“To love is to give yourself away. You can dare throw yourself into the pilgrimage, because God has fallen in love with you so much that he has sent his son into the world to bring you home. That is the basic message of Christianity.” – Alan Jones The Christian spiritual journey is a pilgrimage to wholeness, a search for home that is in God. In this classic work on contemporary spiritual living, Alan Jones explores the various parts of t ...
This devotional guide for the days from Advent to Candlemas builds on the popularity of the ancient Christian tradition of walking the Stations of the Cross. Readings and prayers will help individuals and groups walk the Stations of the Nativity, from the vision of Zecharias in the temple to the return of the Holy family to Galilee. Along the way readers can pray and meditate on the Annunciation, the Visitation, the birth of John the Baptist, Jo ...
“Does the face of God change? Years ago I would have said, ‘No.’ Countless hymns, passage of Scripture and confessions of faith assert or imply the changelessness of God. To take issue with traditions that are centuries, if not millennia old, seemed to be daunting and misguided….But when the great professions of confidence in God harden into philosophical propositions, one is bound to ask: What difference would it make to say that God has only o ...
"The Advent walkabout is not an easy journey, nor was meant to be. This journey leads into the deeps of our own being. It is an opening of portals we have taken care to keep closed, a letting in of the knowledge and doubt and pain without which there can be no letting in of Christ, the child whose touch blesses, burns, heals and transfigures. The Advent walkabout cannot be for the faint-hearted for it demands extravagant courage and uncompr ...
This newly revised edition of Betty Wolfe's classic manual covers all the essential steps and information needed for quick-and-easy church banner construction, including 49 patterns, complete instructions, and tips for designing your own patterns. Worship spaces can be enlivened by the use of colorful banners that anyone can construct. This colorful and clear introduction to making banners provides advice on fabrics, design, colors ...
As the Church continues to try to clarify the meaning of baptism, well-known liturgical scholar Kenneth Stevenson provides important insights into the historical issues with which we still wrestle. Is baptism a private or a public act? Is the symbolism of the rite still appropriate? Does the language of the baptismal service remain meaningful in a secular age? In order to answer these and other pressing questions, we must understand the ...
"The first thing to say in our exploration of priesthood is this: priesthood is a fundamental and inescapable part of being human. All human beings, knowingly or not, minister as priests to one another. All of us, knowingly or not, receive priestly ministrations from one another. Unless we begin here, we are not likely to understand the confusions and uncertainties and opportunities we have been encountering in the life of the church itself ...
This practical handbook for homes and church communities helps to enrich the Christian celebration of Advent through the creation and use of an Advent calendar. Written for people of all skill levels, Baumgarten provides instructions for a calendar made of paper or junk mail, a no-sew felt version, and a fabric version for more advanced sewers. Teach Us To Number Our Days, however, is more than a simple crafts book. Baumgarten provides ...
The term «Protestant spirituality» is sometimes considered to be an oxymoron. Spirituality has traditionally been seen as the domain of the Catholic faith, and not of the Protestant reformation and its offshoots. That perspective is in error, as Dr. Joseph Driskill demonstrates in Protestant Spiritual Exercises, a book that introduces readers to the spirituality that evolved from Calvin, Luther, and many other Reformers. This book, gear ...
