In Awesome Wonder:
Bridging Faith and Science.
Daniel Ruy Pereira; Luiz F. Cardoso.
Pbk 123pp. ISBN 9781789591484.
Sacristy Press (2021).
$35.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

What if we could see the theory of evolution in the light of the suffering of Christ and our journeys as Christians?

How can and do Christians respond to the climate chaos that is forcing the hands of governments and scaring young people to joining climate strikes?

Can we find comfort in a time where data, graphs and numbers inform political decisions about the worst pandemic in 100 years?

Although science is almost ubiquitous in the modern world, for many Christians there is a gap between science and their faith. The authors of this book – a biology teacher and a pastor – explore a number of subjects such as creation, evolution, cosmology, and pandemics, and show how science and faith can mutually enrich each other and can be incorporated, confidently and healthily, into a Christian worldview.

Resurrecting Church:
Where Justice and Diversity Meet Radical Welcome and Healing Hope.
John Cleghorn.
Pbk 224pp. ISBN 9781506464848.
Fortress Press (2021).
$43.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].​

Resurrecting Church interweaves three strands.

First, it is the remarkable turnaround story of Caldwell Presbyterian Church, which was on the edge of extinction when author John Cleghorn filled the role of pastor.

Second, Cleghorn tells the story of his own growth and liberation from the myopia of privilege. Cleghorn traded his position as senior vice president of the nation’s largest bank for ministry and the dusty and dated church office at Caldwell Presbyterian.

The third strand includes the stories of several diverse congregations researched by the author. These congregations are examples of faith communities that have taken risks, deepening empathy, and seeking justice.

Through these stories, the book updates the conversation about church vitality in timely and surprising ways.

The Hours of the Universe:
Reflections on God, Science, and the Human Journey.
Ilia Delio.
Pbk 272pp. ISBN 9781626984035.
Orbis Books (2021).
$51.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Ilia Delio, a scientist and theologian, is one of the most creative thinkers on the dialogue between religion and science. In these reflections written for a broad audience of those seeking new meaning and purpose in today’s world, she sees the universe, itself, as the new monastery, the place to seek God.

Just as in a monastery the recitation of the Hours calls to mind the work of God in our lives, so too in the new monastery we reflect on the gift of creation and the sufferings we bear.

“In these deep and insightful meditations, Ilia Delio offers readers a poetic and prayerful engagement with many of the most profound theological reflections she has offered over decades of researching, teaching, and writing. This book is a gift for longtime fans and a wonderful introduction to those new to Delio’s thought.” Daniel P. Horan, OFM, Catholic Theological Union

Eyes of the Heart:
Seeing God in an Age of Science.
Russell Haitch.
Pbk 272pp. ISBN 9781506450544.
Fortress Press (2021).
$48.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Growing up in a world shaped by science and technology, young people may easily lose sight of God. Or, as this book shows, their eyes of the heart can become opened like never before.

With wit and insight, Russell Haitch offers a model for unifying faith and science that does not compromise either good science or Christian convictions.

He puts this model to the acid test by showing how it resolves long-standing (and still heated) issues of creation and evolution. Compelling stories and clear explanations make this book appealing to a wide audience, including parents, youth workers, and young people themselves. The ideas are deep – Haitch covers a lot of ground, from Einstein and Hawking to Augustine and Hildegard of Bingen. But the book’s arguments are easy to follow, and its bite-size chapters are enjoyable to read.

The Land Is Not Empty:
Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery.
Sarah Augustine.
Pbk 224pp. ISBN 9781513808291.
Herald Press (2021).

See sale priced copy here:
March 2022 Stocktake Sale

White settlers saw land for the taking. They failed to consider the perspective of the people already here.

In this prophetic book, Augustine, a Pueblo woman, reframes the colonization of North America as she investigates ways that the Doctrine of Discovery continues to devastate indigenous cultures, and even the planet itself, as it justifies exploitation of both natural resources and people.

This is a powerful call to reckon with the root causes of a legacy that continues to have devastating effects on indigenous peoples around the globe and a call to recognize how all of our lives and our choices are interwoven.

