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

Joanne Rowling’s great epic is forming the faith and moral vision of millions of people. If you are reading this book, forming faith is at least part or maybe all of your vocation, as teacher, pastor, parent, godparent, roommate, sibling, spouse, or friend. In baptism we vow to form our faith and the faith of others. To not use this modern epic in your sacred work is to leave on the table one of the most ubiquitous and enchanting tools of our time to awaken and baptize the imagination. Don’t put this wand away.

A groundbreaking collection of writings that place queer ritual at the center of the theological conversation.In this collection of essays, leading scholars in queer theology and liturgical studies explore the ways in which the distinctive theological voices of LGBTQIA+ Christians challenge and expand thinking and practice around worship in new directions. This challenge has expanded in the past decades, as obstacles to the full participation of queer Christians—particularly in marriage and ordination—have fallen.Organized into three main parts, the volume begins with an introduction to queer engagement with ritual practices, continues with a series of case studies that examine queer texts and contexts, and concludes with an examination of the horizons of queer liturgical theology and practice. Throughout the volume, Queering Christian Worship provides new imagination and tools to those who study and curate Christian worship across traditions.

A powerful extension of the 11th step of AA that uses prayer and meditation to improve your connection with God on the journey to sobriety. Priest and recovering alcoholic, Fr. Bill W. offers detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to enter into Two Way Prayer. At the heart of the practice, there is dedicated morning devotion and quiet time, where you ask for spiritual guidance, pause and listen for the answer, and begin writing down the guidance that is received. It is this practical approach to prayer through listening and writing that provides a spiritual awakening, since any guidance received must be carried into action as a way to be of service. You will learn how this practice can comfort and guide you one day at a time as you embark on a deeper and more transformative phase of your recovery journey.

“Every serious Bible reader should check it out....[it] communicates the Word of God most engagingly and winsomely to my ear. Because of this, the NRSVue is now at the top of my translation ranking.” Kevin Martin, First ThingsA personal edition of the pathbreaking new Bible revision that strikes a balance between fidelity to the original text and a distinguished style that will powerfully resonate with contemporary readers.Reflecting the latest in biblical scholarship and featuring a lucid and faithful rendition of the Holy Scriptures, readers will treasure this new revision of the acclaimed NRSV Bible translation, whether for their personal use or to give as a meaningful gift.This Bible is suitable for congregational worship, personal reflection, and as a guide for faith-based living in response to God's call.It is the ideal gift for baptism, confirmation, marriage, or ordination. It features:A luxurious black vivella coverGold satin ribbon markerBeautiful endpapersAssembled by a team of the world’s leading Bible scholars and incorporating recent discoveries from ancient texts and new textual insights, this newly and substantially updated translation offers clearer, more direct, and inclusive language, and increased cultural sensitivity absent of the unintended biases of prior versions.

“I’ve been spending some time with the…first volume of The Psalms: A Sanctuary for the Soul, an interpretive guidebook by the relational theologian Marty Folsom. Folsom doesn’t just analyze the psalter; he works to get inside its emotions…He centers the discussion around God’s unfailing love, a love that enables God to wait patiently as we struggle to apprehend, acknowledge, and accept it.” Ron Hogan, Friends Journal newsletter“I have been reading a lot of psalms lately and find they really help me process my grief. Motivated by Marty Folsom’s book The Psalms: Sanctuary for the Soul in which he walks through each psalm one at a time, I like to read through a psalm in several different versions, slowly, sometimes aloud and allow the cadences of the rhythm, slightly different in each version to settle into my soul. Then I read through the section on the appropriate psalm in [Folsom’s] book.” Christine Sine, author of Walking in Wonder on Substack“In this remarkable book, you will find the Psalms rendered fresh, vibrant, and newly transparent to the living God…" —Jeremy Begbie, Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Research Professor of Theology at Duke Divinity SchoolThe first in an exciting new series on the Psalms and their transformative power in living a life full of emotions, dialogue, and reflection.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.

