Beyond the Next Village is Mary Anne Mercer's memoir of discovery, growth, and awakening in 1978 Nepal, which was then a mysterious country to most of the world. After arriving in Nepal, Mercer, an American nurse, spent a year traveling on foot-often in flip-flops-with a Nepali health team, providing immunizations and clinical care in each village they visited. Communicating in a newly acquired language, she was often called upon to provide the only modern medicine available to the people she and her team were serving. Over time, she learned to recognize and respect the prominence of their cultural beliefs about health and illness. Encounters with life-threatening conditions such as severe malnutrition and ectopic pregnancy gave her an enlightening view of both the limitations and power of modern health care; immersed in villagers' lives and those of her own team, she realized she was living in not just another country, but another time. This unique story of the joys and perils of one woman's journey in the shadow of the Himalayas, Beyond the Next Village opens a window into a world where the spirits were as real as the trees, the birds, or the rain-and healing could be as much magic as medicine.

This Love story affirms that all choices, no matter how unimportant, often have scattering effects. It is a story of needs and disillusionments as much as passion.

The year is 1937. It has been a long journey for Poppy and her two sons, A.J. and Beau. Poppy's harrowing marriage to Jay Alexander has ended; however, he was given every opportunity to develop strength of character.

Poppy's decision to house Beau in the Baxley Home for Boys was guaranteed to bring heartbreak and tragedy.

Twenty long years have passed, and Beau is now a grown man. Investigators have been hired to locate Poppy and A.J.

Poppy's Garment Factory is a fashionable success, and she manages to survive on her own terms.

Welcoming Children develops a theology of childhood both from a theological perspective and from practical experience in children and youth ministry. The author draws insights from classic and modern feminist theologians, pastoral theologians, and contemporary cultural criticism to offer strategies for educational and liturgical practices in congregations that welcome children and contribute to their flourishing. Mercer outlines a feminist practical theology of childhood exploring five basic theological claims: 1) children as gifts and parenting as a religious practice of stewardship; 2) welcoming those who care for children; 3) children as fully human; 4) children as part of God's purposes; and 5) acknowledging and transforming the sufferings of children. Her compelling argument reframes ministries with children as processes through which the church can become the foundation for children forming identities that resist consumerist culture and instead walk in the ways of Jesus.

Opening the Field of Practical Theology introduces students to practical theology through an examination of fifteen different approaches-ranging from feminist to liberationist, Roman Catholic to evangelical, Asian American to Latino/a. After an introduction to the field of practical theology and its broad range of practice today, the book features chapters written by leading experts in the discipline. Each chapter has an identical structure to facilitate comparison, covering historical context, key features and figures, norms and sources of authority, theory-practice, contexts, interdisciplinary considerations, areas of current and future research, and suggested readings. Opening the Field of Practical Theology is an ideal introduction to the field, highlighting the diverse ways practical theology is engaged today.

Opening the Field of Practical Theology introduces students to practical theology through an examination of fifteen different approaches-ranging from feminist to liberationist, Roman Catholic to evangelical, Asian American to Latino/a. After an introduction to the field of practical theology and its broad range of practice today, the book features chapters written by leading experts in the discipline. Each chapter has an identical structure to facilitate comparison, covering historical context, key features and figures, norms and sources of authority, theory-practice, contexts, interdisciplinary considerations, areas of current and future research, and suggested readings. Opening the Field of Practical Theology is an ideal introduction to the field, highlighting the diverse ways practical theology is engaged today.