do we give our hearts? What is the core message of what we believe—creeds or commitment? To what extent is to believe also “to belove”?
• The Bible Matters: The Bible is our collective story. How is that story reflected in our daily lives? What is it about the Bible that always seems to address our present moment?
• Community Matters: In community, individualism and imperfection meet grace and acceptance. What is our part in the Body of Christ?
• Place Matters: In what ways is faith set within the physical space of home, church, land and people?
• We Matter: What it means to remain in God’s image and to counter our selfishness by embracing the world and its needs?

Ideal for adult and young-adult small groups, Christian educators, clergy, chaplains and campus ministries.

SOLD SEPARATELY. Also available is the Embracing a Life of Meaning Small-Group DVD. Each of the five DVD sessions begins with a 10-15 minute video presentation by Kathleen Norris followed by filmed interaction with a diverse small group of adults.

This Participant’s Workbook then helps your own local small group “join the conversation.” This book includes all study materials need by participants and those who lead. Each participant will need one copy.

A Christian social thinker writing on the relationship between race and power in Britain and the United States. Kenneth Leech combines history, politics, and theology to portray the dynamics of racism here and abroad, and points a way forward for the church.

"Race does not exist. Yet in this extraordinary book Ken Leech exposes how racism grips the imaginations of Christian and non-Christian alike, shaping our relations with one another and having disastrous results not only in neighborhoods but in foreign policies. Pauline-like, Leech helps us see that race is a power all the more perverse because it is not acknowledged as such.

In conversation with the best work in science, social theory, and theology, Leech challenges the presumption that we have somehow gotten beyond racialized thinking. Moreover, drawing on his extraordinary pastoral experience, he helps us see a way beyond race. This book should be read in both England and America as both countries, in quite different ways continue to be dominated by racialized practice.

And finally, and perhaps most important, Leech draws on Christian convictions to challenge Christians, not only how to think differently about race but hopefully how to practice our faith in a manner that we may be an alternative for the world."

--Stanley M. Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe professor of Theological Ethics, Duke Divinity School; named "America's Best Theologian" by Time Magazine in 2001

• Add meaning to family celebrations and create new ones
• Multiple resources for church, home, and community celebrations
• Multi-generational Holidays and family events are times for celebration, learning, rituals, food, and fun.

Jesus was quite clear that we must lose our life before we find it. This book gives a hopeful and realistic look at what losing our life entails, articulating how “growth” in the Christian life is not our ascent to God but the process by which our eyes are opened to the beauty God has already given to us. It is a book about descending into God, and into our own inner depths, about the deep waters of the Christian faith. “Put out into the deep and let your nets down for a catch.” (Luke 5:4)

We live in a world that values productivity and success, and we vainly imagine that God expects us to be spiritually productive and successful, too. It doesn’t matter how much we talk about grace, our conversation is often narrowly focused on what we need to do for God—so much so that we often block the work God longs to do in us. This book does not articulate God’s work as a process by which we become spiritually strong, but rather as the process by which we embrace our weakness as the place where we most fully experience God’s perfect strength (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Brings theological insights together with cutting-edge thinking on organizational innovation to help churches flourish in a time of profound uncertainty and spiritual opportunity.

In today’s dynamic cultural environment, churches have to be more than faithful—they have to be agile. That means embracing processes of trial, failure, and adaptation as they form Christian community with new neighbors. And that means a whole new way of being church.

Taking one page from the Bible and another from Silicon Valley, priest and scholar Dwight Zscheile brings theological insights together with cutting-edge thinking on organizational innovation to help churches flourish in a time of profound uncertainty and spiritual opportunity. Picking up where his bestseller, People of the Way left off, Zscheile answers urgent and practical questions around how churches become agile and adaptive to meet cultural change.

The presiding bishop’s advisors lay out a step-by-step way to nurture a profound friendship with God in Christ.

Walking the Way of Love is organized according to seven practices (Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, and Rest) and three ways of being (We Seek Love; We Seek Freedom; and We Seek Abundant Life). The wisdom in this book allows people to move from the first tentative stages of wanting an experiential relationship with Jesus to having a real relationship that grows deeper every year. The seven simple practices spelled out in this book-- by highly experienced teachers and practitioners-- will enhance the reader's spiritual growth and open up love, freedom, and abundant life.

