Contents:
1. Introduction
2. American Women at Home: The Woman's Board of Missions of the Interior and American Women Missionaries to Japan
3. Missionary Work Launched: Kobe Home, 1873-1877, the Founding Years
4. A Transition to Education as a Profession: Kobe Home to Kobe Girls' School, 1877-1882
5. Missionary Aspirations for Higher Education: Kobe Girls' School to Kobe College, 1883-1909
Epilogue: The Dissolution of Women's Authority: Kobe College, 1910-1927
Appendix
Tables
Bibliography

The two volumes of Prayer Book Parallels are aids to the study of the development of the American book from as many points of view as possible. They include liturgical texts and related historical documents. Volume One contains the texts of the public services of the American Church arranged in parallel columns--from the colonial period to the present--to enable comparative study. The two volumes are of great value to seminarians, clergy, church historians, and anyone interested in the development of the present Prayer Book. (702 pp)

In this ground-breaking book, Gerald Grace addresses the dilemmas facing Catholic education in an increasingly secular and consumer-driven culture. The book combines an original theoretical framework with research drawn from interviews with sixty Catholic secondary head teachers from deprived urban areas. Issues discussed include:
*Catholic meanings of academic success
*tensions between market values and Catholic values
*threats to the mission integrity of Catholic schools
*the spiritual, moral and social justice commitments of contemporary Catholic schools
This book will be equally useful to leaders of Catholic and other schools and to all those interested in values and leadership in schooling.

* An acolyte resource for the 21st-century Episcopal Church * Fully illustrated (black-and-white) with reproducible handouts Despite the changing landscape of the Episcopal Church, one ministry that continues but gets little attention is that of acolytes. Whether second graders or adults, the mentoring and training of acolytes is a formational experience. I Serve at God's Altar offers a simplified theology of how God is met in worship and how it affects the lives of those most engaged in it, a visual exploration of the Episcopal liturgy and its history through extensive illustrations, how acolytes fit into the work of the church in worship, and how worship affects the acolyte's discernment for ministry and Rule of Life. Illustrations include a visual exploration of church artifacts (crosses, candles, Eucharistic vessels, etc.), holds, and processes to set a standard of expectation and expertise in service according to Episcopal practice and tradition. There is a section of reproducible handouts for organizing an acolyte ministry at every size church, including scheduling, communications, installation liturgies, recruitment plans, and training outlines.

The history of Judaising movements has been largely ignored by historians of religion. This volume analyses the interplay between colonialism, a Judaism not traditionally viewed as proselytising' but which at certain points was struggling to heed the Prophets and become a light unto the Gentiles' and the attraction for many different peoples of the rooted historicity of Judaism and by the symbolic appropriation of Jewish suffering.
This book will look at the role of colonialism in the development of Judaising movements throughout the world, including New Zealand, Japan, India, Burma and Africa. Particular attention will be paid to the Lemba tribe of Southern Africa. A remarkable parallel movement in 1930s Southern Italy will also be dealt with. The history of the converts of San Nicandro is seen in the context of currents of Jewish universalism, messianism and Zionism. Gender issues are also discussed here as the converted women assumed powers they had not hitherto enjoyed.

"Tessas deep intimacy with Teresa of Avila . . . creates an invitational space for readers of any tradition (or none) to enter into their own transformational relationship with the wild woman of Avila."Mirabai Starr. This fresh, upbeat, and deftly profound book joyfully reconnects the fullness of our lives and the depth of our prayer. Much more than yet another book about a great saint who once was, it actually rekindles something of St. Teresas outrageous spiritual impulse for contemporary readers, particularly those who describe themselves as "spiritual, not religious." Tessa Bielecki is the author of several books on St. Teresa of Avila, as well as a former Abbess. "

This book examines the links between civil society, religion and politics in the Middle East and North Africa region. The chapters in the volume explore the role of religion in shaping and changing the public sphere in regions that are developing and/or in conflict. They also discuss how these relations are reflected on civil society organizations and the role they are expected to play in transitional periods. This volume: investigates the conceptual dilemmas regarding what is 'civil society' in the Arab world today examines the dynamic roles of civil society organizations and religion in the Middle East and North Africa explores the future of the Arab civil society post-'Arab Spring' events, and how the latter continues to reshape the demand for democracy in the region. A comprehensive study of how the Arab civil society has come into being and its changing roles, this eclectic work will be of interest to scholars and researchers of politics, especially political Islam, international relations, Middle East Studies, African Studies, sociology and social anthropology.

