Author Kristen Johnson Ingram was photographing Native American dancers at an Oregon pow-wow when an official tapped her on the shoulder and asked her to stop taking pictures. "This is the prayer the dancer is doing," he explained. For people of faith, Ingram realized, there are many forms of prayer besides the ones we speak with our lips: Devout Jews bow while reading Torah; Episcopalians stand, sit, or kneel in church; exuberant Christians raise their arms; and mystics of all denominations walk while murmuring the Jesus Prayer. As Christians, we can use our entire bodies to praise God, transforming simple acts like hearing music, looking at shafts of sunlight, or walking in the woods into acts of prayer that celebrate God's presence in everyday life. Beyond Words is a book for spiritual adventurers who seek new ways to pray. Readers can put into practice the concepts they find here, making the book not just a source of inspiration but a springboard to action that deepens their prayer lives and draws them closer to God. Kristen Johnson Ingram is the author of more than twenty books, including Wine at the End of the Feast: Embracing Spiritual Change as We Age. She is also a writing instructor and a licensed preacher in the Episcopal Church.

We know it's important to be generous. But it can be hard to know what healthy stewardship looks like in our families and churches. What if God has deeper and richer lessons to teach us about what it means to live generously? Ignite Your Generosity will help you see your resources of time, talents and treasures in a fresh, God-honoring way. A twenty-one-day devotional, this book is now expanded with a four-week small group guide that is perfect for both individual and church use. Every day's reading features an engaging story, Scripture for further study and personal reflection questions to grow in the area of stewardship. Begin your journey of pursuing generosity God's way. Discover the joy and fulfillment that comes from a life of giving freely to his plans and purposes.

For centuries the Jesus Prayer has been leading Orthodox Christians beyond the language of liturgy and the representations of iconography into the wordless, imageless stillness of the mystery of God. In more recent years it has been helping a growing number of Western Christians to find a deeper relationship with God through the continual rhythmic repetition of a short prayer which, by general agreement, first emerged from the desert spirituality of early monasticism. In this study James Wellington explores the understanding and practice of the psalmody which underpinned this spirituality. By means of an investigation of the importance of psalmody in desert monasticism, an exploration of the influence of Evagrius of Pontus and a thorough examination of selected psalm-commentaries in circulation in the East at this time, he reveals a monastic culture which was particularly conducive to the emergence of a Christ-centred invocatory prayer.

This book explores the alliance of theology and music in the Christian liturgical tradition, interrogating the challenges posed by the gendered nature of church leadership in many areas of its life. It examines the relationship between theology, spirituality and music, concentrating on women's perceptions of these. The title draws on the Report of the Archbishop's Commission on Church Music from 1992 which was entitled In Tune with Heaven. It questions the absence of women's voices and experiences from the literature and attempts to redress this. It sets out the values that underpin Christian musical liturgical traditions primarily in Europe and the USA with a view to understanding where women are situated within or outside these traditions. It draws on material from many interviews with contemporary practitioners from a variety of contexts. It does not set out to be a definitive history of women in these traditions but simply to give some small vignettes that illustrate a variety of positions that they have occupied in various denominations - and thus make their often hidden contributions more visible.

The observation that domestic artefacts are often recovered during church excavations led to an archaeological re-assessment of forty-seven Early Byzantine basilical church excavations and their historical, gender and liturgical context. The excavations were restricted to the three most common basilical church plans to allow for like-for-like analysis between sites that share the same plan: monoapsidal, inscribed and triapsidal. These sites were later found to have two distinct sanctuary configurations, namely a -shaped sanctuary in front of the apse, or else a sanctuary that extended across both side aisles that often formed a characteristic T-shaped layout. Further analysis indicated that -shaped sanctuaries are found in two church plans: firstly a protruding monoapsidal plan that characteristically has a major entrance located to either side of the apse, which is also referred to as a 'Constantinopolitan' church plan; and secondly in the inscribed plan, which is also referred to as a 'Syrian' church plan. The T-shaped layout is characteristic of the triapsidal plan, but can also occur in a monoapsidal plan, and this is referred to as a 'Roman' church plan. Detailed analysis of inscriptions and patterns of artefactual deposition also revealed the probable location of the diakonikon where the rite of prothesis took place.

