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""From church pews to library carrels, from the tear gas of political demonstrations to the wails of an infant, and from writer's pen to elevated pulpit, these women speak to a new generation of feminist Christians. They invite a conversation with sister-travelers seeking to be faithful to themselves, to each other, to their communities, to their religious inheritance, to their feminist commitments, and to their best, most creative work."" --from the Foreword by Rita Nakashima Brock""Do you feel alone in your search to be a feminist and a Christian? Does it often feel impossible to reconcile these two seemingly disparate ideologies? Do you ever have feelings of doubt or disillusionment about your faith tradition? And what does it mean to be a feminist anyway?"" --from the IntroductionIn My Red Couch, 24 third-wave feminist women and one man, ages 18-36, tell their stories of seeking to reconcile their faith and their feminism. This book of narrative essays and practical discussion suggestions is for all those who seek an authentic path of Christian faith and social justice defined by contemporary feminism.The book is divided into four parts with five or six essays in each part: 1) In Search of Integrity; 2) In Search of Community; 3) In Search of Creativity; and 4) In Search of Tensegrity. The resource is ideal for both individual and group settings.Contributors are: Sadie Ackerman, Elizabeth J. Andrew, Claire Bischoff, Laurie Brock, Mary Lousie Bozza, Carol Brorsen, Adam J. Copeland, Rachel Gaffron, Megan Gavin, Katie Haegele, April Heaney, Janet Holbrook, Sara Irwin, HyeRan Kim-Cragg, Mary Ann McKibben Dana, Monica Ann Maestras, Ann Crews Melton, Christiana Z. Peppard, Kelsey Rice, Ellie Roscher, Heather Scheiwe, Heather Grace Shortlidge, Monique Simpson, and Megan J. Thorvilson.

Wising Up provides rituals and guidance for women as they age. It helps them make the often difficult life transitions wisely and in the context of their faith communities. Instead of focusing exclusively on time-worn thresholds such as menopause, marriage and divorce, and dying, the book contains affirming rituals on: coming to terms with the changes in one's body; learning to live with and depend on an item like a walker or a hearing aid; giving up one's driver's license; deciding how to give away one's household contents; and being orphaned. In addition to the rituals--and guidelines on how to create one's own rituals--the book contains a number of short stories, hymns, prayers, quotations, and poems to help ease women through the aging process.Contributors: Susan Beehler, Teresa Berger, Kathy Black, Ruth Duck, Heather Murray Elkins, Brigitte Enzner-Probst, Martha Whitmore Hickman, Martha Ann Kirk, Mary Elizabeth Mullino Moore, Susan Roll, Deborah Sokolove, Linda J. Vogel, and Janet Walton.""Wising Up is a wise book. Black and Elkins gather together a wonderful treasure of wisdom on women's experiences of vulnerability, illness, aging, and dying. They provide useable liturgies to guide support communities in sustaining one another in these processes of transition in older life."" --Rosemary Radford Ruether, Carpenter Professor of Feminist Theology at Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California""Wising Up is both refreshing and timely. The rituals invite women and their communities to age with wisdom and grace, challenge them to pay attention to the joys and sorrows of growing older, and show how to craft ceremonies that mark transitions in the journey of aging and to honor Wisdom's ways."" --Diann L. Neu, co-founder and co-director of WATER: The Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual in Silver Springs, MarylandKathy Black holds the Gerald Kennedy Chair of Homiletics and Liturgics at the Claremont School of Theology and is the author of A Healing Homiletic, Worship Across Cultures, and Culturally--Conscious Worship.Heather Murray Elkins is Professor of Worship and Liturgical Studies at Drew University Theological School in Madison, New Jersey. She is the author of Worshiping Women.

In Tevye's Grandchildren: Rediscovering a Jewish Identity, Eleanor Mallet describes the unusual journey she took to understand her Jewish past. Like many American Jews, she was secular, assimilated and part of the successful mainstream. When her sons came of age, they reached for a richer, more open way of being Jewish. Their interest sent her on an exploration in which she plunged into the dynamic and relatively recent field of Jewish history, studied Hebrew and traveled to Israel and Germany.Mallet's book provides a tour, from a personal vantage, of the historical forces that are in play for Jews today. In it she connects the spare outline of her Jewish past with its fleshy, fractured history. Her Judaism had a passionate center, which found expression in part in Israel. Yet it was also filled with the dissonance that flowed from American assimilation and the Holocaust's aftermath. These are the forces that have preoccupied the Jewish community for quite some time. Understanding them has taken on a new urgency with the recent and not always welcome prominence Jewishness and Israel have on today's world stage.

