Bøger udgivet af AUGSBURG FORTRESS PUBL

How can churches do the work of becoming allies for the leaders they call? Call to Allyship is a must-read for call committees, church councils, social justice teams, and anyone prepared to do the work of understanding, welcoming, and celebrating these leaders.

These lectionary-based paragraph reflections carry enduring wisdom.

Most fitness programmes concentrate on physical fitness--they start from the outside and stop there. To achieve total fitness of the mind, body and soul we need to start on the inside and work outwards. Beginning with a spiritual health test.

Woven together are natural and biblical imagery and the traditions of liturgical prayer, to resource us in relating to creation, God and one another in deep, dynamic and relevant ways.

Psalm 23, 'The Lord is my Shepherd, ' describes the psalmist as a trusting sheep, traveling through both pleasant and difficult terrain, always in the reassuring presence of God. The psalm is for all of us, yet when troubles come--which they inevitably do--rather than feeling God's loving presence we may start to doubt his love; instead of feeling safe, we experience fear, guilt, hurt and loneliness--the loneliness of a lost sheep. In Rejoice with Me Annie Heppenstall draws on the parable of the lost sheep and other imagery from the Bible and the natural world. She writes from her own personal experience to offer reflections, prayers and questions for self-development for anyone with an interest in considering life's difficulties from a biblical perspective.Ideal as a spiritual accompaniment for individuals as well as pastoral support groups and churches asking how to meet the needs of individuals and communities and how to live lovingly and with integrity in the twenty-first century

Over 1,500 prayers have been selected from more than twenty of Ray Simpson's published titles and many have been freshly written for this book. These prayers reconnect us with the seasons and the streets, the scriptures and the saints, the struggles and the silence; all created life is included. The exhaustive index will enable all who lead worship to find a prayer for every occasion.

Prayers for Occasions offers an abundant selection of over 250 prayers. Bringing together words of warmth and contemplation for a variety of different occasions, ranging from Advent and Christmas to weddings and funerals, this helpful collection provides a wealth of resources for both personal and group prayer.

Inclusion and diversity have become central issues for churches and communities, bringing joy to many and angst to some. These prayers reflect the needs and concerns of our own time and culture as we come to terms with these issues and embrace the fresh opportunities they open up to us. They also seek to draw on the timelessness of our Lord's teaching and the resonances in the stories of the Bible for us today.

Prayers for Families offers an abundant selection of over 200 prayers from some of our best-loved authors. Bringing together words of warmth for families dealing with everything from special occasions to those in need, including different sections for both parents and children, this helpful collection provides a wealth of resources.

If you think you don't like St Paul then this book is for you. It covers controversial topics such as Paul's attitudes to women, slavery and sex; it also asks 'What changed Paul?, ' 'Did Paul think that Jesus was God?, ' and many other questions. Key passages have been included to illustrate that you must keep revisiting Paul if you are to go deeper into the mystery of this extraordinary character. The translations are always Nicholas King's own and will help you to get to know Paul better--which is what this book is all abou

Ray Simpson's liturgical prayers for Christian festivals provide worship for individuals, new monastic groups and churches. They reconnect the modern world with the seasons and the soil, the saints and the streets, the struggles, senses and silence, as well as the Spirit and the Scriptures. These inclusive patterns of worship are drawn from early and contemporary Celtic devotion, Anglican, Orthodox, Reformed and Roman Catholic sources.

Christianity has often seemed impatient with the idea of doubt. Certainty, not irresolution, has been seen as the test of faith and key to unlocking participation in the supposed life to come. But when his marriage collapsed, Alex Wright knew that all his own certainties had been reduced to rubble. The future he had planned on the Norfolk coast disappeared as fast as a sea-fret burning up in the noonday sun. In this moving book, written out of his own disturbing experience of deep-rooted uncertainty about the future, the author suggests that it is actually doubt, not conviction, that expresses the most important insights about religion and the spiritual life and, indeed, about life itself.

My dear Jack--before I met you my life seemed like a train pulling a trail of empty carriages, and then there you were, and suddenly most of them were full--with people and noise and laughter, with faith and vision and your extraordinary, electric vitality.So now, my love, I know the worst. Your brain is shrinking inside your skull. You are going to disintegrate very slowly, mind and body. You will feel our loving in rags and your God absent and I will hold you to my breast and cradle the shell of your skull, for you will have gone, my lover, my dear one. But not quite. I know that I cannot bear the pain of Jack's situation any longer, unrelieved. To survive and provide him with the buoyant atmosphere he wants, I have to have hopes and horizons beyond him. These horizons have included another person.When Rebecca de Saintonge's husband Jack developed Lewy Body Dementia--an incurable degenerative brain disease--she faced the dual challenge of trying to keep the integrity of their relationship intact while also avoiding her own destruction within their diminishing world. She survived by taking a lover. Through extracts from Rebecca's journal, One Yellow Door explores the conflicting emotions and complex ethics of infidelity in marriage where one partner is severely disabled. It is about a re-thinking of traditional faith and the discovery of a new, deeper spirituality, and ultimately about the indestructibility of love.