We hear about heaven and the supernatural far more often on late-night TV than in church; indeed, many Christians never hear eternity mentioned seriously from the pulpit. This book of short, personal essays gathers the hopes and reflections of writers from theology, fiction, and poetry. The authors include Rick Moody, Nora Gallagher, Robert Orsi, Barbara Brown Taylor, Phyllis Tickle, Alan Jones, Maggie Robbins, Barbara Crafton, Cynthia Bourgeault and Susan Wheeler. These writings, which mix autobiography, story-telling, and theological reflection, are so poignant and wide-ranging that we can all find ourselves in them and start telling our own stories about heaven.

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).

Holding up segments of the Rule of St. Benedict, Ester de Waal's meditations on Benedict's words illumine the wisdom found there not only for those of Benedict's time, but for all of us today as well.

An invitation and guide for leaders “to cast a courageous and imaginative vision, to lead resiliently, and to be present and steady in times of deep anxiety.” Ed Friedman’s genius was to see the individual in the family in the larger group, bringing the wisdom of his experience as a therapist and rabbi to the field of organizational leadership.A timeless bestseller, A Failure of Nerve still astonishes in this new edition with its relevance and continues to transform the lives of leaders everywhere—business, church, family, schools—as it has for more than 20 years:Offers prescient guide to leadership in the age of “quick fix.”Provides ways to recognize and address organizational dysfunction.Emphasizes “strength over pathology” in these anxious times.“The age that is upon us requires differentiated leadership that is willing to rise above the anxiety of the masses. We need leaders who will have the ‘capacity to understand and deal effectively’ with the hive mind that is us. This is, in Friedman's words, ‘the key to the kingdom.’ I am grateful for this accessible new edition.”―C. Andrew Doyle, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Texas

This guide for acolyte directors includes ideas for training new and veteran acolytes, encouraging team spirit, and providing a strong spiritual foundation. Presents five workshops with detailed activities. Helps trainers impart a deeper understanding of the acooyte's vital role in church liturgy.

The Holy Eucharist

This practical manual guides churches through a year-long stewardship program. Covers the fundamentals of building a successful program -- from teaching Christian stewardship to hosting creative, successful commitment events. Filled with useful advice and how-to sections on topics ranging from recruiting and training leaders, to charting progress. Offers a complete overview of The Joyful Giving Program for stewardship.

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

Sometimes pain passes quickly and small losses are easily absorbed. But when suffering goes on and on, for people of faith, the resulting crisis can be deeper and more destructive than the loss itself. We look for ways to comfort those who are hurting. But sometimes, in spite of our good intentions, the cliches and simplistic theology we offer only add to the pain and misery. In When Suffering Persists, Frederick W. Schmidt presents a pastoral exploration of ways to understand suffering theologically, offering an approach that ministers to both mind and spirit. He questions the value of our usual comforting words and examines the pat explanations we give one another. He provides instead a theology that takes seriously the devastating character of suffering, allowing for real help to those who continue in pain.

The damage done by hatred and prejudice -- based on race, sexual orientation, religion, or gender -- runs very deep. The damage is often invisible, but it simmers beneath the surface anyway. In Race and Prayer, Malcolm Boyd and Chester Talton have collected poems, prayers, and prose that bring the anger and frustration to light, and ultimately, they hope, to a place of reconciliation and healing.Race and Prayer is divided into five sections: Suffering and Anger; Prejudice and Hatred; Diversity; Reconciliation and Healing; and Growth in Understanding and Sharing. Contributors to this collection range in age from teenagers to the elderly, and include men and women from a wide variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, all of whom speak honestly of their own experiences, heartbreaks, and hopes. Twelve cartoons from three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Conrad, editorial cartoonist at the Los Angeles Times, add to the power of this collection.

