Radical Welcome: Embracing God, the Other, and the Spirit ofTransformation is a practical theological guide for congregations that want to move beyond mere inclusivity toward becoming a place where welcoming "the other" is taken seriously and engaging God's mission becomes more than just a catch-phrase. The book is based on two years of work and over 200 interviews with people in urban, suburban, and rural congregations around the United States. Each chapter introduces specific congregations and their challenges, and lays out the theological underpinnings of tackling fears head-on and embracing change as a welcome part of community life. Contents include: The Radical Welcome Journey; Mapping theWay; God of Welcome, God of Grace; With Hearts Wide Open; Getting Real; Facing Our Fears and Embracing the Dream; The Joy in the Struggle.
"This book will make a profound difference for the church in this moment in history."— The Most Reverend Michael B. CurrySometimes it takes disruption and loss to break us open and call us home to God. It’s not surprising that a global pandemic and once-in-a-generation reckoning with white supremacy—on top of decades of systemic decline—have spurred Christians everywhere to ask who we are, why God placed us here and what difference that makes to the world. In this critical yet loving book, the author explores the American story and the Episcopal story in order to find out how communities steeped in racism, establishment, and privilege can at last fall in love with Jesus, walk humbly with the most vulnerable and embody beloved community in our own broken but beautiful way. The Church Cracked Open invites us to surrender privilege and redefine church, not just for the sake of others, but for our own salvation and liberation.
For the fifteenth anniversary of its publication, this revised edition features a new introduction from the author on the state of the church and its “radical welcome” today, along with new reflections on how it continues to reshape the church. This book is at once a theological, inspirational, and practical guide for congregations that want to move beyond diversity and inclusion to present a vision for the church of the future: one where the gifts, voices, and power of marginalized groups bring new life to the mainline church. Based on two years of work and over 200 interviews with people in congregations all around the United States—in urban, suburban, and rural settings—it asks the question: How do we face our fears and welcome transformation in order to become God’s radically welcoming people?Each chapter introduces a particular congregation and the challenges it faced, and lays out the theological underpinnings of tackling fears head-on to embrace change as a welcome part of community life. This new edition features essays from Michael B. Curry, Mark Bozzuti-Jones, Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, and Mark Richardson.
"This book will make a profound difference for the church in this moment in history." — The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry Sometimes it takes disruption and loss to break us open and call us home to God. It’s not surprising that a global pandemic and once-in-a-generation reckoning with white supremacy—on top of decades of systemic decline—have spurred Christians everywhere to ask who we are, why God placed us here and what difference that makes to the world. In this critical yet loving book, the author explores the American story and the Episcopal story in order to find out how communities steeped in racism, establishment, and privilege can at last fall in love with Jesus, walk humbly with the most vulnerable and embody beloved community in our own broken but beautiful way. The Church Cracked Open invites us to surrender privilege and redefine church, not just for the sake of others, but for our own salvation and liberation.
Una serie de ensayos que invitan a la reflexión y abordan los desafíos teológicos y prácticos que enfrenta la Iglesia Episcopal en la actualidad. “Este libro marcará una diferencia profunda para la iglesia en este momento de la historia.”-El Reverendísimo Michael B. Curry A veces, se necesitan trastornos y pérdidas para quebrarnos y abrirnos, y así llamarnos de vuelta a Dios. No es sorprendente que una pandemia mundial y un ajuste de cuentas generacional con la supremacía blanca—junto con décadas de decadencia sistémica—hayan impulsado a cristianos de todo el mundo a preguntarse quiénes somos, por qué Dios nos puso aquí y qué impacto tiene eso en el mundo. En este libro crítico pero pleno de afecto, la autora explora la historia de Estados Unidos y la historia de la Iglesia Episcopal para entender cómo comunidades impregnadas de racismo, poder y privilegio pueden, por fin, enamorarse de Jesús, caminar con humildad junto a los más vulnerables y encarnar la comunidad amada de una manera única, rota pero hermosa. La iglesia abierta en grietas nos invita a renunciar a los privilegios y a redefinir la Iglesia, no solo por el bien de los demás, sino también por nuestra propia salvación y liberación. A thought-provoking series of essays that address the specific theological and practical challenges of today’s Episcopal Church. "This book will make a profound difference for the church in this moment in history." — The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry Sometimes it takes disruption and loss to break us open and call us home to God. It’s not surprising that a global pandemic and once-in-a-generation reckoning with white supremacy—on top of decades of systemic decline—have spurred Christians everywhere to ask who we are, why God placed us here and what difference that makes to the world. In this critical yet loving book, the author explores the American story and the Episcopal story in order to find out how communities steeped in racism, establishment, and privilege can at last fall in love with Jesus, walk humbly with the most vulnerable and embody beloved community in our own broken but beautiful way.The Church Cracked Open invites us to surrender privilege and redefine church, not just for the sake of others, but for our own salvation and liberation.
