A delightful compendium of insightful, disarming, and sometimes funny reasons why Episcopalians are members of the Church."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 thi...

What if you could encounter the words of Jesus on their own, lifted up from the surrounding narratives and presented in their full power and mystery? That's the question Phyllis Tickle--one of America's most beloved writers on Christian spirituality--asked when she set out to write what she calls a "sayings gospel." In The Words of Jesus, Tickle has compiled and arranged all the sayings of Jesus from the first four books of the New Testament and the first chapter of Acts in a way ...

This perennial favorite proposes a sustainable framework to create a more stable and fulfilling work-life balance in an ever-busy, noisy world.Always We Begin Again is the work of an attorney with a busy commercial practice who searched for a truly balanced life and found the blueprint for it in a sixth-century text. After discovering St. Benedict’s Rule, author John McQuiston II interpreted and restated the ancient system of spiritual living, enabling tod...

Using the metaphor of pilgrimage, this book invites readers to reflect on living with illness.The heart of the book is a collection of 30 meditations, each followed by a reflection, a short prayer, and a suggested spiritual practice. The meditations voice the difficulties and the challenges of living with illness, and call the reader toward a deepening understanding, compassion and generosity. While the meditations intend to offer comfort, they are also written from...

"It is a particular thrill to follow [Gallagher] to the Lord's Table; I know of no contemporary writer whose insights about the Eucharist match hers." —Lauren F. Winner, Duke Divinity School, author of Wearing GodThe sacred meal that is part of our faith does more than connect us to the holy, it connects us to each other."I think Jesus wanted his disciples and everyone who came after him to remember what they had together. What they made together. Wh...

"As it is written, 'Our God is a consuming fire' (Heb. 12:29); so we also must kindle the divine fire in ourselves through tears and hard work." --Amma Syncletica, fourth century. What could be more natural and timely than … Spiritual wisdom drawn from a woman's world; word paintings expressed in the poetry of mother-daughter dialogue? Home and hearth lessons in eternal truth, firmly grounded in day-to-day experience? Small scenarios of inquiry and response, deep questioning and fledgling ...

The first volume in a trilogy of prayer manuals compiled by Publishers Weekly religion editor Phyllis Tickle as a contemporary Book of Hours to guide Christians gently yet authoritatively through the daily offices.The Divine Hours is the first major literary and liturgical reworking of the sixth-century Benedictine Rule of fixed-hour prayer. This beautifully conceived and thoroughly modern three-volume guide will appeal to the theological novice a...

Something happens at the eucharistic table. When Jesus' story meets Jesus' presence, Jesus happens there, and the hungry are fed. Christians' beliefs--that they believe and what they believe--are formed by Jesus happening. This book explores the theology inscribed on communities through their encounter with Jesus at the table. It begins with the theology of radical grace embodied in the invitation of everyone, baptized or not, to the table, and it addresses from this vantage the whole of t...

The definitive collection from one of the****the leading voices on LGBTQ issues in the Episcopal Church.Letters from Samaria gathers together much of Louie (Crew) Clay’s best and most influential prose and poetry, written from 1974 until the present day, including an essay composed especially for the volume. Much of the material has not appeared since its original publication in newsletters and other ephemeral sources. It is crisply written, and often surpr...

Who are the ancient role models for the sacred relationshipbetween Jews and non-Jews today?Now more than ever, gentiles are an integral part of the Jewish community. But they are not new to the Jewish story. In fact, righteous gentiles go back to Abraham. The story of the Jewish people can’t be told without them.Noted author and educator Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin provides an informative and inspiring look at the sympathetic non-Israelite characters of the...

Author Renee Altson understands all about being hurt, feeling alone, and full of doubt. While her story is an extreme example of abuse and mistreatment done in the name of God, her struggles with God as Father and with faith and disbelief are universal. This book is a perfect companion for those who have survived or know someone who has survived abuse, as well as for anyone who has ever questioned whether the journey toward faith is worthwhile. As you stumble with Renee, you will discover ...

The third and final volume in a trilogy of prayer manuals compiled by Publishers Weekly religion editor Phyllis Tickle as a contemporary Book of Hours to guide Christians gently yet authoritatively through the daily offices.The Divine Hours is the first major literary and liturgical reworking of the sixth-century Benedictine Rule of fixed-hour prayer. This beautifully conceived and thoroughly modern three-volume guide will appeal to the theological novice as well ...