The perfect book for newcomers who are often confused by the worship service, Welcome to Sunday is also an excellent book for those who have been sitting in the pews without fully understanding what happens on Sunday morning. Episcopal priest Christopher Webber takes the reader from the sidewalk outside the church, guides them through the service, and sends them out again when the service has ended. Webber explains the postures, the Christian year, the colors we use during various seasons, and all the elements in the Service of the Eucharist. As in Webber's very popular Welcome to the Episcopal Church, the tone of the easy-to-read book is conversational, making it useful for parish study.

"The Episcopal Church is a secret too well kept, " says compiler Louie Crew. "Many are starved for what we experience daily and too easily take for granted." With these words, Crew invited thousands of people online to participate in creating a list of reasons to be Episcopalian. Portions of that list, and many additional contributions, fill this charming, pocket-sized celebration of the Episcopal Church.These 101 thoughtful, poignant, and sometimes humorous responses not only entertain but also teach about the Church's gifts. From the beauty of its prayer and liturgy, to its inclusiveness, and its reliance on Scripture, tradition, and reason in balance with one another, there is much to celebrate in the Anglican/Episcopal tradition. 101 Reasons To Be Episcopalian makes the perfect gift for confirmands, newcomers, and anyone interested in dialogue about why we are Episcopalians.

Westerhoff challenges Christians to move beyond the quest for material possessions by embarking on a life of simplicity that begins with an inward journey. An exploration of how to fulfill the baptismal covenant by giving generously from the heart to achieve a deeper relationship with God. John H. Westerhoff is an Episcopal priest, the former professor of theology and Christian nurture at Duke University, the author of many books about Christian education and life. For the last decade he has been theologian-in-residence at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Atlanta, Georgia.

"A threshold is a sacred thing," goes the traditional saying of ancient wisdom. In some corners of the earth, in some traditional cultures, and in monastic life, this is still remembered. But in our fast-paced modern world, this wisdom is often lost on us. It is important for us to remember the significance of the threshold. While it is certainly true that thresholds mark the end of one thing and the beginning of another, they also act as borders-the places in between, the points of transition. These can be physical, such as the geographical borders of a country; others, such as the spiritual border between the inner and outer world-between ourselves and others-are intangible. In To Pause at the Threshold, Esther de Waal looks at what it is like to live in actual "border country," the Welsh countryside with its "slower rhythms" and "earth-linked textures," and explores the importance of opening up and being receptive to one's surroundings, whatever they may be.

Although the sacramental Rite of Reconciliation is included in many Anglican prayer books, nothing has been written expressly Anglicans since the 1980s that focuses on the pastoral skills required for this ministry. This book combines and passes on the teaching, coaching, skill development, and accumulated pastoral wisdom that has not been widely accessible or well integrated into clergy training.Realistic transcripts and "verbatims" of sample confessions and counseling sessions involving a wide range of people makes this a unique ministry resource for most seminaries and theological colleges, plus clergy in general-including Lutheran pastors who use the rite of "Individual Confession and Absolution" in the Lutheran Book of Worship.

There is a renewed conversation about identity and mission in American Anglicanism today,based on the recognition that the church’s context in the U.S. has dramatically changed. Thelegacies of establishment, benefactor approaches to mission, and the ‘national church’ idealare no longer adequate for the challenges and opportunities facing the 21st century church.But if the Episcopal Church is no longer the Church of the Establishment and the benefactormodel of church is dead, what is the heart of Episcopal mission and identity?Scholar and Episcopal priest Dwight Zscheile draws on multiple streams of Anglican thoughtand practice, plus contemporary experience to craft a vision for mission that addresses thechurch’s post-establishment, post-colonial context. With stories, practices and concreteillustrations, Zscheile engages readers in re-envisioning what it means to be Anglican inAmerica today and sends readers out to build new relationships within their local contexts.