What was done in the name of Christ must be undone in the name of Christ, the author claims. The good news of Jesus means there is still hope for the righting of wrongs. Right relationship with God, others, and the earth requires no less.

Galatians.
N T (Tom) Wright.
Hbk 440pp. ISBN 9780802825605.
Eerdmans (2021).
$81.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

This first major biblical commentary by Wright offers a theological interpretation of Galatians that never loses sight of the political concerns of its historical context. With these two elements of the letter in dialogue with each other, readers can understand both what Paul originally meant and how his writing might be faithfully used to respond to present questions.

Each section of verse-by-verse commentary in this volume is followed by Wright’s reflections on what the text says about Christian formation today, making this an excellent resource for individual readers and those preparing to teach or preach on Galatians.

Pastoral Imagination:
Bringing the Practice of Ministry to Life.
Eileen R. Campbell-Reed.
Pbk 188pp. ISBN 9781506470061.
Fortress Press (2021).
$38.50.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Campbell-Reed informs and inspires the practice of ministry through slices of on the ground learning experienced by seminarians, pastors, activists, and chaplains and gathered from qualitative studies of ministry.

Each of the 50 chapters explores a single concept through story, reflection, and provocative open-ended questions designed to spark conversation between ministers and mentors, among ministry peers, or for personal journal reflections.

The book provides a framework for understanding ministry as an embodied, relational, integrative, and spiritual practice.

Pastoral Imagination is closely integrated with the author’s Three Minute Ministry Mentor web resource, which introduces the topics in the book through brief video presentations.

The book can be used by individuals for personal growth; with groups in new-pastor retreats, CPE training programs, ministry peer groups, or supervision settings such as internship or field education; for devotional inspiration at staff meetings; and in seminary classrooms that prioritize teaching ministry as a practice.

Reawakened:
Activate Your Congregation to Spark Lasting Change.
Glen Guyton.
Pbk 216pp. ISBN 9781513808079.
Herald Press (2021).
$38.50.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].​

Every church wants to make a lasting difference, but people are moving away from the church – not because they lack faith in God but because the church is no longer relevant to their lives. The church, not God, is the problem.

Guyton explores eight keys to developing the abilities of congregations to bring healing and hope to their communities.

These eight keys give voice to the most urgent needs of a community and offer practical suggestions for how churches can spark holistic and lasting differences in their communities.

1. Know Your Identity; Show Your Identity
2. Mission-Focused Spirituality
3. Intentional Discipleship and Faith Formation Strategy
4. Intentional Diversity and Inclusion.
5. Holistic Witness to Serving the Community
6. Develops Strategic Partnerships
7. Practicing Sound Stewardship
8. Strategic Leadership Development

Managing Congregations in a Virtual Age.
John W. Wimberly.
Pbk 176pp. ISBN 9781506472638.
Fortress Press (2021).
$43.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Wimberly draws on the experience of the business community, and on a diverse group of skilled pastors and rabbis, as he lays out the opportunities and challenges of working from home for congregations and staff, offering principles and best practices for successfully managing remote workers and ministries.

Wimberly focuses on how congregational leaders can ensure accountability and productivity, create a sense of staff as a team, help older staff members learn how to work from home, and determine what hardware and software staff members and the congregation need to support effective communication.

The move toward working from home is part of a rapidly changing work environment for employers and employees alike. Large parts of the business world have mastered managing their staff, located around the country and the world, virtually. For many faith communities, however, the sudden move to working from home amid the Covid-19 pandemic involved significant upheaval. Fortunately, various forms of technology and productivity tools can make this shift easier.

This comprehensive guide will serve congregations well into the future, even as technology and circumstances change.

​​
The World, the Flesh and the Devil:
What Do We Do With Evil?
Richard Rohr.
Pbk 144pp. ISBN 9780281085446.
SPCK (2021).
$34.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

With his characteristic wisdom and compassion, Rohr offers us principles for resisting the social evils pervading our lives, in which we are all complicit, through Christian contemplation and by reaching out to one another in love.

