Relate the themes of scripture to the everyday concerns of modern life with this collection of penetrating prayers written in an informal, personal style. The first-person language encourages individual accountability while affirming our common sins and the sense of community upon which Christian worship is built. Based on lectionary scripture passages, there are original prayers of confession for each Sunday plus several special days in the church year.
Whether read aloud or contemplated silently, these tried and proven prayers will add a freshly honest, contemporary texture to your Sunday morning worship -- or provide meaningful insight for Bible study classes and personal devotions.
"Wade's work reflects a keen and well-grounded theological awareness, a sensitivity to the real-life issues we face, and powerful, daring language that makes available to us the possibility of faithfulness and liveliness in worship. This book of prayers may help the church (and its pastors) refocus so that we can re-engage our mission."
Walter Brueggemann
William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament
Columbia Theological Seminary
"Real feeling, common guilt, cosmic sin, and personal failure are given expression in these prayers of confession that define the human quest for wholeness in God's presence. Worship is enlivened as personal prayers become common prayer."
George W. Otto
Former Executive Director
United Church of Christ Stewardship Council
David L. Wade is a United Church of Christ pastor who has served congregations in Wyoming and Indiana. He also spent more than a decade as an ecumenical campus minister at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.

For those outside the cloister Norvene Vest sets the elements of the Rule 'regular prayer and prayerful attention to work 'within the silence which enables us to listen to, reflect on, and respond to God's cal.

Worship ought to be the exclamation point of Christian experience. Given the regularity with which it is shared, however, and the sameness that its practice inevitably takes, fresh approaches are a constant need.
This planning resource addresses the need for new ideas in a familiar setting. Wayne Keller has provided a parade of creative alternatives to liturgy, music, preaching and prayer.
Based on the liturgical worship days on the Cycle C lectionary calendar, these resources can enrich worship in congregations whether liturgical or free. A pastor and worship planning team can use the material every week or choose to use it sparingly. A helpful worship planner page follows each Sunday's resources.
A hands-on appendix by Warren S. Satterlee II offers practical help for the creation of worship banners for the congregation.
Wayne H. Keller is pastor of Trinity United Presbyterian Church, Sedro Wolley, Washington. He has throughout his parish ministry self-consciously endeavored to make the worship experience a lively and meaningful event. He indicates that his teenage son never reported to have been bored at worship when his father was presiding. Wayne Keller is also a regular contributing columnist for "Rite Ideas," a monthly worship resource letter published by CSS Publishing Company.
Warren S. Satterlee II is an active lay member of Grace United Methodist Church, Arlington, Texas. His artistic work has recently included teaching art concepts, custom designing, logo designing, banner and visual fabrication, and work in print making.

Thousands of Lutheran pastors, worship planners, parish organists, and music directors have already found "Scriptural And Topical Indices To LBW " by Paul E. Schuessler, Thomas R. Bartsch, and David P. Rebeck to be an invaluable planning tool for weekly services and special events.
Now, users of the Lutheran three-year lectionary will want to add this companion volume, "Lectionary Indices To LBW," to their worship libraries.
Compiled by a Lutheran parish organist, this index is a thorough guide to LBW hymns for each scripture selection in the three-year lectionary. Listed are hymns for all three cycles (A, B, and C) -- including the First Lesson, Second Lesson, Gospel, Psalm, Verse, and Offertory for each week. Hymns are listed by number and title (making this resource useful to many who do not use the LBW, as well), and are arranged chronologically by Sunday for each lectionary year.
If you already have a copy of "Scriptural And Topical Indices To LBW," you will want to make a space on your bookshelf for "Lectionary Indices To LBW." (If you don't have either, you will want to make a space for both )
Until her death, Margy M. Nelson was organist for Swedesburg Lutheran Church, Swedesburg, Iowa. She attended the University of Iowa and Iowa Wesleyan College.

Here are five creative worship services for five special days on the Christian worship calendar. Each service involves the congregation in responsive readings, participation in contemporary prayers, and appropriate hymnody, psalmody, and scripture. Each service is accompanied with a highly creative sermon dialog to be shared by 3, 4, 5, or 7 readers.
The services and dialogs lead worshipers down familiar and appropriate paths to confrontation with the living Christ and the God of grace, whom we meet in the Lenten season in a special way.
The Path of Maturity -- Ash Wednesday
The Path of Quality -- Palm Sunday
The Path of Integrity -- Maundy Thursday
The Path of Dignity -- Good Friday
The Path of Creativity -- Easter Day
William R. Grimbol is a Presbyterian pastor, living in Sag Harbor, New York. In addition to parish ministry work he is involved in the larger community and continues an avocation of creative writing.