In 1799 four missionaries - two English and two Dutch - arrived at the Cape, having been sent out by the London missionary society. This is their story.Although mission work by the Moravians had begun some time before, this meant the commencement of large-scale mission work in South Africa, and initiated what might be called the 'golden age' of missionary activity in South Africa. The Early Mission, 1799 1819 consists of 17 essays, some of them in Afrikaans, in which the noted writer and historian Karel Schoeman describes the life and work of a number of missionaries, mission assistants and artisans, 'native agents', catechists and lay helpers, including three women, who where involved in the establishment of the mission during the pioneer period. His subjects are mainly Dutch and indigenous mission workers in the service of the LMS and their work among the slave population of the Cape Colony and the inhabitants of the Orange River area beyond the northern frontier of the Colony."

The Anastenaria are Orthodox Christians in Northern Greece who observe a unique annual ritual cycle focused on two festivals, dedicated to Saint Constantine and Saint Helen. The festivals involve processions, music, dancing, animal sacrifices, and culminate in an electrifying fire-walking ritual. Carrying the sacred icons of the saints, participants dance over hot coals as the saint moves them. 'The Burning Saints' presents an analysis of these rituals and the psychology behind them. Based on long-term fieldwork, 'The Burning Saints' traces the historical development and sociocultural context of the Greek fire-walking rituals. As a cognitive ethnography, the book aims to identify the social, psychological and neurobiological factors which may be involved and to explore the role of emotional and physiological arousal in the performance of such ritual. A study of participation, experience and meaning, 'The Burning Saints' presents a highly original analysis of how mental processes can shape social and religious behaviour.

In these essays, Donald Wiebe unveils a significant problem in the academic study of religion in colleges and universities in North America and Europe - that studies almost always exhibit a religious bias. To explore this issue, Wiebe looks at the religious and moral agendas behind the study of religion, showing that the boundaries between the objective study of religion and religious education as a tool for bettering society have become blurred. As a result, he argues, religious studies departments have fostered an environment where religion has become a learned or scholarly practice, rather than the object of academic scrutiny. This book provides a critical history of the failure of 20th- and 21st-century scholars to follow through on the 19th-century ideal of an objective scientific study of religious thought and behaviour. Although emancipated from direct ecclesiastical control and, to some extent, from sectarian theologizing, Wiebe argues that research and scholarship in the academic department of religious studies has failed to break free from religious constraints. He shows that an objective scientific study of religious thought and practice is not only possible, but the only appropriate approach to the study of religious phenomena.

The Anastenaria are Orthodox Christians in Northern Greece who observe a unique annual ritual cycle focused on two festivals, dedicated to Saint Constantine and Saint Helen. The festivals involve processions, music, dancing, animal sacrifices, and culminate in an electrifying fire-walking ritual. Carrying the sacred icons of the saints, participants dance over hot coals as the saint moves them. 'The Burning Saints' presents an analysis of these rituals and the psychology behind them. Based on long-term fieldwork, 'The Burning Saints' traces the historical development and sociocultural context of the Greek fire-walking rituals. As a cognitive ethnography, the book aims to identify the social, psychological and neurobiological factors which may be involved and to explore the role of emotional and physiological arousal in the performance of such ritual. A study of participation, experience and meaning, 'The Burning Saints' presents a highly original analysis of how mental processes can shape social and religious behaviour.