One of Library Journal's "Best Books 2013" (spirituality/religion) ForeWord 2013 Book of the Year Award Finalist (Graphic Novels and Comics) Thousands of people start each day with a shot of Coffee with Jesus, the enormously popular online comic strip. Irreverent at times, yet always insightful, this volume features classic entries and all new, exclusive material that was born out of artist David Wilkie's frustration with the polarized political climate in America. "Originally created as a one-off, single-panel comic on my blog, utilizing old advertising clip art for the main characters and Sunday school clip art for the person of Jesus, I simply enjoyed the notion of Jesus appearing at table with these people (dressed as they were and sharing coffee with them) to refute their claims of how he might vote on any particular issue, to convince them that they cannot confuse their flag with their God--to set them straight, as it were," explains Wilkie. But it didn't stop here. Soon the Jesus of Coffee with Jesus could be seen offering counsel to a recurring cast of characters on their personal and work lives. The characters--Carl, Lisa, Ann, Kevin and Joe--all honestly engage with Jesus about their successes and failures and wants and needs, effectively showing what conversation with God--or prayer--might look like. Poignant, pointed, and rife with good theology, Coffee with Jesus is organized around six themes: getting to know Jesus, spiritual disciplines, relationships, culture, church, and the challenges of life. With exclusive material like twelve-panel mega-strips and "behind the strip" reflections on life, faith and art, Wilkie inventively poses answers to the perpetual Christian speculation, "What would Jesus do?"

This book presents and evaluates the liturgical vision of Pope Benedict XVI and the theological background underlying that vision. It describes the main features of Joseph Ratzinger's theology of the liturgy and analyses them within the context of his theology as a whole. Ratzinger's evaluation of the contemporary Roman Catholic liturgy is explored in relation to his overall assessment of the post-Vatican II era in the Church, alongside an examination of his project of liturgical renewal ('reform of the reform') and its practical implementation during his pontificate. The author discusses the various critical voices which have been raised against the Pope's liturgical agenda and against certain aspects of his general theology. Overall, the book offers an assessment of the importance of Ratzinger's vision for the Church at the threshold of the third millennium.

The question of how to interpret scripture and whether there is a distinctively Anglican approach to doing so is one of the leading theological questions in the Anglican Communion. An Anglican Hermeneutic of the Transfiguration analyzes major Anglican interpretations of the Transfiguration from the eighth century to the present and suggests that Anglicans do in fact have a distinctive hermeneutical approach to this event. Moreover, this approach may point to larger trends in the interpretation of Scripture overall, but especially the Gospels. With respect to the Transfiguration, Anglicans interpret the event within the biblical context, assume its basic historic character, and juxtapose high Christology with the human limitations of Jesus' self-understanding. Furthermore, Anglicans draw pastoral implications for the lives of Jesus and the disciples from the Transfiguration and assert that the glory manifested on the mountain supports a partially realized eschatology. Finally, Anglicans write for well-educated, non-specialists in theology.

Jesus was condemned . . . so we could be set free. He was wounded . . . so we can be healed. He died . . . so we might have life. The cross has lost much of its appeal as a symbol of Christianity. Yet what Christ did at the cross remains central to our faith. In this richly designed book, Michael Card reflects on what it means for Christians that we meet our savior at a cross. Card combs the Old Testament prophecies and Gospel accounts of Jesus' self-sacrifice, seeking a renewed vision of the cross-the inconceivable meeting place of violence and grace.

The similarities and differences between poetry and worship have intrigued writers since at least the nineteenth century, when John Keble declared that poetic symbols could almost partake of the nature of sacraments. Since then poets, philosophers and literary critics alike have evoked the terms 'sacrament' and 'incarnation' to make claims about art and poetry. Extending and challenging this critical tradition, this book explores the influence of sacramental belief on the works of three Roman Catholic poets: the nineteenth-century Jesuit priest Gerard Manley Hopkins, the Anglo-Welsh artist David Jones and the Australian poet Les Murray. The author explores the idea that the incarnation and the sacraments embody both God's immanence and God's transcendence and argues that Hopkins, Jones and Murray all endeavour to enclose the 'open mystery' of the Divine while recognizing that it cannot be imprisoned. The volume sets their writings in conversation with each other's, as well as with literary, philosophical and theological discourse. The result is a study that shows the wonders, the mysteries and the difficulties of the sacramental worldview and its central place in the writings of these three major Catholic poets.

He is risen Now what? How does the resurrection of Jesus impact my everyday life, and why should I care? Pastor Ray Johnston provides a resource for individuals and communities who want to explore the implications of the Resurrection on Christian life. This Changes Everything explores thirty practical ways Christ's victory over the grave changed the lives of early believers and can transform us today. This resource has been given to thousands of new Christians at Bayside Church where the author is the founding pastor. While not primarily an apologetics text, This Changes Everything provides helpful apologetics resources while speaking practically about the impact of the resurrection of Jesus in ordinary life. Let your whole life declare, "He is risen, indeed "

Reading the writings of early church fathers points us to the deep joy that awaits us in Christ when we drink deeply from Scripture, the only water that can give us true life. This guide for reflection combines excerpts from the writings of the church fathers as found in the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture with a simple structure for daily or weekly reading and prayer. Included are fifty-two weeks of readings following the weekly lectionary cycle B which can be read in order or by thematic interest. Each day you will also find a simple opening and closing prayer drawn from the prayers and hymns of the ancient church. Come and find the deep nourishment God offers.

