Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

Shane Claiborne

Enuma Okoro

"This universal prayer book allows readers to greet each day together, remembering significant dates and Christian heroes in church history as well as important historic dates in the struggle for freedom and justice"--Jacket.

A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals

Common Prayer

Erin Lane

"American Christian Women under 40 are being theologically trained in unprecedented numbers, accessing leadership in their communities through both orthodox and unorthodox avenues, and balancing the roles of professional, wife, mother, girlfriend, and friend. With all of the perceived progress, why do they feel like their young voices still aren't being heard? And if they found the courage to speak, what would they want to say? The latest book in the I Speak For Myself series addresses the experiences of faith, gender, and identity that remain taboo for American Christian Women Under 40. Is it our desire to remain childless in a Catholic tradition that largely defines women by their ability to reproduce? Is it our struggle with pornography in an evangelical subculture that addresses it only as the temptation of unsatisfied men? From masturbation, miscarriage, and menstruation to ordination, co-habitation, and immigration, this collection of essays explores the most provocative topics of faith left largely unspoken in 21st century American faith life. For women and their partners, faith leaders and their members, historians and their students, this book documents the voices of young Christian women and their refusal to be silent any longer"--

American Christian women get frank about faith

Talking taboo

Silence - And Other Surprising Invitations of Advent

Okoro invites readers to pause during Advent and take a heartfelt look at the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah. This faithful couple receives astonishing news in their old age. In Okoro's daily meditations for Advent, readers spend time with Zechariah and Elizabeth. As they look deep inside this faithful couple's longings and doubts, they will increase their own capacity for patience and wonder and be reminded of God's promise to make all things new. These poetic and poignant meditations will echo long after Christmas has passed. Their tough and tender wisdom acknowledges both wounds and blessedness-the griefs and joys of life. Reflection questions and a prayer challenge accompany each week's meditations. This book is perfect for individuals or groups.

Silence and Other Surprising Invitations of Advent

Usually when we think of the Advent story, Mary, Joseph, and the angel Gabriel come to mind. Okoro approaches Advent a little differently, inviting us to sit for a while with Zechariah and Elizabeth and the story of how they came to bear their only son, John. "The Advent story we so often associate with the joy of Christmas actually begins with deep sorrow and longing. But thankfully, in the kingdom of God, there is always more to the story than meets the eye," Enuma Okoro writes. Zechariah and Elizabeth were good people. They had maintained faith and hope in God for many years, despite Elizabeth's inability to conceive, a condition considered shameful in their time. So they were quite familiar with the universal human experiences of longing and waiting. Even though this couple's story takes up only one chapter in Luke's Gospel, it contains enough lessons about faith and life to last for weeks. In her beautifully written, imaginative meditations for each day of Advent, Okoro looks closely at the doubts and longings of Zechariah and Elizabeth. As you explore their story, Okoro guides you to reflect on your own experiences of waiting and longing, of grief and the need for community, and of hungering for God. These poetic and poignant meditations will linger with you long after Christmas. Reflection questions and a prayer challenge accompany each week's meditations. A perfect book for individual or group study.

Finalist in the "Best Books 2010" Awards "This is one of those books that you read and then have to sit back or curl up in a ball and 'be still and know.' In these honest, tear-stained pages are clear signs that there is a 'Hound of Heaven' hunting us down—this Spirit that is stalking us with love, winking at us with miracles, tickling us with grace, subverting everything that could destroy us, and whispering in our ears that we are truly beloved." —Shane Claiborne Author, activist, recovering sinner Love God, but not so sure about church? If you've ever had doubts or felt the gnawing need to examine your interior life, you'll find a trustworthy companion in Enuma Okoro, a purse-shopping, tea-sipping, shaky follower of Jesus who wouldn't mind meeting a guy who loves God and has decent hair. But after her father's unexpected death, her grief seems to morph into the panicky feeling that God wants something more from her, like maybe becoming a nun. As she seeks to unravel those feelings, Okoro takes us back to the places that formed her, from her first years in church at a parish in Queens, New York, to her years in West Africa where she collected crucifixes along with Richie Rich comic books, to her studies in Europe and the United States. Part Augustine, part Jane Austen with a side of Anne Lamott, Okoro attempts to reconcile her theological understanding of God's call to community with her painful and disappointing experiences of community in churches where she often felt invisible, pigeonholed, or out of place. At turns snarky and luminous, laugh-out-loud funny and vulnerably poignant, Reluctant Pilgrim is the no-holds-barred account of a woman who prays to savor God's goodness and never be satisfied. It is a daring, insightful, and deeply moving field guide for the curious, the confused, and the convicted.

A Moody, Somewhat Self-Indulgent Introvert's Search for Spiritual Community

Reluctant Pilgrim

Common Prayer helps today’s diverse church pray together across traditions and denominations. With an ear to the particulars of how various liturgical traditions pray, and using an advisory team of liturgy experts, the authors have created a tapestry of prayer that celebrates the best of each tradition. The book also includes a unique songbook composed of music and classic lyrics to over fifty songs from various traditions, including African spirituals, traditional hymns, Mennonite gathering songs, and Taize chants. Tools for prayer are scattered throughout to aid those who are unfamiliar with liturgy and to deepen the prayer life of those who are familiar with liturgical prayer. Ultimately, Common Prayer makes liturgy dance, taking the best of the old and bringing new life to it with a fresh fingerprint for the contemporary renewal of the church. Churches and individuals who desire a deeper prayer life and those familiar with Shane Claiborne and New Monasticism will enjoy the tools offered in this book as a fresh take on liturgy.

Enuma Okoro

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