What if rhetoric and climate are intimately connected? Taking climates to be rhetorical and rhetoric to be climatic, A Reading Group offers a generative framework for making sense of rhetorical studies as they grapple with the challenges posed by antiracist, decolonial, affective, ecological, and more-than-human scholarship to a tradition with a long history of being centered around individual, usually privileged, human agents wielding language as their principal instrument. Understanding ...

Based upon hymns in praise of Mars, Venus, and Mercury visible in the heavens close to Earth, the Rig Veda reveals ninety-nine 30-year cyclic encounters by which the Earth's lithosphere was terra-formed between 3687 and 687 BC. During this entire Vedic Period modern Flora fell to the Earth as Soma (manna) along with the soil and water in which it flourished.Ancient texts: reveal the force that drove the 'Continental Drift' of Alfred Wegener and produced the multi-layered granite cr...

All ancient myths comprise observations of Venus, Mars and Mercury, which approached or orbited close to the Earth between 3700 and 687 BC. Egyptian texts, correctly interpreted, contain the most detailed observations of these planets and make clear the significance of their cyclic 30-year interactions with the Earth. Every individual witnessed and experienced the resulting effects on the Earth, but the Egyptians expressed a comprehension of astrophysics far deeper than modern science, which ...

Ackerman, parish pastor, spiritual director, and consultant on spiritual formation, provides an excellent guide for clergy desiring a congregation-wide approach to developing spirituality rooted in the life of the congregation. A six-week program focuses on developing individuals' spirituality in small groups and includes leader training and course plans. Practical suggestions assist in developing the "corporate spirituality" of congregations.

Learning how to attend to what God is doing right now is the lifelong work of (and play) of the person of faith. Helping people to attend to God is the central work of the congregation. It all begins with learning to listen to God as a community and to notice what God is doing in our life together. John Ackerman offers two four-step models and several additional tools that help us attend to the mystery at the center of our lives and our congregations.

The Mindful Parent changes all that. It’s a timely and liberating journey back to the heart of what really matters — a deep and lasting relationship with our children. Its unique approach leads us to that deep connection by weaving together the latest in neuroscience, personal story and deceptively simple strategies that are so kind and effective it’s hard not to use them. Each chapter re-examines a different area of our parenting lives — our busyness and stress levels; our more difficult ...

We are all addicted in some way.When we learn to identify our addiction, embrace our brokenness, and surrender to God, we begin to bring healing to ourselves and our world. In Breathing Under Water, Richard Rohr shows how the gospel principles in the Twelve Steps can free anyone from addiction - from an obvious dependence on alcohol or drugs to the more common but less visible addiction that we all have to sin.Richard Rohr, is one of the greatest discoverie...

These short meditations are a perfect way for Catholic women of any age to start or end their days. Anne Costa helps us to see beyond the daily clutter of our lives to our real purpose-fulfilling the great calling God has given to women, whose unique gifts can change the world. While acknowledging the struggles and temptations that women face, Costa always leaves them with hope that they can be renewed in Christ and become people who bring many blessings to others. Each meditation features...

According to Henri Nouwen, the bestselling spiritual writer, every Christian is a minister—trying to live his life in the light of the Gospel. Creative Ministry is a thoughtful examination of the various complex tasks that are part of that way of life.Separate chapters treat each of the five areas that Nouwen considers the primary responsibilities of the minister: teaching, preaching, counseling, organizing, and celebrating. He shows how these main functions are inextricably tied ...

A profound call to Christian discipleship. An intensive course in Christian faith. A creative freedom to serve God that is deeply grounded in Scripture. These are ways to describe Sacred Listening, James L. Wakefield's adaptation of the classic Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola.Central to the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), the Spiritual Exercises is a manual used to direct a month-long spiritual retreat. Now adapting these time-honored Exercises specifically for Protestant Christ...

For individual or group use“It is my hope that this book will provide at least fifty ways you may take steps in a lifelong walk with God. It is written for you, the seeker and sojourner, as well as you, the church leader, youth minister, retreat facilitator, or worship planner. It is for all of us who thought we only knew one way to pray.” --from the introductionThe explosion of interest today in Christian mystics, ancient prayer practices, and guided meditations s...

"A book for grown-up Christians. . . . a Catholic priest and author of The God Instinct , writes for those wanting to think about faith as well as practice it." — Publishers WeeklyHow can we have an authentic faith when we no longer have well-defined, codified beliefs? Where do we turn to better understand our relationship with God when the messages of the Church seem simplistic? This book is for...