Every day we make thousands of decisions. Most cause us no anxiety and challenge us hardly at all. And then, just when we are comfortable, we are forced to make difficult decisions. The decision could change the direction of our lives or have consequences for the ones we love. What do we do?We can rely on Scripture to direct us through the trials of daily life. The Bible and Decision Making shows how, through careful and regular study of Scripture, we can develop a base from which to make the hard choices in life.Insights: Bible Studies for Growing Faith is a fresh and timely Bible study series. In these short-term, thematically based resources, individuals and groups are invited to find meaning and direction for their lives by exploring the Scriptures in a way that is both thoughtful and thought-provoking.

Love is a five-week Bible study that will take individuals and groups on an excursion to love by addressing its contemporary issues as well as revisiting biblical highlights from the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures that shed light on its nature. Selections include passages from Psalm 136, Romans 12, Luke 6, and 1 Corinthians 13.Insights: Bible Studies for Growing Faith is a fresh and timely Bible study series. In these short-term, thematically based resources, individuals and groups are invited to find meaning and direction for their lives by exploring the Scriptures in a way that is both thoughtful and thought-provoking.

Facing Change explores how Christians can face change in their lives from a faith-based, biblical perspective. Readers will learn how God is present amid change and how faith sustains them. Study questions are provided at the end of each chapter.Insights: Bible Studies for Growing Faith is a fresh and timely Bible study series. In these short-term, thematically based resources, individuals and groups are invited to find meaning and direction for their lives by exploring the Scriptures in a way that is both thoughtful and thought-provoking.

Deciphering women's stories in the Bible can be frustrating and lead to dead ends. So many women appear once and then disappear. Most are not even given a name. Women in the Bible uncovers women's stories and provides tools for studying women in the Bible. Each chapter examines a particular group of women, such as wives and mothers, prophets and leaders, then focuses on individual women.Insights: Bible Studies for Growing Faith is a fresh and timely Bible study series. In these short-term, thematically based resources, individuals and groups are invited to find meaning and direction for their lives by exploring the Scriptures in a way that is both thoughtful and thought-provoking.

A User's Guide to the Bible is a practical introduction to the Bible for adults. In this study you will learn about the contents, date, and authorship of each biblical book, be introduced to some basic Bible study tools, and learn how to use them.Insights: Bible Studies for Growing Faith is a fresh and timely Bible study series. In these short-term, thematically based resources, individuals and groups are invited to find meaning and direction for their lives by exploring the Scriptures in a way that is both thoughtful and thought-provoking.

Job is a brief yet complete guide to the Hebrew Scriptures' Book of Job. In an accessible way, Whitfield invites readers to ponder such questions as: What is God really like?, why should we worship God?, why do the righteous suffer?, will our relationship with God improve if we are critical of traditional religious beliefs?, and is the ""quid pro quo"" idea of the God-human relationship still alive and healthy?Insights: Bible Studies for Growing Faith is a fresh and timely Bible study series. In these short-term, thematically based resources, individuals and groups are invited to find meaning and direction for their lives by exploring the Scriptures in a way that is both thoughtful and thought-provoking.

The Bible and Spiritual Disciplines explores six pivotal components of classic Christian spirituality: Sabbath, intercessory prayer, fasting, stewardship, living into one's call, and accountability. Through these disciplines, readers may discover ways of living an intentional and fruitful spiritual life. Questions are provided at the end of each chapter for further reflection and discussion.Insights: Bible Studies for Growing Faith is a fresh and timely Bible study series. In these short-term, thematically based resources, individuals and groups are invited to find meaning and direction for their lives by exploring the Scriptures in a way that is both thoughtful and thought-provoking.

Based on Ephesians 6:11-12: ""Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil,"" Powers and Principalities is an analysis of the New Testament's view of the influence of transcendent powers on the social, political, and religious structures and institutions of the world and, consequently on the lives of individuals and nations. It considers the origins of this view and gives specific examples of the powers in contemporary life.Insights: Bible Studies for Growing Faith is a fresh and timely Bible study series. In these short-term, thematically based resources, individuals and groups are invited to find meaning and direction for their lives by exploring the Scriptures in a way that is both thoughtful and thought-provoking.

James E. Huchingson takes computer and information science seriously in this constructive theology. Central to his reflection is an understanding of the primordial chaos--Pandemonium Tremendum--not as destructive, but as the source out of which God creates, sustains, and empowers creatures to become co-creators.