In his thirteen years as Vicar, popular author David Adam welcomed over 1 million pilgrims to the Holy Island of Lindesfarne in Northumberland. Each pilgrim had a story to tell and each came for a different reason. Some radiated a sense of God's presence, and others were simply too hurried to do anything but look around quickly and move on to the next site. Using the stories of pilgrims Adam encountered on Holy Island, he explores how we can approach our own lives as pilgrimage, without ever leaving the comfort of our homes. How can we move beyond what is safe in our world and encounter the Mystery? How can we learn to disconnect from all the technology that keeps us multi-tasking all day and all night? How can we rediscover awe in the world around us? In the wonderful prose and poetry for which he is so well-loved, David Adam helps us get on the road of life, even when we don't have time to travel to distant lands.

Everybody figures it out sooner or later: Even in a Botox world that promises eternal youth, some things—from aches and pains to wrinkles, from menopause to the empty nest—you just have to live with. But despite the challenges, those who are reaching middle age—yesterday’s Baby Boomers—might not want to turn back the clock. Instead, as their bodies change and their priorities shift, they’re looking to cull wisdom from their experience and find spiritual meaning in their re-examined lives. In Some Things You Just Have to Live With, author Barbara Cawthorne Crafton explores the “spilled milk” of our lives, the physical changes our bodies endure, and the new and energizing purpose we can discover by plunging into the middle of life in a deeper—and sometimes mystifying—relationship with God. A wonderful storyteller, Crafton writes with humor and pathos rather than a heavy hand, allowing readers to see themselves and their own lives in the unfolding pages. Some Things You Just Have to Live With is a source of inspiration—and smiles—to those navigating the turbulent waters of the middle of life.

Sometimes it’s hard for people to reconcile their lives in this chaotic, energized, nonsensical world with their faith in God. They want to know what’s really true, what they can count on, what they can build their futures on. They want their lives to matter. And yet to them the Bible often seems merely to be an ancient book about dead people who had no idea of the stresses and fears and challenges of living today.This straightforward, real-world devotional guide is designed to help people of all ages connect powerfully with the God of the Bible as revealed in the Psalms—the Bible’s songbook. Within the exquisitely emotional lyrics in these songs, young readers will find all the feelings, struggles, and fears they face each day. And they’ll find the spiritual resources to help them thrive.Using 90 selected passages from the Psalms, Peter Wallace has put together a stimulating new devotional full of fresh ideas for finding ways to connect with God, with one another, and with the world at large. As a result, readers will gain encouragement and strength to face their uncertain world with the wisdom and love of the God who so deeply loves them.

An accessible introduction to the Episcopal Church for general inquiries, use with new members, as a confirmation resource, and in youth and adult study groups. A simple Q&A provides a quick, easy, and non-threatening way to learn―perfect for today’s busy lifestyle. Yet, with Episcopal Questions, Episcopal Answers, we’re also dealing with some of the most central and compelling elements of the faith. Sample questions of the new work include: What do Episcopalians believe about the Bible? Why do Episcopalians practice infant baptism? Why does God permit evil and suffering? What are the sacraments of the Episcopal Church? Is it acceptable for a Bishop to question the Virgin Birth? Why is the Prayer Book so important to Episcopalians? What is the relationship between the Prayer Book and the Bible? What is the Anglican Communion? How did the Episcopal Church come to be? How are decisions made in the Episcopal Church?

Episcopalian identity tends to focus on history and worship, and sometimes on ethics but "cradle" and new Episcopalians plus seekers will benefit from having a brief, accessible summary of the Christian faith as seen through an Episcopalian lens. There are two underlying convictions behind the book: first, that ecumenism is at the heart of the Episcopal faith. Episcopalians are well placed to offer themselves as a place of convergence between RomanCatholics and Protestants, and even between Roman Catholics and the Orthodox. Secondly, in the current conflicts both within the Episcopal Church and between the Episcopal Church and some of its Anglican Communion partners, there is no fundamental difference in doctrine. The book is an attempt to portray what all parties have in common. The book comes in four parts: The FaithSources of the FaithThe Order of the FaithThe Character of the Faith