Rohr addresses what Christianity views as the three traditional sources of evil – the world, the flesh and the devil – to encourage us to look beyond our personal moral failings and give us principles for resisting evil on a wider scale.

Exploring how Christianity has focused almost exclusively on individual evil, or the sins of the flesh, he offers a gripping interpretation of Jesus’ teachings and the writings of Paul the Apostle to show how vital it is that we also understand the often subtle and well-disguised evil of the world and the devil.

This book offers no easy solutions. Yet, skilfully distilling 50 years of teaching and preaching, it will leave you with a greater understanding of evil and its role in the social issues of our time, and better equipped to recognise and fight it.

The Comfort Book.
Matt Haig.
Hbk 272pp. ISBN 9780143136668.
Penguin Life (2021).
$46.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Reflections on hope, survival and the messy miracle of being alive

The Comfort Book is a collection of consolations learned in hard times and suggestions for making the bad days better. Drawing on maxims, memoir and the inspirational lives of others, these meditations celebrate the ever-changing wonder of living.

This is for when we need the wisdom of a friend or a reminder, we can always nurture inner strength and hope, even in our busy world.  A book of timeless comfort for modern minds.

Good Enough:
Learning to Let Go of Perfect for the Sake of Holy.
Wendi Nunnery.
Pbk 160pp. ISBN 9781640605435.
Paraclete Press (2020).
$40.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

After years of meeting all the expectations set for a “good” Christian girl, Nunnery was suddenly spiralling into an unknown terror she would later discover was Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and questioning everything she’d ever known about herself and about God.
 
It took nearly a decade, but eventually Wendi learned her value was fixed. Finished. Holy. And it’s in the pages of this book where she lays out the story of how and invites you to come along, find a friend, and realize you are not alone in your wandering.

Driven by thoughtful, poignant essays with just the right amount of colourful language, Good Enough tackles the lie that we are required to be perfect in order to be good and, most importantly, reveals the truth about how much we’ve already been given.

Kei te aha ngā kararehe?
What are the animals doing?
Te Ataakura Pewhairangi.
Board book 24pp. ISBN 9780995146587.
Massey University Press (2021).
$22.99.
[Allow 7-10 days].

A gorgeous bilingual board book

Tūhuratia ngā mahi a ngā kararehe i tēnei pukapuka pārekareka. He nui ngā kupu hou ka hua i te pukapuka nei i te wairua pāhekoheko, i te ngāwari o te whakatakoto o ngā pātai me ngā whakautu, me ngā whakaahua ātaahua hoki a te kaiwhakaahua rongonui, a Jane Ussher. Mā konei e āhei ai ngā tamariki me o rātau whānau te kōrero i ā rātau paki hou me te tūhura i ngā reo e rua. Kua tāpirihia he rārangi kupu me ētahi tohutohu ngāwari mō te taha ki te reo.

Find out what all the animals are up to in this delightful board book, in both English and te reo Māori. The simple question-and-answer format introduces new words in an engaging and interactive way, and the charming photographs by renowned New Zealand photographer Jane Ussher provide opportunities for tamariki and their whānau to tell new stories and explore both languages. Includes a vocabulary list and simple language tips.

Click here to look inside: https://tinyurl.com/3jn2bwxh

St. Benedict’s Rule:
An Inclusive Translation.
Sister Judith Sutera, OSB.
Pbk 120pp. ISBN 9780814688199.
Liturgical Press (2021).
$35.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

“As Sr. Judith notes in her introduction, this is not a paraphrase nor a popularisation of the Rule, but rather a faithful translation from the Latin reflecting terminology familiar to contemporary readers and welcoming all people to personally identify with its wisdom.

I much appreciate Sister Judith’s lovely phrasing of Benedict’s ‘customary desire for balance and compassion,’ and her understanding that the key to Benedict’s approach is that ‘no one is ever to despair of God’s mercy.’

Her emphasis on these two aspects of the Rule clearly emerge from a life lived in familiarity with every verse of the Rule of Benedict, in fidelity to its guidance, and in communion with sisters similarly committed.” Norvene Vest, oblate of Benedictine Sisters of Virginia