Convenient and user-friendly, this one-volume guide provides resources for the entire three-year lectionary cycle, including midweek festival days. Brief comments on each of the three daily biblical texts identify themes for the day, musical settings for the appointed psalm are offered, organ music appropriate for the day is suggested, anthems for the day are graded according to difficulty, and hymns of the day are keyed to several hymnals. Pastors, music leaders, and worship committees will find much practical assistance for worship planning in the "Handbook for the Common Lectionary."

Over 100 responsive prayers are included in this useful resource. They may be used either as beginning "Calls to Worship" or at another place within the service. The author has organized the material in eight categories:
- Christ's Life
- The Holy Spirit
- Christian Values
- Consecration
- The Christian Life
- Gratitude and Praise
- The Church
- Special Occasions
By using one prayer each week, a congregation will have a new prayer for each worship service for two entire years.
Linda J. Werman is a Christian laywoman, active church participant, and freelance writer living in Ashland, Ohio.

When he entered Gethsemani Abbey in 1941, Merton embraced a hidden life . By the time he died nearly thirty years later, he was well known as `a witness to life', a friend of people around the world, and a keen observer of both church and society. Those who knew him and who have studied his published works reflect here on his influence on Church and society.

Worship--the central task of the Christian community--is the focus of this thought-provoking book. William Willimon moves from theological understanding to the practical skills needed for preaching and worship leadership. He offers useful guidelines for conducting public prayer and for celebrating the Lord's Supper and Baptism. Focusing on preaching, he describes how to construct a sermon, deliver it convincingly, and evaluate it. He concludes with valuable suggestions for involving the laity in worship.

Merton presents one of the most significant encyclical letters of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, together with an introduction to the life and teachings of the great mystic. "A study that will have to be on the shelves of all libraries and in the personal collections of all who are interested in spirituality" (Catholic World). Index.

"The whole problem of our time is the problem of love. How are we going to recover the ability to love ourselves and to love one another?"

"We cannot be at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves, and we cannot be at peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God".

"There is a distinction between a contrite sense of sin and a feeling of guilt. The former is a true and healthy thing, the latter tends to be false and pathological".

"The man who suffers from a sense of guilt does not want to feel guilty, but at the same time he does not want to be innocent. He wants to do what he thinks he must not do, without the pain of worrying about the consequences".

"The history of our time has been made by dictators whose characters, often transparently easy to read, have been full of repressed guilt. They have managed to enlist the support of masses of men moved by the same repressed drives as themselves".

"Modern dictatorships display everywhere a deliberate and calculated hatred for human nature as such. The technique of degradation used in concentration camps and in staged trials are all too familiar in our time. They have one purpose: to defile the human person".

In this book, one of the world's leading scholars on the history of religion in Africa shows how Christianity has been transformed as it has been adopted by black Africans, from the introduction of Christianity in the seventeenth century to the present. Richard Gray finds that Africans have not meekly accepted monolithic Western practices and interpretations but have appropriated Christian faith for specific needs and added to it insights of their own. "Gray's theological conclusions are fascinating, and the book forms a useful contribution to the study of missions in Africa."-Eugeniah Adoyo, Theological Book Review "Gray's most significant contribution is his essay that compares differing concepts of evil in the cosmologies of Christianity and traditional African religions. This compact, well-written volume has extensive footnotes. It is recommended for specialists, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates."-Choice "A thoughtful and informative book, well worth reading."-Joseph C. McKenna, Theological Studies "Concrete and detailed cases support Gray's lucid account of this transformation in Africa."-Wyatt MacGaffey, American Historical Review "The work of a master historian and demonstrates archival detective work and scholarly analysis at its finest. Anyone interested in the introduction and development of Christianity in Africa will find this book particularly valuable."-Roger B. Beck, History: Reviews of New Books "Christianity in Africa has too often been written about by those who recognize only its sociological consequences. Gray . . . writes . . . with insights that are not found often enough in studies of black Christians and white (and black) missionaries in Africa, and this is welcome."-M. Louise Pirouet, International Journal of the African Historical Society

This book offers a modern analysis of religious practices. Topics discussed include renewing Islamic discourse; the re-scripting of the Jihad; churches and campaign activity; continuity and change in prison chaplaincy; gender violence in Muslim societies; religion and politics in Malawi and a discussion of whether religion produces or reduces corruption, as well as the question of whether religion causes violence.

El "Manual para entender y participar en la Misa" es su guia para la celebracion liturgica. En este libro, el Padre Juan J. Sosa nos ensena que la Misa es una celebracion que puede cambiar la vida de muchas personas que esten listas para ser testigos del mensaje que Jesus nos da como familias, trabajadores y catolicos.