The stories and wisdom of these advisors will be helpful not just to seekers of faith, but also supportive to faith leaders who are guiding others in their development across the church.

Proceeds support The Way of Love Scholarship Fund.

2015 marks the 30th anniversary of Lee Mitchell’s great standard work on the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. As his student, protégée, and colleague, Ruth Meyers takes this classic work and updates it for the Church in its current era and for the future.

Recovering Benedict encourages us to nourish our physical and spiritual lives using the Rule of Benedict and the twelve-step recovery principles of Alcoholics Anonymous.

As the “father of Western monasticism,” Benedict pulled together various strands of monastic spirituality into a single handbook for holiness. Alcoholics Anonymous presented an equally innovative way to address alcoholism based on twelve steps drawn from numerous spiritual sources. While it took a sixth-century Italian collating various sources to produce a handbook for spiritual life, it likewise took a twentieth-century American to pull together the spiritual principles to recover one’s physical life. John E. Crean, Jr. brings both traditions together in one handbook for living: daily meditations are inspired by the down-to-earth wisdom of the Rule of Benedict, and AA’s template for sobriety and humbleness.

A thoughtful daily devotional for all who wish for deeper healing, for personal use, or group study.

Shame severs our relationship from God. It is so powerful that it often results in denial, apathy, and even a self-defensive wrath toward neighbor. At the same time, shame may drive us to discover the true source of our dignity beyond our isolated and broken self. The arc of the biblical narrative takes us from the fig leaves of Adam and Eve, who desire to hide from God and each other, to the liberation from self-consciousness that Jesus displays at the Last Supper, which can be seen as “undoing” the shame of Adam and Eve. Shame is the experience that can bring us close to the experience of the Cross, the place of simultaneous condemnation and liberation. By examining the biblical stories of shame and some personal and public stories of shame and of being shamed, Hirschfeld delves into this emotional and spiritual phenomenon to mine what shame has to teach. Shame cannot be erased, but God does not want us to be stuck in it. Working through our shame can lead us to a deeper sense of joy and freedom so we can, as the Proper Preface for Advent says, “without shame or fear rejoice to behold [Christ’s] appearing?”

The first edition of Lesser Feasts and Fasts was authorized more than 40 years ago to meet a liturgical and pastoral need for the commemoration of various saints and occasions not included as major Holy Days on the calendar of the Book of Common Prayer. Subsequent editions have been updated regularly to include biographical and liturgical material for new commemorations authorized for permanent or trial observance by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. This edition contains material approved for trial use by the 2006 General Convention. Among the names presented are Oscar Romero, Roman Catholic Bishop of El Salvador and martyr; James Theodore Holly, first African-American bishop in the Episcopal Church; and Vida Scudder, educator and reformer.

This easy-to-use guide can be used as a confirmation resource, in a new member class, or adult study groups.

Ian Markham, Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary, introduces both the Christian faith and The Episcopal Church to the seeker and Episcopal laity in this indispensable manual. Each page in Faith Rules is Episcopal wisdom set in concise, straightforward language for anyone in the 21st century.

This lively blend of theory, story, and practical resources and checklists is designed for churches committed to welcoming and nurturing children, and those who care for them. Written for clergy, religious educators, Christian Education superintendents and planners -- from the local to the national level -- it shows how to work effectively with children in educational, liturgical, and pastoral settings.

• Faith formation resource for young adults on human sexuality
• For use in congregational and campus ministry settings

• Holiness
• Intimacy
• Covenant
• Love
• Biology
• Communication
• What is Sacred?
• Power and Parity
• Mind, Body, and Soul
• Brokenness and Shame
• Our Bodies: Currency and Creators

This fresh collection of group readings and simple dramas based on stories from Scripture, together with meditations, story-telling methodology and an instructed Eucharist, will help church leaders design liturgy for children and grownups who worship together.