How can one believe in a God of love amid all the evil and suffering found in the world? How does one do theology 'after Auschwitz', while vast numbers of people still have to endure violent oppression every day? This book seeks to address such questions from a standpoint informed by life in Africa, which in the face of extraordinary difficulties bears witness to Gospel hope by demonstrating forgiveness in action and promoting reconciliation. The work unfolds in two parts. In the first part, a description of the misery that characterises much of life in Africa in the recent past opens up to a theological consideration of the underlying causes and of God's response to them. In the second part, the joy which is so characteristic of life in Africa even in places of immense suffering sets the scene for detailed reflections on liturgy, memory, forgiveness and hope.

Is post-modern society devoid of sacramentality or a sense of the sacred? This question is central to the challenges posed by revolutionary post-modern sensibilities that tend to render the rites for the celebration of the sacraments obsolete and irrelevant. To address this issue, the author applies the post-modern emphasis on plurality and radical particularity to the communal dimension of traditional societies exemplified in the worldview of the Igbo people of Southeast Nigeria to shed light on the liturgical celebration of reconciliation in the Church today. The contention is that the sacraments are multi-vocal symbols that cannot command the same meaning in different contexts. In this connection, this book provides a clear notion of the theological foundation, principle and framework of the sacrament of reconciliation and offers a practical guide for its authentic liturgical celebration in a plural context. Its argument is that all are being summoned to interpersonal encounter through dialogue, or a relationship founded on mutual recognition and respect for difference. On this basis, the book proposes possible reconciliation rites drawn from the Igbo communal existence that have the capacity to accommodate people with other faith perspectives in a common liturgical celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation.

An Ecofeminist Perspective on Ash Wednesday and Lent develops a conversation between classical historical Lenten practices and contemporary Christian ecofeminism. Building on David Tracy's definition of a religious classic, it includes a historical examination of the development of Lent and the Ash Wednesday rites beginning from wellsprings in the early church traditions of penance, catechumenal preparation, and asceticism through medieval and reformation expressions of the rite to their twentieth-century Episcopal iteration in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. In the discussion of ecofeminism, women's death experiences and current ecofeminist writings are used to develop an ecofeminist hermeneutic of mortality.

This book, which developed from an understanding of the dialectical relationship between theology and the church, provides information about the function and domain of language in the church through an analysis of its creedal statements. The study begins with an historical investigation of the crisis in linguistic interpretation in the church and theological community. Subsequently, a philosophical framework is presented through an investigation of particularly significant aspects of Ludwig Wittgenstein's later writings. Following a discussion of the alternative readings of Wittgenstein by theologians, examples are presented for ways in which we can apply Wittgenstein's linguistic approach to the interpretation of creeds. After distinguishing optional approaches to the creeds, the book presents an understanding of creedal statements in light of Wittgenstein. Reclaiming the functional nature of doxological language within its liturgical context provides a central connection between the language of the church and the actions of its members.

Wisdom and Humor from the Front Porch

Master storyteller Philip Gulley shares tender and hilarious real-life moments that capture the important truths of everyday life.

When Philip Gulley began writing newsletter essays for the twelve members of his Quaker meeting in Indiana, he had no idea one of them would find its way to radio commentator Paul Harvey Jr. and be read on the air to 24 million people. Fourteen books later, with more than a million books in print, Gulley still entertains as well as inspires from his small-town front porch.

This book explores theologically the practice of hospital chaplains seeking to meet the spiritual needs of parents bereaved by baby death in-utero. The lived experience of bereaved parents, gathered through a series of in-depth interviews, informs such an exploration. Parents describe the trauma of late miscarriage and stillbirth as still being shrouded by silence, myth and misunderstanding in contemporary society. Up-to-date theoretical understandings of grief are also re-examined in light of parents' stories of living with baby death. This book offers suggestions as to how the actual spiritual needs of parents may be met and their grief sensitively facilitated through the sharing of rituals co-constructed by parents and chaplain which seek to have theological integrity yet be relevant in our postomodern age. In our prevalent culture of caring, where increasingly ongoing professional and personal development are regarded as normative, recommendations are made which may aid reflection on current, or shape future, practice for chaplains, pastors, students and various healthcare professionals.

Right across denominational boundaries lay theology is dominated by negatives: the laity simply defined as the non-ordained, the alleged exclusion of the laity from full participation, the sole focus on what they cannot or should not do, and, above all, the total absence of an ecumenical lay theology. In a unique approach, this volume sets out to find ways of overcoming these negatives so predominant in current lay theology. The author explores positions and perspectives put forward in Roman Catholic theology from Vatican II up to the present. These are compared and contrasted with concepts and suggestions of present-day Anglican Theology as well as with those of liberative theologies in Latin America and Asia. Rethinking the content, language, and metaphors of lay theology, in the final part of this volume the author proposes a new image for discussing the Church, a model focusing on the interdependence and collaboration of all the people in the Church. This is then used to sketch out the framework for a new type of lay theology. Imbedded in ecclesiology, in the concept of all believers together being the Church, the author endeavours to suggest a lay theology that is indeed positive, ecumenical and universal.