Jann Aldredge-Clanton – författare

Few moments are as devastating as when one hears a diagnosis of cancer, and one out of three Americans will hear this diagnosis in their lifetimes. In this book, Jann Aldredge-Clanton brings a perspective from a theology of hope for people struggling with cancer. She believes that in the midst of a frightening illness, our spiritual task is to reunderstand our life story in light of the sacred story of God's love in the world. This book is full of practical insights to enable pastors and pastoral counselors to help persons cope with the diagnosis and experience of cancer.The purpose of the Counseling and Pastoral Theology series is to address clinical issues that arise among particular populations currently neglected in the literature on pastoral care and counseling. This series is committed to enhancing both the theoretical base and the clinical expertise of pastoral caregivers by providing a pastoral theological paradigm that will inform both assessment and intervention with persons in these specific populations.

At times we may be called to be companions on a journey we would rather not take - the journey of a loved one toward the end of life. For those who choose to serve as close companions of terminally ill relatives or friends, Parting offers the collective wisdom of people from many cultures and faith traditions as a ""travel guide"" for meaningful companionship in helping someone toward a peaceful transition from this life. Sections of the book discuss how to cross the bridge from ordinary conversation to spiritual reflection; how to provide comforts for the body, mind, and soul; and how to care for yourself while concentrating on the needs of another. Transcending any specific religion or culture, this handbook addresses universal spiritual needs. Designed for easy reading by weary travelers, this practical, pocket-sized guide prepares the spiritual companion for an enriching experience, even on the Journey toward life's end. It is an indispensable tool for family members and friends, hospice workers, religious leaders, counselors, and medical providers.

At times we may be called to be companions on a journey we would rather not take — the journey of a loved one toward the end of life. For those who choose to serve as close companions of terminally ill relatives or friends, Parting offers the collective wisdom of people from many cultures and faith traditions as a “travel guide” for meaningful companionship — helping someone toward a peaceful transition from this life. Sections of the book discuss how to cross the bridge from ordinary conversation to spiritual reflection; how to provide comforts for the body, mind, and soul; and how to care for yourself while concentrating on the needs of another. Transcending any specific religion or culture, this handbook addresses universal spiritual needs.Designed for easy reading by weary travelers, this practical, pocket-sized guide prepares the spiritual companion for an enriching experience, even on the journey toward life’s end. It is an indispensable tool for family members and friends, hospice workers, religious leaders, counselors, and medical providers.

Aldredge-Clanton exposes the persistent sin of idolatry in limiting God to male and masculine language; she challenges faith to recover female and feminine speech in order to understand the God beyond male and female. In developing this thesis, Aldredge-Clanton has amassed an impressive array of documentation, beginning with Scripture, continuing through church history, and concluding with contemporary experiences of Christian people. An irenic spirit, clear writing, and passionate conviction unite to make this book accessible and instructive for all who have eyes to see and ears to hear?

Letha Dawson Scanzoni changed the landscape of American evangelicalism through her groundbreaking work on the gospel-based intersection of gender and LGBTQ justice. She coauthored two of the first books that support women''s equality and LGBTQ rights with the Bible: All We''re Meant to Be and Is the Homosexual My Neighbor? In all her work Scanzoni applies the liberating message of Jesus to women and to people who have been marginalized by church and society because of sexual orientation. Building Bridges combines an exploration of the life and work of Letha Dawson Scanzoni with stories of people she continues to empower through her writing and the Evangelical & Ecumenical Women''s Caucus - Christian Feminism Today, an organization she cofounded. This book illustrates her growing influence as she continues her prophetic collaboration with new generations. In addition, it provides resources for churches as they build bridges for their ministries of liberation, justice, and peace.

Seeking Wisdom: Inclusive Blessings and Prayers for Public Occasions provides clergy and laypersons with a unique resource to use in community settings, healthcare institutions, and faith communities. These blessings and prayers respect people from diverse religious traditions and use gender-inclusive language for humanity and divinity. Predominant themes are peace, justice, healing, hope, liberation, partnership in relationships, and caring for the earth. This collection includes blessings for such events as community Thanksgiving services, Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations, Women''s History Month celebrations, Holocaust Remembrance Day services, breast cancer survivors celebrations, transplant survivors celebrations, chapel dedications, memorial services, lay ministers dedications, baby dedications, pastoral prayers, invocations, calls to worship, offertory prayers, benedictions, a lament for violence against women and girls, and a lament for other forms of injustice. This book also includes pastoral prayers, invocations, calls to worship, offertory prayers, benedictions, a lament for violence against women and girls, and a lament for other forms of injustice. Seeking Wisdom includes more than two hundred inclusive, interfaith blessings and prayers for public occasions. These blessings and prayers can be adapted or combined to fit specific occasions, providing a valuable resource for clergy and laypersons.