Bound Together is a unique resource that addresses the intrinsic relationship between social justice issues and local faith and ecumenical community building. Bos articulates the theological warrants for ecumenical and interfaith ministry at a local level, showing how neighboring congregations of various denominations or faiths, simply by virtue of their common relationship to a surrounding community, have a theological connection that can cooperatively undergird joint ministry ventures. He explores how congregations or denominations of the same or different faiths can combine their resources and design a common strategy or program in response to the needs and assets of their particular community. To demonstrate, he takes a close look at both the African American denominations and the theology of the laity movement.

The Grace of Sophia reaches out to Korean North American women, including former victims of severe religious and cultural suffering in Korea and current casualties of racism, classism, and sexism in North America. By sharing her own views on racism, the patriarchal Korean society, and multifaith understandings of wisdom, author Grace Ji-Sun Kim offers strength for the journey to empowerment and hope in the search for a liberative Korean North American women's Christology.

""No matter how you identify yourself on the wide spectrum of gender--and some people find themselves in significantly different locations on that spectrum from day to day--if you're Christian and you care about issues of gender, transgender, and justice, this book is for you.""--from the IntroductionBased on their own journeys as transgendered Christians, Mollenkott and Sheridan have created an inspiring book about hope, opportunity, struggle, joy, difficulty, and transcendence. They offer information and inspiration while sharing real-life experiences about the joy and pain of being both Christian and gender-variant to illustrate how each person's enactment of their authentic self helps to create an environment that moves toward moral justice for all persons. Those who identify as gender-variant or are struggling with their own identity will find this book a useful companion on their journey. It is also a valuable resource for those seeking to help their communities take the next steps toward a more just society. Chapter topics include:- Equipping for the Journey - Reordering Our Travel Priorities - Virginia Ramey Mollenkott's Gender-Variant Journey - Vanessa Sheridan's GenderVariant Journey - What Does It Mean to Walk a Transgender Christian Pathway? - Reclaiming Our Territory, Mapping Our Pathway - Developing a Theology for the Transgender Journey - Coming Out as an Act of Faith - Wilderness Pilgrims and Prophets - Steps that Lie Ahead

""My passion is embodied learning. Through twenty-five years of teaching, I've learned that students engage with material best when their bodies are active participants in the learning process. I have found this to be particularly true in teaching religious studies and theology.""--from the IntroductionPeople are torn by conflict, fractured by cultural, religious, racial, and economic divides. Religion has often been a prime motivator for this violence. Classrooms must be places in which we learn to hold differences and commonalities. Classrooms are opportunities to rehearse, to practice, how we want to live with one another. Religions, says Rue, are more than ideas: they are lived, enacted by human beings in particular ways. And courses in religion need more than a cognitive understanding of central concepts. Rue asserts that students need to viscerally encounter belief, religious practice, religious imagination, and religious experience. Acting Religious, a practical handbook, maps a new approach that uses theatre to teach religion. For many years, Rue has used theatre techniques and plays to introduce students to what she calls the ""experience"" of religion, showing how theatre makes theological ideas palatable, visceral, and available. Acting Religious is at once a call to experience meaning and a theatre method to embody it.Experienced and beginning teachers at both college and high school levels, as well as religious educators, will learn how to use the following techniques in the religion or theology classroom: improvisation, characterization, memorization, script writing, performance. From these methods, students will be able to engage religious traditions experientially as well as cognitively.

The Confessions of a Jewish Priest are the reminiscences of Gabriel Weinreich, a secular Jew who was born in Poland and moved to the U.S. as a young adolescent during World War II thus narrowly escaping the Holocaust. The book follows Weinreich as he becomes an American, twice-husband, father, and an award-winning scientist, and shows how his subsequent journey toward Christianity and ordination to the Episcopal priesthood do nothing to impair his sense of ""Jewishness.""In addition to telling a compelling life story of a boy from an eminent Jewish family, the book takes us on a journey into Christianity as perceived by a Jew who began as a complete atheist--but realizes later in life that he never really was an atheist after all.