The new Church's Teachings series has been one of the most recognizable and useful sets of books in the Episcopal Church. With the launch of the Church's Teachings for a Changing World series, visionary Episcopal thinkers and leaders have teamed up to write a new set of books, grounded and thoughtful enough for seminarians and leaders, concise and accessible enough for newcomers, with a host of discussion resources that help readers to dig deep. What's really going on when Episcopalians gather for worship? Musician Dent Davidson and Bishop Jeff Lee bring decades of partnership to this lively conversation about the rituals that make faith real-gathering, bathing, welcoming, storytelling, feasting, and sending God's people. More than a treatise on the Book of Common Prayer, Gathered for God opens fresh ways of seeing what the Prayer Book makes possible.

* Of interest to a wide audience-parish office staff, youth group leaders, small groups, etc. * Pages are reproducible for bulletin creation This is the first of three books that will cover all of the Sundays in the lectionary year, as well as special days such as Christmas, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, and Ascension Day. There is a cartoon illustration of the gospel, the gospel text, a short paragraph of introduction, and a limited number of engaging questions for each Sunday. The cartoons are scaled in such a way that they could be reproduced for bulletins, inserts, or even posters.

* Spiritual resource for Bible study and reflection/discussion prior to church meetings * Passages deal with common issues of group life (conflict, change, leadership, vision, burnout) After years as a member of parish staffs and as a congregational and diocesan consultant, Judith Carlson became increasingly aware how seldom Bible study or some spiritual component is incorporated into church meetings. Even when they want to, busy lay people worry it will take "too much time" or aren't sure what scripture to use or fear they "don't know enough" about the Bible. Clergy too, despite good intentions, often have trouble finding time to prepare something. This simple model provides a way to add the missing (and needed) spiritual dimension. First Order of Business contains 36 brief sessions, 12 minutes a piece. Each has a scripture passage and three open-ended reflection questions-open-ended to fit a variety of situations (though not automatically suggesting "right answers") and allowing some genuine reflection in a non-threatening way. Carlson's hope is that allowing "space" for the Spirit's presence can transform ordinary "business as usual" into a broader, more spiritual context for a group's work of mission or ministry.

In this ground-breaking book, Gerald Grace addresses the dilemmas facing Catholic education in an increasingly secular and consumer-driven culture. The book combines an original theoretical framework with research drawn from interviews with sixty Catholic secondary head teachers from deprived urban areas. Issues discussed include:
*Catholic meanings of academic success
*tensions between market values and Catholic values
*threats to the mission integrity of Catholic schools
*the spiritual, moral and social justice commitments of contemporary Catholic schools
This book will be equally useful to leaders of Catholic and other schools and to all those interested in values and leadership in schooling.

eBook available with sample pages: 020347127X

Reflecting Josemaria Escriva's belief that God can be found in professional and everyday settings, "The Way "blends passages from sacred Scripture with anecdotes drawn from Escriva's life and work, snatches of conversation, and selections from his personal letters. The direct, conversational writing style and its deeply felt humanity are among the book's main attractions and beautifully convey the belief that the human is not foreign to the divine and that the fully Christian spiritual attitude can be described as unity of life.
Since it was first published in 1939, more than four and a half million copies of "The Way "have been sold in forty-three different languages. This handsome paperback edition will take its place alongside such seminal works as John of the Cross's "Dark Night of the Soul," Thomas a Kempis's "Imitation of Christ, " and Teresa of Avila's "The Interior Castle."

The Scottish Reformation is often presumed to have had little economic impact. Traditionally, scholars maintained that Scotland's late medieval church gradually secularised its estates, and that the religious changes of 1560 barely disrupted an ongoing trend. In Riches and Reform Bess Rhodes challenges this assumption with a study of church finance in Scotland's religious capital of St Andrews, a place once regarded as the 'cheif and mother citie of the Realme'. Drawing on largely unpublished charters, rentals, and account books, Riches and Reform argues that in St Andrews the Reformation triggered a rapid, large-scale, and ultimately ruinous redistribution of ecclesiastical wealth. Communal assets built up over generations were suddenly dispersed through a combination of official policies, individual opportunism, and a crisis in local administration, leading the post-Reformation churches and city of St Andrews into 'poverte and decay'.

