Visar resultat för..."Church Publishing Inc"

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.

From a former NASA scientist comes a fascinating tour through the cosmos, revealing God’s infinite and wondrous presence in the universe. In this thought-provoking guide, Conrad invites readers to explore the vastness of outer space through both the lens of faith and the rigor of science. From the life cycles of stars to the gravitational pull of the moon, each reflection weaves together scripture, scientific insight, reflection questions, and prayers—offering a fresh perspective on how the heavens truly proclaim God's glory.Drawing on her experience working on NASA’s Perseverance Rover, as well as her role as a priest, Conrad bridges the gap between the material and the spiritual, encouraging readers to embrace both curiosity and contemplation. Whether pondering the expanding universe, the delicate balance of Earth’s ecosystems, or the mystery of the Trinity across the dimensions of space, this book illuminates how science and faith point toward the divine together. Perfect for seekers, scientists, and stargazers alike, A Believer's Journey through the Stars is an invitation to stand in awe of God’s creation—and to find deeper meaning in its beauty.

A leadership planner based on the bestselling A Failure of Nerve.Nearly 25 years after the bestselling A Failure of Nerve first astonished the business world, Edwin H. Friedman’s groundbreaking wisdom is back – now in a fresh, agile framework designed with today’s leaders in mind. Combining essential excerpts from the beloved original with new and engaging prompts and exercises, A Failure of Nerve in 52 Weeks builds on the success of Friedman’s earlier work to provide readers with an insightful year-long resource for leadership planning and development.Concentrating on the core tenets of A Failure of Nerve, this workbook will help readers recognize and reign in their own emotional reactivity, overcome a misplaced addiction to data, and develop a sense of self that will never be overrun by the loudest and least mature voices in the room. Each weekly spread is packed with quotes and exercises to stimulate self-reflection and features a week-long planner page designed with ample space to mark appointments, track goals, and map out one’s path to well-differentiated leadership. Whether you are a longtime fan or new to Friedman’s work, this versatile planner will provide the structure, guidance, and wisdom to help you grow into the courageous leader you aspire to be.

This thorough, carefully researched history sets church events against the background of social changes. This third revised edition will be up-to-date through the events of the 2012 General Convention of the Episcopal Church.

Throughout the history of Christianity, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (“LGBT” or“queer”) people have been condemned as unrepentant sinners who are in dire need of God’s saving grace. As a result of this condemnation, LGBT people have been subjected to great spiritual, emotional and physical abuse and violence. This issue has taken on a particular urgency in light of the horrific string of suicides over the last year of young LGBT people who were subjected to harassment and bullying by their classmates.Cheng argues that people need to be liberated from the traditional legal model of thinking about sin and grace as a violation of divine and natural laws in which grace is understood as the strength to refrain from violating such laws. Rather Cheng proposes a Christological model based upon the theologies of Irenaeus, Bonaventure and Barth, in which sin and grace are defined in terms of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.This book will serve as a useful resource for all people who struggle to make sense of the traditional Christian doctrines of sin and grace in the context of the 21st century.

Godly Play® is an imaginative approach to working with children, an approach that supports, challenges, nourishes, and guides their spiritual quest.Revised and updated, The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 2 offers new concepts, new terminology, new illustrations, and a new structure that stem from more than 10 years of using Godly Play with children across the world. 30 to 40 percent of the text is new or revised, including a new lesson, revised Introduction, and a new full Appendix.

• Incorporates the latest in Godly Play® theory and practice • Revised lessons throughout, plus one brand-new lesson The Godly Play® approach helps children explore their faith through story, to gain religious language, and to enhance their spiritual experience through wonder and play. Based on Montessori principles and developed using a spiral curriculum, the Godly Play® method services children through early, middle, and late childhood and beyond. Revised and expanded, The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 3 offers new concepts, new terminology, new illustrations, and a new structure that stem from more than ten years of using Godly Play® with children across the world. 30 to 40 percent of the text is new or revised, including two new lessons, two radically changed lessons, a revised Introduction, and a new full Appendix.

The Godly Play® approach helps children explore their faith through story, to gain religious language, and to enhance their spiritual experience through wonder and play. Based on Montessori principles and developed using a spiral curriculum, the Godly Play® method services children through early, middle, and late childhood and beyond. Revised and expanded, The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 4, offers new concepts, new terminology, new illustrations, and a new structure that stem from more than 10 years of using Godly Play® with children across the world. Thirty to forty percent of the text is new or revised, including a new lesson, revised Introduction, and a full Appendix.

Nineteen new and revised stories that invite children to enter into a deeper relationship with God.Revised and expanded, The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 8 offers new concepts, new terminology, new illustrations, and a new structure —all of which stem from more than fifteen years of using Godly Play® with children. Based on the Montessori method, Godly Play uses purposeful telling of stories, engaging materials, and the community of children to encourage children to seek and find their own answers to faith questions. In the process, children form deeper, more spontaneous, and more playful relationships with God. This volume features resources for telling nineteen new or thoroughly revised stories, along with take-home resources for parents and families. Included in this volume are: · The Greatest Parable—Jesus · Jesus and Jerusalem: The Story of Holy Week · Mary, the Mother of Jesus · Knowing Jesus in a New Way · The Church · The Liturgical Synthesis Revisions to each story focus on inclusion and are the result of consultations across the diverse Godly Play community. New parent pages for each story offer opportunities for families to continue to discuss each lesson. An appendix introduces the Godly Play approach and offers an overview of stories across all eight Godly Play volumes.

Have you ever wished you could play piano in the spirited and rhythmic gospel style? This book will help you get started.Carl MaultsBy gives a brief history of the gospel style and describes the techniques used to embellish printed music. Ten written arrangements of selections from the popular gospel music standard, Lift Every Voice and Sing II from Church Publishing have been provided to give the accompanist additional practice in the style.

A life-professed solitary and mystic under vows to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Ross writes with the wonder and energy of a spiritual poet. In this new edition of a spiritual classic, she shares one year of her solitude in seasonal meditations that include encounters with lynxes and coyotes, reflections on the summer solstice, and desire for union with God. An excellent source of sermon ideas.In one essay, Ross reveals the two comments she receives most are "You don't look like a hermit," followed by "What do you do in solitude?" She answers, "I don't do, I be." Only an experienced mystic could put the emphasis on being and not doing. Being in solitude, Ross has plenty of time to savor the beauties and the bounties of the natural world and animals. She does both here. We were also impressed with pieces on the importance of an informing vision, the value of chastity, and the difficulty of intercessory prayer. We are always on the lookout for passages on unity and here is one we liked:"It is that my sin and your sin consists not in isolated small or gross acts committed or omitted by our choices and actions, or in some vague, isolated theoretical attitude, but instead that we, you and I, by virtue of our common humanity, and in the solitude from which true relationship springs, come to realize that we are implicated in every sin."I am the pimp on 42nd Street, dealing in bodies. I am the pusher, selling drugs to an addict nodding and drooling in Needle Park. I am the employee ripping off my corporation. I am the industrialist pouring poison into the bodies and, by advertising, into the souls of my sisters and brothers. I am the driver of the military juggernaut, careening wildly out of control. I struggle impotently to express who I really am."

Is the priesthood a power to be exercised, or a call to share in the broken Christ? Ross sets modern questions about ordained ministry in the Church within a much wider context, encouraging us to reflect anew on the relationship between administrative power and spiritual authority within the Church, and to redefine the priesthood. She minces no words in her critique of the contemporary Church, and goes on to propose changes so sweeping and fundamental that we sense what a truly Christian Church would be.

“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.

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.

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.

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.