How can India--a land of intense poverty as well as unparalled spirituality--be liberated? Where do the sources for its liberation lie?Leave the Temple brings together writings that weigh the practical and theoretical problems of hermeneutic ""pre-understandings"" of the socio-political situation in South Asia. Is the challenge of social transformation and human liberation one in which people must ""leave the temple"" to embrace the freeing insights of secularization? Or does leaving the temple--to find God in the world of suffering humanity--provide a richness and empowerment that secular models of the human future cannot replace?Contributors include Walter Fernandes, on a socio-historical perspective for liberation theology in India and on bhakti; Yvon Ambroise on oppression and liberation in Indian society; Ignatius Puthiadam on trends in Hindu thought; T. K. John on liberation theology and Gandhian praxis; George M. Soares-Prabhu on the liberative pedagogy of Jesus; Xavier Irudayaraj on interiority and liberation; Samuel Rayan on caste; Sebastian Kappen on social crisis and liberation; Michael Amaladoss on liberation as an interreligious project; and Felix Wilfred on the Catholic Church's participation in the liberation of India.

A Common Journey provides the first comprehensive critical comparison of two of theology's most influential movements: Black theology in the United States (BTUSA) and Latin American liberation theology (LALT). The near-simultaneous emergence and growth of these two movements is only the most obvious of the similarities between them. More importantly, both have fostered a new theology from the perspective of the disenfranchised, the powerless, and the oppressed.

I Am This One Walking Beside Me is a moving collection of prayers written by Daniel Gebhardt, who has been living with HIV/AIDS for the past 20 years. What makes this book unique is that Gebhardt writes from both a Christian and a gay perspective, providing readers with insight into such topics as everyday living, medical issues, relationships, self-exploration, and death.Each topic contains several meditations, and each individual meditation is followed by a personal prayer. Gebhardt also includes prayers that relate to compassion and a global understanding of the disease that continues to spread, 20+ years after it was first identified.

""This book provides short inspirational stories that remind us that faith and love can endure a variety of life's trials. It offers real stories of courage, faith, and prayer which help to heal the soul.""--Melissa Mueller, Income Development Coordinator, East Region, American Cancer Society, Midwest Division, Inc. ""Without hope, patients and families cannot begin to navigate the perilous journey of cancer treatment. Northey's easy-read book provides a faith-based source of inspiration which will undoubtedly be helpful to many."" --Sandy Lardinois, Patient Services Manager, The Wisconsin Chapter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society""As Northey points out in her own story, if faith does not heal you physically, it may heal you spiritually, mentally, or emotionally. Each touching and inspiring story contains a well-chosen Bible passage and a powerful little prayer that makes the message in Pilgrim Prayers quite clear: if you let it, faith will heal you where you need it the most!"" --Murphy Vesture, founder, Taking The Fear Out of Cancer, www.takingthefearoutofcancer.com""When the diagnosis is cancer, you need more than just medical care. You need the support of friends, family, and others--and the healing power of that support can be nothing short of amazing. In Northey's stories, we see people tapping this power and learning new lessons about life and love."" --Maureen M. Squire, executive director, Gilda's Club Southeastern Wisconsin""The first time I met Northey, I was taken by her incredible combination of intense intelligence, spirited humor, and expressive humanity. Read what she has given us. It will change you. And know that whatever you get from this, it is only the beginning of what she has to share."" -Tom Plantenberg, Executive Director and CEO, Friends of Froedtert Hospital FoundationSue Northey is Senior Vice President and Managing Group Director for the Brand Planning Department of Cramer-Krasselt, Wisconsin's largest marketing communications firm. She received her MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Northey completed treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 1999 and has been in complete remission since. She resides in Franklin, Wisconsin with her husband and three children.

Gracious God, Thank you for helping us single fathers learn the lesson that acquiring new skills--in particular--is a required and ongoing part of being a single parent. All the manuals we read will never get us to the nitty-gritty advice about many practical realities. Little girls need their hair combed until they learn to do it for themselves. We are grateful, O God, when we can let go of the illusion that all parenting skills are innate. Amen.--sample prayer excerptPilgrim Prayers for Single Fathers is a collection of conversations with God based on heart-felt, real-life situations. Growing out of the author's experience as a single father and the experiences of other single fathers known to him as friends and parishioners, Farmer finds God's loving presence squarely in the middle of all the extra challenges of single parenthood. Whether life goes haywire, hopeful, or hilarious, he finds God's nearness as his source of strength and insight.Farmer, in forming his prayers as part of devotional moments for busy single fathers, intertwines Hebrew and Christian scriptures, other great documents of spirituality, and all sources of news and information in the modern media.Each entry begins with a letter addressing a specific issue and continues with a Scripture passage and prayer, concluding with an interesting or informative passage. The book consists of 30 prayers.