Engaging Deconstructive Theology presents an evangelical approach for theological conversation with postmodern thinkers. Themes are considered from Derrida, Foucault, Mark C. Taylor, Rorty, and Cupitt, developing dialogue from an open-minded evangelical perspective. Ron Michener draws upon insights from radical postmodern thought and seeks to advance an apologetic approach to the Christian faith that acknowledges a mosaic of human sources including experience, literature, and the imagination.

How do faith-based organizations influence the work of transnational peacebuilding, development, and human rights advocacy? How is the political role of such organizations informed by their religious ideas and practices? This book investigates this set of questions by examining how three transnational faith-based organizations-Religions for Peace, the Taize Community, and International Justice Mission-conceptualize their own religious practices, values, and identities, and how those acts and ideas inform their political goals and strategies. The book demonstrates the political importance of prayer in the work of transnational faith-based organizations, specifically in areas of conflict resolution, post-conflict integration, agenda setting, and in constituting narratives about justice and reconciliation. It also evaluates the distinctive strategies that faith-based organizations employ to navigate religious difference. A central goal of the book is to propose a new way to study "religion" in international politics, by actively questioning and reflecting on what it means for an act, idea, or community to be "religious."

Fresh, inclusive, creation-conscious prayers to nourish your soul—and the soul of your worship community. "We are called to name the extravagant wildness of God, the overflowing abundance of creation, and the deep aching need of a broken world in new words and images that speak to contemporary concerns.... [These prayers] are an invitation to pray boldly." —from the Introduction This special prayerbook is for today's Christians who find comfort in the rhythm of the traditional lectionary but long to connect with God in ways that are satisfying to the modern heart and mind. Founded on creativity, inclusivity and sharing, it encourages us to remember the divine elements of the natural world around us as we express our hopes and fears for others and ourselves. Inspiring words help us give thanks for human inventions and lament the evils of poverty, violence and oppression of all kinds while remaining mindful of God's promises of healing for a broken world. Following the annual procession of the seasons with prayers that are appropriate for personal devotion as well as for use in leading worship, these new ways to call on God will feed your soul and inspire you to find your own fresh language for thanksgiving, praise, intercession and petition, whether in your community or personal spiritual life.

Evangelical Christians are active across all spheres of intellectual and public life today. But a disconnect remains: the work they produce too often fails to inform their broader communities. In the midst of a divisive culture and a related crisis within evangelicalism, public intellectuals speaking from an evangelical perspective have a critical role to play-within the church and beyond. What does it look like to embrace such a vocation out of a commitment to the common good? Public Intellectuals and the Common Good draws together world-class scholars and practitioners to cast a vision for intellectuals who promote human flourishing. Representing various roles in the church, higher education, journalism, and the nonprofit sector, contributors reflect theologically on their work and assess current challenges and opportunities. What historically well-defined qualities of public intellectuals should be adopted now? What qualities should be jettisoned or reimagined? Public intellectuals are mediators-understanding and then articulating truth amid the complex realities of our world. The conversations represented in this book celebrate and provide guidance for those who through careful thinking, writing, speaking, and innovation cultivate the good of their communities. Contributors: Miroslav Volf Amos Yong Linda A. Livingstone Heather Templeton Dill Katelyn Beaty Emmanuel Katongole John M. Perkins and David Wright

Recent studies on the development of early Christianity emphasize the fragmentation of the late ancient world while paying less attention to a distinctive feature of the Christianity of this time which is its inter-connectivity. Both local and trans-regional networks of interaction contributed to the expansion of Christianity in this age of fragmentation. This volume investigates a specific aspect of this inter-connectivity in the area of the Mediterranean by focusing on the formation and operation of episcopal networks. The rise of the bishop as a major figure of authority resulted in an increase in long-distance communication among church elites coming from different geographical areas and belonging to distinct ecclesiastical and theological traditions. Locally, the bishops in their roles as teachers, defenders of faith, patrons etc. were expected to interact with individuals of diverse social background who formed their congregations and with secular authorities. Consequently, this volume explores the nature and quality of various types of episcopal relationships in Late Antiquity attempting to understand how they were established, cultivated and put to use across cultural, linguistic, social and geographical boundaries.