Through the fascinating stories of pioneering ministers, this book reveals a unique picture of progressive changes occurring in the Christian tradition. Meeting challenges and overcoming obstacles, these twelve diverse ministers are changing the church as they take prophetic stands on gender, race, interfaith cooperation, ecology, sexual orientation, economic opportunity, and other social justice issues. Believing in the power of sacred symbolism to shape social reality and to provide a foundation for justice and freedom for all people, these ministers lead worship with inclusive language and imagery for humanity and divinity. They include multicultural female and male images of the Divine. Their stories affirm the connection between this expansive theology and an ethic of justice and equality in human relationships. In working from within to change the church, these ministers have risked censure by denominational authorities, loss of opportunities for promotion to larger congregations or to prestigious denominational positions, and even loss of their jobs. They have found creative ways to balance advocating for change and working to support the church, using their positions as ordained clergy to bring liberating change to the church and the wider culture.

Meet the ministers and laypeople driving foundational Christian theological change and restoring awareness of the sacred value of women and girls."The Bible teaches that we are made in the image and likeness of God; therefore, I must believe that there is a male and female expression of God…. Claim your divinity and walk in it every day, because you are fearfully and wonderfully made."—Rev. Dr. Susan Newman, "Claiming Our Divinity"In a world filled with injustice and violence, we long for a new sacred symbolism to inspire transformation. Our yearning includes a widespread hunger for visions of the Female Divine in church life and worship to restore gender balance and finally achieve just, equal and inclusive faith communities.This collection of engrossing narratives of women and men trying to change the institutional church—and society—illuminates how reclaiming multicultural female images of God extends beyond the sanctuary and into the community. Whether you're searching for your own place in the church or you want to explore this growing movement, these fascinating pioneers invite you to join the adventure of creating rituals that include Her, affirming the sacred value of all people and all creation.

This is just what we need in our congregations and classrooms -- a truly inclusive collection of resources for children. . . . This creative collection offers some hope that the next generation will grow up convinced that God is a God for girls as well as boys and will act accordingly. -- Miriam Therese Winter, Professor of Liturgy, Worship, Spirituality, and Feminist Studies, Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT[A] terrific collection of inclusive language resources [and] a powerful tool that needs to be in every minister's toolbox! Jann Aldredge-Clanton has made an excellent contribution to Christian worship and education. -- Cheryl Collins Patterson, Director of Early Childhood Ministries, Myers Park Baptist Church, Charlotte, NCWhat an exciting collection! I can't wait to order copies for all of our children's workers. We have waited far too long for the kind of balanced recognition of the feminine face of God reflected in this book. -- Paul Smith, Senior Pastor, Broadway Baptist Church, Kansas City, MOThese stories empower girls and boys to say, 'Yes! I'm created in the image of the living God!' . . . Parents, pastors, teachers, and anyone who loves God and children need this imaginative and faithful resource. -- Rev. Trish Holland, Associate Pastor, Central Presbyterian Church, Waco, TX

A womanist church has great power to transform church and society, primarily because womanist theology centers the experiences of Black women while working for the survival and wholeness of all people and all creation. Experiences of the triple oppression of racism, sexism, and classism give Black women an epistemological insight into recognizing injustice and creating solutions that benefit all. The Gathering is unique, the only church founded and identified as "e;womanist,"e; applying womanist theology to the full life and worship of a church. The Gathering, a womanist faith community in Dallas, Texas, welcomes all people to partner in pursuing racial equity, LGBTQ equality, and dismantling PMS (patriarchy, misogyny, and sexism), following Jesus in liberating the oppressed and lifting up the marginalized. The Gathering, A Womanist Church tells the story of the birth and ongoing development of a womanist faith community. This book includes personal narratives of people transformed in this community, womanist co-pastors' sermons informed by their experiences and those of other Black women, and litanies for womanist worship.