Dear Ones,
As has already been published my Lenten book selection for 2011 will be Desmond and Mpho Tutu’s book, Made for Goodness: And why this makes all the difference. As you are probably already aware Archbishop Tutu will be in Western Washington, Tacoma to be precise, on May 12-14 to speak against violence among youth for the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation. We are working on all the details of the visit but as a lead up to his visit I thought it would be only right to spend Lent looking at this very good book which I have just finished myself. We are fortunate indeed that the book comes out in paperback on March 8th, Shrove Tuesday. It is currently available in hardback and on Kindle. As in past Lenten studies, I will be blogging each week as we travel through the book. I will provide a suggested schedule in the next few days but feel free, as I know you will, to fashion the study as you feel it fits locally. And as you run upon good ideas please be sure to send them on to me so we might share them with others who are taking the journey.
The book selection was difficult this year. I have been reading several other books, and holding on to a few to read that I also considered. I thought I would at least share these with you, since the choice was indeed difficult, and some of these were at least considered. And there are some books by local authors worth looking at as well.
Tattoes on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Passion by Gregory Boyle. This book is so moving, and fits remarkably with the reason, and for the purpose, of Archbishop Tutu’s visit, youth violence. This book is rated 5 stars on Amazon and I can see why. Publisher’s Weekly reviewed it saying this,
“In this artful, disquieting, yet surprisingly jubilant memoir, Jesuit priest Boyle recounts his two decades of working with homies in Los Angeles County, which contains 1,100 gangs with nearly 86,000 members. Boyle's Homeboy Industries is the largest gang intervention program in the country, offering job training, tattoo removal, and employment to members of enemy gangs. Effectively straddling the debate regarding where the responsibility for urban violence lies, Boyle both recounts the despair of watching the kids you love cooperate in their own demise and levels the challenge to readers to stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgment at how they carry it. From moving vignettes about gangsters breaking into tears or finding themselves worthy of love and affirmation, to moments of spiritual reflection and sidesplittingly funny banter between him and the homies, Boyle creates a convincing and even joyful treatise on the sacredness of every life. Considering that he has buried more than 150 young people from gang-related violence, the joyful tenor of the book remains an astounding literary and spiritual feat. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
The Fly in the Ointment: Why Denominations Aren't Helping Their Congregations and How They Can by J. Russell Crabtree. Russ runs Holy Cow consulting and has done work for St. Mark’s Cathedral most recently. This book has been widely read in the House of Bishops and the sentiments are , to me, those we should be paying attention to right now.
The Other Jesus: Rejecting a Religion of Fear for the God of Love by Greg Garrett. Greg was a parishioner of mine in Austin and has become a good friend. He has written many good books, and I commend them to you, but this one is his newest. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is a big fan of Greg’s and writes on the back of this book,
“Greg Garrett clears away some of the obstacles to seeing Jesus truthfully and suggests what sort of church might happen if we all did the same. It won’t be a church without disagreement and diversity of conscientious conviction, but it might be a church that models a life well lived-a life of compassion and trust. Clear, provocative, and sympathetic, this book opens fresh windows for the imagination and fresh perspectives on the figure of Jesus as the one on whom all our human hopes for joy and reconciliation can converge.”
And from some local authors!
Jesus: Man not Myth by the Rev. Peter D. Snow. Many of you know our Peter Snow and he worked diligently on this book, labored over it for years and this is indeed a good product of all of that work. I read an early copy and was deeply intrigued by Peter’s take on our story. The description on the back cover reads
“Both plausible and possible, this moving story of Jesus’ life is told by imagining his interactions with the people of the Gospel story and their reactions to their life-changing encounters with him. Narrated by John, the Beloved Disciple, author Peter Snow’s well-researched and entertaining story offers readers a glimpse into the life of the man Jesus.”
Two other locals, Michelle Heyne and the Rev. Bob Gallagher write of the spiritual practices in today’s Christian life Heyne writes regarding individual practices in her book, “In Your Holy Spirit: Traditional Spiritual Practices in Today’s Christian Life, and Gallagher writes regarding the more communal practices in his book, In Your Holy Spirit: Shaping the Parish Through Spiritual Practice, how the parish church and clergy can better support and foster development of spiritual life and practices and in so doing improve the health of the whole parish. Both have recently founded “Shaping the Parish,” a program to help revitalize parishes. Both attend Trinity, Seattle.
From an early age, on the fear of regret. Because the teacher said that the world did not sell drugs to regret. So, has been working, so no regrets.
Posted by: cheap mbt shoes | May 13, 2011 at 01:25 AM
All good things come to an end.
Posted by: Jordan Shoes | May 18, 2011 at 04:34 AM