The best of therapy and spiritual direction begins with telling stories that describe where we have been and where we are going. Luke is neither a psychologist nor a spiritual director, but intuitively he understands the importance of storytelling as the key to human growth, change, and healing. Speaking to the crisis of faith faced by his church, Luke retells the story of Jesus birth, ministry, death, and resurrection as a means of addressing the spiritual struggles that resurface generation after generation.

Touching on issues of belonging, authority, tradition, behavior, and hope, Schmidt offers a reading of Luke's gospel that speaks to today's reader.

She Flies On is not really a critique of organized religion, but rather Carter Heyward’s effort to think theologically, politically, socially, and autobiographically about the world and the church in which she has lived and worked. A Christian feminist “theologian of liberation,” Episcopal priest, lesbian, Southerner, and socialist Democrat, Heyward writes about the church, but more about the people—and creatures—of God going about their lives and attempting to love one another.

A wonderful resource to guide admirers of the humblest of saints what it means to live out the Christian life with a Franciscan accent.

In a little town in Italy, nearly 800 years ago, Francis of Assisi renounced everything he owned to follow Christ with passionate and single-minded abandon. Even today, centuries later, this simple saint draws people around the world to his story of living in humility, love, and joy.

Here in Following Francis, Susan Pitchford tells her own story of the Franciscan life, as a member of the Third Order, founded by Francis himself so that people from all walks of life can follow the saint's ideal, without leaving their homes or occupations. Pitchford learned that the Franciscan tradition isn't the exclusive possession of monks cloistered in a monastery, but a spiritual path for ordinary people living in the 21st century.

Celtic traditions point to God in the natural elements in this refreshing take on how to pray.

Where is God when we pray? Artist and priest Ruth Pattison looks to the legacy of Celtic spirituality to say God is in all of creation that surrounds us—earth, fire, water, air—and not up in the clouds. She invites the reader into a grounded spirituality rooted deep in Celtic tradition that sees everything as infused with the Spirit—including humanity.

The material will deepen the experience of worship with creative hands-on spiritual practices for the context of liturgy. It can also be used for creating the structure and substance of retreats, spiritual formation classes, and for helping parents who want to learn to pray with children.

Christ-centered support for healing from loss.

Based on Walking the Mourners Path, an eight-week support program designed to accompany people in their grief, 30 Days toward Healing Your Grief differs from other support resources by using a proven methodology that does not leave people in their pain but gently leads them forward from “that my loved one died” to “how my loved one lived” and finally to “how I must live to honor his or her memory.”
30 Days offers, for individuals and small groups, a personal, print version of the successful program on which it’s based. Published in workbook form (thirty daily reflections/studies), this book addresses many of the issues that develop with those struggling with grief. Questions—as well as inspirational stories from the author’s nearly fifteen years of group work—help readers understand that they are not alone in their pain. This book will assist mourners as they walk through pain, remember their loved one, honor the relationship, honestly address the complications of grief, and find the courage to turn their pain into joyful living once again. Those who thought God had abandoned them will once again feel his presence through a renewed spiritual relationship with our Lord.

Marriage Rites for the Whole: Liturgical Resources 2 includes the marriage rites newly authorized for trial use and essays of pastoral, liturgical, and theological significance to the topic.

This resource incorporates "The Witnessing and Blessing of a Marriage," "The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage 2," "The Blessing of a Civil Marriage 2," and "An Order for Marriage 2" as authorized for trial use by the 79th General Convention.

This classic guide helps servers to perform with confidence and reverence, allowing the liturgy to unfold in a smooth and prayerful manner. A glossary of words and objects accompanies illustrations of vessels, linens, altar preparation, vestments, posture symbols, and examples of processions. Also contains easy-to-draw symbols that servers can use to make a diagram of their sanctuary's layout for study and practice.

Spanning all 3 years of the lectionary cycle, this book provides a welcome tool for the renewal of preaching from the gospel readings. In a concise, uniform, and simple format, the authors provide a thematic summary of the gospel, list several possible points for preaching, and offer a humorous story for the week that illumines the deeper meaning of the biblical text. Lectionary Levity also functions as a practical manual on how to use humor in preaching and allows the reader to view the gospel in a different light so as to enliven the worship experience. A treasure trove of biblical insights, homiletical helps, and just good humor!