""But what can I do this day to these my [children] or to their children whom they have borne?"" --Genesis 31:43""There is an adjustment that must occur internally when you have felt that parenting days were finished. There is an emotional shifting that must take place when cooking, grocery shopping, and meal planning have stopped being a primary consideration. There is a major spiritual engagement that takes place when a child is put into your care that you did not plan for and birth. Prayer is essential!""--from Pilgrim Prayers for Grandmothers Raising ChildrenAuthor Linda H. Hollies has created a book dedicated to the ever-increasing and contemporary phenomenon of grandmothers raising their grandchildren. Currently raising a grandson, Hollies has firsthand experience with parenting the second time around, and enthusiastically shares her journey and insights, offering comfort, inspiration, and ways to turn a predicament into the opportunity of a lifetime.Each of the 45 chapters contains an anecdote and/or observation, a brief Scripture passage, and a heartfelt prayer, and concludes with a ""prayer focus"" to help readers center themselves.

""Explore several of the stories of biblical characters who were seekers . . . The search by some of these people became watersheds for later seekers. For example, Abraham's search resulted in a clear understanding of radical monotheism. Ruth's seeking and searching challenged the notion that God's love and acceptance were tied to racial purity . . . Allow yourself to be a seeker as you read. May part of your seeking be to consider where your story and each of these stories intersect and may those intersections be places where you seek God and discover that already God is seeking you.""--from the Preface In Search of Faith is an exploration of biblical characters who struggled to define their faith. Roberts help readers to identify with biblical characters; to discover kinship with seekers of another era; and to read about themselves in the stories. Some of the biblical characters discussed include Ruth, Jacob, Peter and Hosea.The stories of these biblical characters can be used in a sermon series or a course of study for a small group. In Search of Faith can be a guiding force in the daily lives of seekers by addressing the quest for personal meaning and the desire to belong in community.

""Like medical triage, which addresses patients' urgent needs in time of crises, these interventions are intended to help health-care workers keep their spirits alive until there is time for more complete rest and reflection.""--from the IntroductionAs a hospital chaplain, Nowicki is well aware of the daily joys, sadness, and stresses experienced by people in the health-care profession. She has thoughtfully created Spiritual Triage--over 50 brief yet substantial meditations based on Scripture, sacred writ, poetry, and selected quotations--to satisfy the spiritual hunger of busy healthcare workers.Meditation Topics Include:- Meditations to Encourage Self Care - Meditations for Encountering Pain and Encouraging Healing - Meditations to Facilitate Waiting - Meditations to Increase Awareness of Beauty - Meditations for Nurturing Silence - Meditations for Deepening HopeThe book will appeal to a culturally and religiously diverse group.

""If you are like most pastors, you earnestly thought you knew what the congregation you are serving was like when you answered God's call to serve them. Something has opened your eyes and now you know that you really don't know. The good news is, you are ready to find out!""--from Day One: ""I thought I knew . . .""When churches are in crisis, pastoral leadership is under attack, and pastors and church officials struggle to find a way to better understand why things happen or don't happen. Thompson's own pastoral experience led her to look beyond the popular ""family systems"" model to seek something that helps churches grow strong and pastors to become leaders. She found solutions in George B. Thompson, Jr.'s book, How to Get Along with Your Church: Creating Cultural Capital for Doing Ministry, and was inspired to develop a spiritual guide that strengthens the usefulness and effectiveness of his book.Specifically keyed to How to Get Along with Your Church, this spiritual companion provides 100 days of daily meditation and journaling for pastors who are learning--with a culture model--to lead their churches into a new understanding and rediscovery of their corporate calling.

""Among the many noteworthy characters which color the pages of Scripture, there is one who has given and continues to give insight and inspiration to people of faith for over 25 centuries. His name is Solomon--the third ruler of Israel and the second son born to King David and the beautiful Bathsheba . . . Why is it that Solomon has spanned the centuries as an icon of the faithful? What are the keys to his amazing success as a leader of people and as a servant of God? What do the life and legacy of Solomon have to say to persons of our day who are seeking to be faithful to God and beneficial to our society? These are the questions which this book seeks to address."" --from the IntroductionSamuel, building upon his own experience as a pastor of a mega-church, shares Solomon's four keys of leadership found in 1 Kings: -Wisdom: 1 Kings 3:4-13 -Work: 1 Kings 5:1-18 -Worship: 1 Kings 8:1-11 -Witness: 1 Kings 10:1-9Samuel uses a biblical model from several different versions of the Bible to help clergy and other church leaders understand the dynamics of good leadership so they can become more effective leaders and help to grow their congregations. The book includes study questions.