In the vein of Michelle Goldberg’s Kingdom Coming, an investigative and research based visionary work on the future of faith. The religious landscape of America is changing. Religious ideas are in the zeitgeist, and at the same time there are reports of declining church attendance and an increase in the number of people who define themselves as unaffiliated with a particular religion--the 'nones' and 'dones.' Stephanie Spellers, a thought leader and spiritual scholar, explores the questions and contradictions that a generation is experiencing in regard to the role of faith in their lives. She travels the country, from Atlanta, Georgia to Santa Clara, California; from the Twin Cities of Minnesota to New York City to delve into the hearts and minds of those who feel a yearning for spirituality but don't know where to find it. In provocative and revealing conversations, Spellers listens to these disillusioned seekers as she engages with them to collect whatever wisdom they have to share. As she travels, she examines some pressing questions: Why are they passing on church? What spiritual pathways are they seeking and creating? And most importantly, how could their insights help to shape the future of Christian community? Praise for The Church Cracked Open "If you are looking at the landscape of the church and wondering, ‘How’d we get here?’ and what’s next, I invite you to board Rev. Spellers’s plane and take in the big picture with her. Take in the history, the theology, the pain, the beauty, and the hope that her view from thirty thousand feet offers. When she lands the plane, you’ll realize—there’s simply no better guide out there." --Nadia Bolz-Weber, author of Accidental Saints “Spellers courageously challenges American Christians to have tough conversations surrounding imperialism, racism, and self-centrism. Moreover, she offers solutions that bring us back to what Jesus intended the church to look like and function.” - Herman Baxter, Jr., The Christian Century “Congregations seeking to wrestle with their own past practices and future hopes will find this book a very helpful guide. Do not expect easy answers or simple solutions: this is a map to the land without roads, where only trust in the love of God and a community of loving pilgrims will find—not a city on a hill—but a family of faith.” -Tobias Stanislaus Haller, Anglican Theological Review
The world is ever changing and so must the Episcopal Church to remain relevant to its followers. A grounded, necessary book on the Episcopalian faith in the 21st century.In the Church’s Teachings for a Changing World series, two visionary Episcopal thinkers and church leaders team up to revitalize the currency, integrity, and scholarship of this series with fresh new voices and style; concise and clear enough for newcomers, yet grounded and thoughtful enough for seminarians and leaders. In this foundational text for the Church’s Teachings for a Changing World, Law and Spellers explore seismic shifts in American life and the opportunities and challenges each presents to the church today. With a winning combination of passion, creativity, and wisdom, the authors call for a return to Episcopal basics and insist that faithfully engaging a changing world might be the most truly Anglican practice of all.“This is the book I’ve been waiting for. The Episcopal way of following Jesus and being Christian may be one of the best-kept secrets in the Western world. Finally, someone has taken the light out from under the bushel. Let it shine.”—The Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church.
The New Church’s Teaching series has been one of the most recognizable and useful sets of books in the Episcopal Church. With the launch of the Church’s Teachings for a Changing World series, visionary Episcopal thinkers and leaders have teamed up to write a new set of books, grounded and thoughtful enough for seminarians and leaders, concise and accessible enough for newcomers, with a host of discussion resources that help readers to dig deep. Eric Law and Stephanie Spellers conclude the series with a dynamic conversation about faith, dialogue, and the generous give-and-take that makes Episcopal life possible. They interview the series’ authors and provide summaries of each volume: history, theology, contemporary society, ethics, practice of ministry, Bible, and worship. Then they invite readers to expand the faith conversation: with self, with neighbor, with the “enemy,” and ultimately with God.