Proactive and self-affirming book provides new hope for those who feel that it is impossible to be both gay or lesbian, as well as Christian.

Gay and lesbian Christians are in the awkward position of trying to explain themselves to two mutually hostile audiences. On the one side, the gay-lesbian community is often deeply suspicious of anyone connected with Christianity. On the other side sits the church, which often wishes that gays and lesbians would go away, or at least disappear into the woodwork quietly. But the gay and lesbian community has a unique vocation in today’s church, one of challenging the church’s to be inclusive of all God’s children—the central message of the Gospel.

Based on retreats they have presented to churches and seminaries, authors L. William Countryman and M. R. Ritley explore what it means to affirm, not merely accept, being gay and lesbian, as well as being Christian. This pro-active and self-affirming book provides new hope for the LGBT community, their families, and confidently appropriating and retelling the Biblical story of this unique and gifted minority’s spiritual journey.

“[A] powerful Magna Carta for gay and lesbian Christians and a compelling call to the church not to stand in the way of Jesus’s unconditional love.”—Malcolm Boyd, author of Are You Running with Me, Jesus?

Light to the Darkness is a fresh interpretation of the well-loved Advent tradition of Lessons and Carols. Replacing the usual scriptural readings from the old and new testaments will be first-person dramatic monologues based on these, and other, passages of scripture. Special emphasis will be given to the role of the prophets not only in pointing the way to the Messiah and in offering guidance to the Hebrew people, but in offering very contemporary guidance in the 21st century.

With a reading for each day of Advent, churches can choose pieces for their own services of Lessons and Carols, while individuals can use the book for their own private devotions. Suggestions for music for these services will also be included; these will encompass a broad range music to accommodate parishes' musical needs and abilities.

Offers insight into the issue of vocation and ministry for a large number of prospective clergy
Along with the United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church has been in the vanguard in opening up the option of ordination to holy orders for partnered gay and lesbian people. As a result, many gays and lesbians are considering an option, which just a decade ago, would have been impossible. The question then becomes, “Does God want me—in my full integrity as a gay “out” person—as a priest in the church?” This is the first book to look at the issue of discernment in the Episcopal Church while simultaneously taking seriously the dynamics for a gay person seeking to discern his or her future in the church.

A modern interpretation the Rule of St. Benedict to infuse Christian spirituality to all aspects of our daily lives

These simple and inviting reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict take as their starting point our search for wholeness in a world that is fragmented and increasingly polarized. Many people today struggle to balance the demands of professional and personal lives, and find little satisfaction or peacefulness in either. Yet the ancient wisdom of St. Benedict offers a clear and helpful pathway that leads directly to healing, transformation and new life.

Written in de Waal's inimitable style, this book is for old friends of the Rule of St. Benedict and novices alike. Holding up segments of the Rule, de Waal's meditations on Benedict's words illuminate the wisdom of the Rule not only for those of Benedict's time, but for all of us today as well.

Addresses “belonging before believing” and other new patterns for remaking congregations

As we move beyond the “emergent” or “missional” church paradigm, pastors and other church leaders are discovering a new reality: people (especially younger generations) are coming to church not as believers, but to find a place to belong—with or without faith. This book describes the dilemma and the distractions that currently prevent congregations from being the place where that sense of belonging can unfold and guide newcomers in the discovery of faith.

The authors argue that despite elaborate talk of change, spirituality, transformation, and conflict resolution, congregations are still mired in old patterns of belonging. Using broad-based career experiences, surveys of religious life, historical precedent, and insights from social psychology about what it means to belong today, the book suggests new and effective approaches to help churches make vital connections.

In a conversation about his teaching and preaching style, Michael Curry notes with a laugh that hymns and songs of faith were always a part of the mix. “I learned what I believed in the songs I heard my family—especially my grandmother—sing. We sang our faith every day.”

Out of that strong foundation, Bishop Curry shares the music of his childhood—the songs that have grown with him to shape an adult and vibrant 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.