Vea como Rosa y Fernando, una pareja que se presenta al principio de este libro, aprenden como sus acciones y oraciones durante la Misa los ayudan en su conversion y los enriquece en su fe.

Mientras lee el "Manual para entender y participar en la Misa, " usted tambien podra valorar la celebracion con una mejor apreciacion del mensaje de la salvacion.

Die Geschichte der Neuapostolischen Kirche in der NS-Zeit wird anhand bisher unerforschter Quellen aus vielen Archiven neu geschrieben. Die quellenkritische Analyse fuhrte schliesslich zu der Fragestellung und Analysekategorie der "inszenierten Loyalitaten". Ein besonderer Fokus liegt auf den Akteuren und deren Handlungspraxis. So wird die formale und materiale NS-Belastung von Funktionstragern beleuchtet, die uberwachte Korrespondenz mit jener verglichen, die unter Umgehung der Zensur gefuhrt wurde, die Zeitschrift "Unsere Familie" einer kritischen Betrachtung unterzogen. Ein Schwerpunkt liegt auf den Einzelschicksalen neuapostolischer Christen judischer Herkunft sowie dem Umgang der Kirche mit ihnen. Damit liegt eine Grundlagenforschung zu vielen Themenbereichen aus einem dunklen Kapitel deutscher Geschichte vor.

Since 1876, Jehovah's Witnesses have believed that they are living in the last days of the present world. Charles T. Russell, their founder, advised his followers that members of Christ's church would be raptured in 1878, and by 1914 Christ would destroy the nations and establish his kingdom on earth. The first prophecy was not fulfilled, but the outbreak of the First World War lent some credibility to the second. Ever since that time, Jehovah's Witnesses have been predicting that the world would end "shortly." Their numbers have grown to many millions in over two hundred countries. They distribute a billion pieces of literature annually, and continue to anticipate the end of the world. For almost thirty years, M. James Penton's Apocalypse Delayed has been the definitive scholarly study of this religious movement. As a former member of the sect, Penton offers a comprehensive overview of the Jehovah's Witnesses. His book is divided into three parts, each presenting the Witnesses' story in a different context: historical, doctrinal, and sociological. Some of the issues he discusses are known to the general public, such as the sect's opposition to military service and blood transfusions. Others involve internal controversies, including political control of the organization and the handling of dissent within the ranks. Thoroughly revised, the third edition of Penton's classic text includes substantial new information on the sources of Russell's theology and on the church's early leaders, as well as coverage of important developments within the sect since the second edition was published fifteen years ago.

Multifaith spaces reflect the diversity of the modern world and enable a connection between individuals from different religious backgrounds. These spaces also highlight the complex and sensitive areas of political and social debates regarding the emergence of densely urbanised populations. They hold the potential to encourage connection and dialogue between members of different communities, promoting empathy, community and shared activity for the betterment of society. This book explores the history, development, design and practicalities of multifaith spaces from the early shared religious buildings that had to cater for two or more faiths, to the shared multifaith spaces of modern secular locations such as universities, airports and hospitals. Terry Biddington looks at the architectural, theological, social, legal and practical complexities that arise from the development and use of such spaces. The book also draws together research to enable further development of multifaith spaces.

We might be relieved if God placed our sanctification only in the hands of trained professionals, but that is not his plan. Instead, through the ministry of every part of the body, the whole church will mature in Christ. Paul David Tripp helps us discover where change is needed in our own lives and the lives of others. Following the example of Jesus, Tripp reveals how to get to know people, and how to lovingly speak truth to them.

As Pope Francis continues to make his mark on the church, there is increased interest in his Jesuit background-what is the Society of Jesus, how is it different from other religious orders, and how has it shaped the world? In The Jesuits, acclaimed historian John W. O'Malley, SJ, provides essential historical background from the founder Ignatius of Loyola through the present. The book tells the story of the Jesuits' great successes as missionaries, educators, scientists, cartographers, polemicists, theologians, poets, patrons of the arts, and confessors to kings. It tells the story of their failures and of the calamity that struck them in 1773 when Pope Clement XIV suppressed them worldwide. It tells how a subsequent pope restored them to life and how they have fared to this day in virtually every country in the world. Along the way it introduces readers to key figures in Jesuit history, such as Matteo Ricci and Pedro Arrupe, and important Jesuit writings, such as the Spiritual Exercises. Concise and compelling, The Jesuits is an accessible introduction for anyone interested in world or church history. In addition to the narrative, the book provides a timeline, a list of significant figures, photos of important figures and locations, recommendations for additional reading, and more. The paperback features a new Preface that examines the significant global work of the Jesuits today, including the impact of the first Jesuit pope, the work of the Jesuit Refugee Service, and more.