How do we develop the resilience that empowers us to be ourselves in the face of change?How do we learn to be courageous when days are difficult? How do we build our capacity for healing and growth when we can no longer do the things we once did that gave our lives satisfaction, meaning, and purpose?Building Resilience offers a path toward creativity in responding to change in your life, regaining some control over your circumstances, and overcoming feelings of helplessness. Whether you’re 17 or 75, if life has thrown you a curve ball, this book can help you get on track toward being yourself in your new normal. With a foreword by Stephanie Spellers.
A clarion call and evidence-based reparations plan for churches engaged in dismantling racism.Christian churches, schools, and organizations committed to a reparations plan can learn how to do it--including how to support local, Black-led organizations working on economic empowerment. This is a much needed resource as churches have acknowledged generations of participation in systemic and structural racism and are looking for specific ways to action responsibility. This engaging book show how these plans are being lived out in congregations across the country.Written by a white priest called to pastor an historically Black congregation in Washington DC, Reparations: A Plan for Churches provides spiritual resources and practical tools for dioceses, and other institutions, who are poised to seize this crucial moment. By drawing from examples of steps being taken by congregations and others, this guide also centers the counsel, voices, and teaching of Black scholars, activists, and many denominations of Christians. From this vantage, the book shows Christians how to make the work of restitution a reality by honest fact-finding and truth-telling, substantive and sustained engagement with those to whom reparations are owed, clear statements about what reparations are, and focused action to begin the work.All royalties go to Harriet's Wildest Dreams, a Black-led abolitionist community defense hub centering all Black lives most at risk for state-sanctioned violence in the Greater Washington area.
As congregations explore their emerging visions, they need support in “equipping the saints” for their day-to-day lives and ministries beyond the doors of the building. The Dismissal — “go in peace, to love and serve the Lord” — becomes as important as the Eucharist in feeding the people for the journey. But churches often fail to focus on this baptismal calling to “go” into the worlds of work, family, and community. This book fills that void, focusing on how the baptized become “go-ers,” providing practical and tested ways of fulfilling that calling.Go to Love and Serve builds on and complements the work of Stephanie Spellers’ Radical Welcome, which called congregations to move beyond diversity and inclusion to be places where the transforming gifts, voices, and power of marginalized cultures and groups bring new life to the mainline church. Each chapter is followed by discussion questions for use with small groups or for personal reflection.
• Reflections follow the practices of The Way of Love—Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, Rest • Each devotion includes a passage of scripture, a story, and reflection questions • Perfect during Lent or any time of year "Living the Way of Love” offers forty brief reflections about the seven Jesus-centered practices identified by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry in “The Way of Love” initiative. Sullivan tells stories from her own and others’ experiences as a starting point for discussion about how to seek and find a deeper connection to God. Rotating through each practice so that each is covered once a week, going deeper into the practice throughout the forty days, each reflection ends with questions designed to spur further discussion and assist readers in making the practices their own. Perfect for using as a Lenten devotional or at any time of the year, the book includes a guide for creating a personal rule of life, and a downloadable Facilitator’s Guide.
It is always "riot season" in Robeson County, NC where 65k state recognized Lumbees oppress 4k NC Tuscarora. During the wild summer of 2020, Bruce Black's life turns from moonshine to wine when he learns the truth about his heritage, and he ends up fighting for his life and four thousand others who grew up believing the lies. A grassroots movement to educate the masses on the area's true Native history, to lift the oppression, expose the unscrupulous and find the stolen proof of ascendency, leads to a powerful explosion when outsiders rush in to help Bruce Black.
