The complete guide to spirit-filled speech and speaking with spirit

This book is a spiritual guide to using the holy gift of speech. It is a ... how-to ... grounded in a humble way of being, expressing an attitude of gratitude toward the tongue, in the knowledge that speech is a gift from God and we have a choice to use our mouths virtuously, in the most humble and searching sense of that word. from the Introduction

So much of our time is spent in conversation, yet little time is devoted to thinking about the words we choose to use, or the manner in which we speak. Taking the time to make our words count to make our speech sacred can lead to positive changes in our lives, and improve our relationships with others.

"Sacred Speech" is a personal, warm-hearted approach to a complex matter how we can use speech in holy ways. Drawing support from literary and spiritual sources, Rev. Donna Schaper offers compelling advice from her own experience as a clergyperson, teacher, partner, and parent, empowering us to: Acknowledge the Divine in the words we use Use speech to maximize the possibility of love and care Use speech to minimize fear Link, connect, and contact with others through words

A clear invitation to improve our communications with others, "Sacred Speech" is ideal for spiritual and religious leaders, professionals who work in multifaith settings, the politically correct and the not-so politically correct, and anyone who wants to do more than simply "watch what they say."

As membership in traditional churches or religious institutions plummets, the meaning of marriage is changing rapidly. Interfaith marriages are on the rise, creating new challenges from wedding planning to childraising. People of faith are marrying nonreligious people. Many question the institution of marriage itself. At a time when those identifying as spiritual but not religious is on the rise, Pastor Donna Schaper provides a roadmap to help readers to understand this continuing transition of marriage after both culture and religion are no longer of one voice about its meaning.

About the Contributor(s): The Rev. Dr. Donna Schaper is Senior Minister of Judson Memorial Church in New York City and the author of thirty books, mostly about keeping Sabbath while gardening and being an activist. Best known for being dismembered by a garden club, she spends her days loving parish ministry in New York City. She also grows a great tomato and gathers sticks to build evening fires at her country shack in Fishkill, New York.

Through fascinating anecdotes and narrative stories, Donna Schaper relates these ancient texts to contemporary situations. She skillfully applies the Gospel of life and hope to circumstances of suffering and death.

The user-friendly, interfaith guide to making and using labyrinths for meditation, prayer and celebration updated, revised and expanded

A labyrinth is a circuitous path that people have used as a form of prayer and meditation for thousands of years a path that is being rediscovered as a spiritual tool in our own day. There are now thousands of labyrinths in North America, made of stone, cement, sunflowers, grass or canvas; indoors and outdoors; in Christian, Pagan and even nonreligious settings; and adaptable for use by people of all spiritual backgrounds. This guide explains how the labyrinth is a symbol that transcends traditions, and how walking its path brings us together.

Here is your entry to the fascinating history and philosophy of the labyrinth walk, with directions for making a labyrinth of your own or nding one in your area, and guidance on ways to use labyrinths creatively for:

Prayer Stress reduction Meditation Commemorating personal orfamily milestones Faith rituals Celebrations of all kinds

Labyrinths a twenty- rst century method of approaching the sacred are a spiritual practice more ancient than Stonehenge or the ruins of Troy. This practical and inspiring guide will help you to explore them."

While there are no easy answers to loss and death, Mature Grief offers a compass to anyone navigating the unknown and uncharted waters of grief. Each life comes from God. It begins with God and has no end. Our parents came from God, out from the circle of eternity, bestowed with goodness, and in dying they return to God. Their circle is complete. And in between, their spirits splashed-down here briefly in a quiet eddy at the edge of the flowing river of time. Our lives began as a ripple of their lives. And their deaths may provoke a tidal wave of grief. In this thoughtful and practical book, pastor Donna Schaper guides the reader through the process of grieving the death of a parent. While acknowledging that every person s experience of grieving the death of a parent is unique, she offers helpful insight to the reality that some occasions of grief are quite simple and others, for reasons as complicated as life itself, are fraught with confusion and complexity. Especially helpful is Schaper s wise guidance for making transitions: dealing with belongings, family dynamics, birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, and other important dates."

The third in Cowley's Cloister Book series, Sabbath Keeping is a collection of ten meditations, each exploring a different aspect of keeping the sabbath and ending with a prayer. Since it is a difficult art in a society that does not value rest, Schaper encourages small acts of sabbath keeping that initially focus on physical and mental renewal but soon broaden to questions of justice and power. She begins with a chapter called "What is Sabbath?" and goes to the Bible for definitions, from the ordinances surrounding sabbath in the Hebrew Bible to the gospel stories about the Sabbath. Other meditations concern sabbath and music, sabbath and the body, prayer, focusing and decluttering, sabbath and memory, sabbath as the relinquishing of power, and sabbath as an act of resistance.

The user-friendly, interfaith guide to making and using labyrinths—for meditation, prayer and celebration—updated, revised and expanded! A labyrinth is a circuitous path that people have used as a form of prayer and meditation for thousands of years—a path that is being rediscovered as a spiritual tool in our own day. There are now thousands of labyrinths in North America, made of stone, cement, sunflowers, grass or canvas; indoors and outdoors; in Christian, Pagan and even nonreligious settings; and adaptable for use by people of all spiritual backgrounds. This guide explains how the labyrinth is a symbol that transcends traditions, and how walking its path brings us together. Here is your entry to the fascinating history and philosophy of the labyrinth walk, with directions for making a labyrinth of your own or finding one in your area, and guidance on ways to use labyrinths creatively for: Prayer • Stress reduction • Meditation • Commemorating personal or family milestones • Faith rituals • Celebrations of all kinds Labyrinths—a twenty-first century method of approaching the sacred—are a spiritual practice more ancient than Stonehenge or the ruins of Troy. This practical and inspiring guide will help you to explore them.

In her more than forty years as a minister, Rev. Donna Schaper has been approached hundreds of times by people wanting to know how to prepare for the end of life in both practical and spiritual matters. Countless others have turned to her for guidance on how to handle the death of a loved one. From making a will and planning a memorial service to finding peace in the toughest circumstances, Approaching the End of Life offers practical and spiritual guidance to anyone wrestling with the end of a life. With sensitivity and humor Rev. Schaper helps readers face aging and mortality with freedom rather than fear. She encourages readers to find a spiritual home of some kind-even if it is far from the doors of a church-and offers helpful suggestions on memorials and funeral services that will be well suited to the departed while serving the loved ones in their grief and celebration. The book also includes practical resources such as a service planning checklist, a template for a funeral or memorial service, and more.