"In Passionate for Justice, we find a compass that points us to the future, where we can each give voice and action to justice, equity, and life-giving community. Ida Wells would have had it no other way."
—From the Foreword by Stacey Abrams, 2018 Democratic Nominee for Governor of Georgia

Ida B. Wells was a powerful churchwoman and witness for justice and equity from 1878 to 1931. Born enslaved, her witness flowed through the struggles for justice in her lifetime, especially in the intersections of African Americans, women, and those who were poor. Her life is a profound witness for faith-based work of visionary power, resistance, and resilience for today’s world, when the forces of injustice stand in opposition to progress.

These are exciting and dangerous times. Boundaries that previously seemed impenetrable are now being crossed. This book is a guide for the current state of affairs in American culture, enlivened by the historical perspective of Wells’ search for justice.

The authors are an African-American woman and a child of white supremacy. Both have dedicated themselves to working, writing, and developing ministries oriented toward justice, equity, and mercy. This book can be used in all settings, but most especially in churches (pastors and other church leaders, study groups), seminaries, and universities.

Easy to read; short book on a key topic for seekers.
In an age where people increasingly spend their weekends anywhere but in a place of worship, it is important to ask why anyone should go to church. In Why Go to Church? Robertson addresses the top reasons for not attending and goes further to explore how church participation can enhance one’s life on so many levels. Essential reading for those who have thought about going to church, are thinking about going back to church, and even those who go to church regularly but want to attain a deeper worship experience.

This edition includes the liturgies for Discernment for a New Church Mission; A Liturgy for Commissioning a Church Planter, Missioner or Mission Team; A Liturgy for the Opening of a New Congregation; Setting Apart Secular Space for Sacred Use; a new Litany for the Mission of the Church; and a variety of Church Planting collects, blessings and other prayers, and hymn suggestions. This material, authorized by the 2003 General Convention, is published in English, Spanish, and French.

The newest book in the Little Books on Liturgy series, focused on the intersection of liturgy and formation.

Juan Oliver, Custodian of the Book of Common Prayer, outlines why rituals and liturgy have great meaning in forming individuals and communities. His work is focused on topics such as the sacraments, worship, mystery and the sacred.

Ideal for group or individual study in churches, seminaries, and schools of ministry.

Praise for Juan Oliver's previous work:

"Juan Oliver offers us the gift of 'disclosure of meaning' in this most helpful volume."
—Louis Weil, James F. Hodges Professor of Liturgics Emeritus at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific

" . . . invaluable to parish clergy . . . "
—J. Neil Alexander, Dean, Sewanee School of Theology

In a world and nation marked by suffering and division, Marcus Halley invites readers to explore rituals of healing and reconciliation in parish practice.

How is Christian community fostered when healing and reconciliation are prayerfully and actively sought? How do the ancient rituals of healing practiced among us today form a community committed to the Way of Love, the Way of Healing? And how does such practice lead the Christian community to seek peace?

The basics of Episcopal and Anglican worship in North America are explored in this Little Books series, which invites parishioners and newcomers to consider both the beauty of worship and Episcopal ethical commitments.

Rhythms of Grace is a unique, innovative and cutting-edge program resource designed to meet the spiritual needs of children and families living with autism-spectrum disorders. Participant families gather monthly with program leaders and volunteers for sessions that are a hybrid of worship and faith formation.

This bookhelps children and their families feel at the center of a worship/formation experience that is specific to their needs and circumstances, rather than merely at the margins of even a conventionally inclusive program of worship or faith formation.

The whole Rhythms of Grace curriculum consists of a 3-year syllabus of distinct scripture-based session plans. This volume, Year 1, includes complete plans for 12 monthly sessions and 6 feast sessions, as well as the background and support material needed to establish and conduct a successful program.

This booklet helps readers change the world for the better during Lent by undertaking one small action at a time.

Love Life Live Lent offers 40 age-appropriate actions for each day of Lent to make the world a better place—locally, nationally, and globally. The adult/youth edition also includes a scripture quote and brief reflection for each day. The booklet is undated and may be used in any year.