Autobiographical stories, widely popular since their creation, are still one of the primary ethnographic and historic sources on Native North American individuals. Many books in this genre, including the famous Black Elk Speaks, have been translated into numerous languages. Native American Autobiography Redefined: A Handbook interrogates critical discussions about Native American autobiographies and challenges their often Eurocentric perspectives: it offers a new rubric for studying the genre, dismantles misperceptions about indigenous peoples, and analyzes in detail a non-biased, Native-centered example of writing about Native American autobiography. This book asks readers to move away from the western cultural notion of autobiography to a Native American cultural perspective of communal narrative. Special emphasis is given to issues of gender bias and to the great disparity between Eastern Woodlands and western culture's perceptions of women.
This introduction to the fundamentals of Native American women’s studies first looks at several definitive topics created by the western cultural notion of feminism, and western historical and religious perspectives on women. These include ecofeminism, gender roles and work, notions of power, essentialism, women’s leadership, sexualities, and spirituality in light of gender. The book then discusses these concepts and their history from a traditional Native American point of view. Foremost among the questions that Native American Women’s Studies addresses are: How have Native American women governed their nations? How was/is the divine creatrix expressed in Native American social systems? Most significantly, this book sheds light on the radical differences between the indigenous understanding of human experience in terms of gender, and that held and created by western culture.
OGINALII is a Young Adult Short Story that pulls in your heart as you leave the asphalt for dusty rural roads and smelly farm land.Exilee Sheffield is a tomboy who recently lost her mother and deals with loneliness and grieving in a most unique manner. Anyone want to watch a pony-show with a cat on the back, featuring a three-legged buffalo, all led by a hyper terrier?Exilee doesn't. She wants to do it And she will. Exilee wants to do anything except learn piano and as Auntie Bell says, "Learn some manners."Until Exilee learns Auntie Bell just might be her new best friend, if she'll let her.
A galvanizing call to end family-based anti-female violence, shaming, and shunning--stories and practices for healing from Family Mobbing. "Family Mobbing" is a strategic process of power and control. When daughters are mobbed, they're not just shunned, attacked, or slandered: they're also subjugated by a system of family rules that reinforces patriarchal oppression. What makes mobbing so insidious--and so under-reported--is that here, family itself is the site of violence, trauma, and shame. Family violence against girls and women is still legal--even in America, and even now. Across cultures, girls and women may be shunned or shamed, emotionally mistreated, or physically attacked by their families to maintain status, social conventions, and the family's own standing within their community. Family Mobbing tactics can include slander, gossip, rejection, beatings, anti-Queer violence, and even honor killings, child marriages, and forced abortion. Author Stephanie Sellers--herself a survivor--explores the global phenomenon of Family Mobbing, revealing the secrets and patterns that play out behind closed doors and remain unseen, unacknowledged, and unaddressed. She discusses: Why families and communities alienate members of their groupsWhy women, girls, and LGBTQIA2S+ people are at higher risk of mobbingThe ramifications of raising daughters to be submissiveHow (and why) mothers and grandmothers perpetuate cycles of Family Mobbing against their daughtersHow to move on after being mobbed, shunned, or shamedFirsthand accounts from people all over the world who were mobbed by their familiesHow different religious worldviews inform the practice and perpetuation of Family MobbingSellers offers stories, definitions, and solutions to help women, girls, and people of all genders who have been mobbed by their families. She remembers and honors vast, ancient traditions that recognize female sanctity and personhood as paths forward to healing, with a focus on the practices and worldviews of Mother-first cultures that can illuminate the path toward honoring, valuing, and respecting daughters.
From the author of Poldark, the bestselling book and hit television series.When the beautiful young daughter of a prominent gentleman is found dead the coroner is naturally reluctant to bring a verdict of suicide. Were there murderous intentions behind this mysterious death?Between Goa, India, Oxford, and London, Winston Graham introduces an absorbing cast of characters: Stephanie, a happy young woman with a brilliant future; Errol Colton, her worldly lover; James, her father, a man of courage and determination who will fight for justice even if it costs him his life; and Nari, a young Indian blackmailed into degradation.When Stephanie discovers that Errol is not at all what she believed him to be, she must make a choice about what to do with his secret. If someone finds out that she knows, her life, as well as her lover's, will be at risk . . .