'Give me an undivided heart.' Something in my soul has always been snagged by that phrase in Psalm 86. Something in it speaks to me of my own heart division, my own disarray. It captures a deeper longing, beyond the surface chatter of my mind. I find, amid the muddle that is me, that there is something--someone--calling me on, gathering together my disparate, fraying threads and weaving them into a story greater than I could ever perceive. Why do we do what we do? What makes us who we are? And what could make us more? In Undivided Heart, Lucy Mills digs deep in search of an understanding of human identity, purpose, and living by faith, asking what the influences are that shape us and define us. She explores what it might mean to have an undivided heart--to live a life compelled by Christ's love, undistracted by all other motives. This is not a book of easy answers. It is a book of deep questioning, of relationship, honesty, and encounter, counter-cultural in our age of social media, soundbite news, and mass communication. But God can meet us in our confusion and distraction as much as in our certainty. Join Lucy on her exploration of this demanding, fragmented life, and the quest for a faith that is deeper, stronger, and undivided.

We live in a world full of distractions, where lack of time and the pressures of daily living contribute to our spiritual lives sometimes becoming treated with less priority, sometimes forgotten altogether.This is a book for the forgetful-hearted; those who frequently forget God in their lives, even when they desperately want to remember him. Lucy Mills asks what it means to remember God. Here she suggests that it is about more than simply 'knowing' things--it is about how we live.Forgetful Heart is a beautifully written book, full of personal testimony, biblical reflection, and practical challenges and advice.

A quarter-century after writing the acclaimed The Celtic Way, Ian Bradley, one of the foremost experts on the spiritual beliefs and practices of the indigenous Christian communities in the British Isles in the early Middle Ages, revisits the original sources and makes a substantial reappraisal of Celtic spirituality. Following the Celtic Way challenges many of the myths and romanticized portrayals of Celtic Christianity and shows evidence of the harder edge and demanding austerity of the lives and spirituality of believers from this time. This book sits among the most insightful and up-to-date introductions to this distinctive and evocative expression of faith and draws out its themes that are most relevant to us today. It also offers practical spiritual guidance on how to follow the Celtic Way in the contemporary world.

Leaving Faith Behind gives voice to women and men who were born into Muslim families and communities, but who have made the decision to leave Islam or to dissent against some of the most significant aspects of Islamic doctrine. Aliyah, who realized as a young woman that she did not have to live by rigid rules and concepts that suffocated her true self.Hassan, who became a practicing Muslim in his teens, but for whom doubts led him to leave the faith in his fifties.Jimmy, banished from his home and family when he was discovered to be gay.Marwa, who keeps secret from her community the fact that she can no longer practice a religion that she believes degrades and denies basic rights to women.Aisha, for whom the journey from belief to disbelief was a gradual process involving personal challenge and confrontations with friends and family.As increasing numbers of people in Western society choose to turn away from organized religion, this book allows the stories of some of them to be heard: the reasons for their decisions to leave, the challenges of leaving, and the effects on their lives and relationships. It also captures portraits of life and culture within Muslim communities in our fast-changing world, and how they are reacting and responding to migration, secularization, more inclusive attitudes to gender and sexuality, and other trends of modern society.

Inspired by Father Alfred Delp, who wrote a meditation titled The Shaking Reality of Advent while imprisoned by the Nazis during WWII, Bishop Peter B. Price has written a series of reflections and prayers to be read on each day of Advent. Each reflection is written that we may be shaken and brought to a realization of our selves in order to gain a new understanding of God's promise of redemption and release.

Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) stood apart from the other philosophers of his day. He was less concerned with debates over abstract concepts of philosophy than with the working out of how one should live one's daily life. He believed that living Christianly should not be a matter of whether one holds the correct beliefs or dogma; Christianity is an experience, something which we must choose to live each day. Kierkegaard's thoughts and ideas apply directly to our fractured society today, explains Michael Stark. As the modern world has become smaller, it has become more divisive and argumentative. It seems that the more information we have access to, the more fearful we--Christian communities included--are becoming. Through an examination of topics such as truth, faith, selfhood, and love, Stark introduces us to the teaching of Kierkegaard and demonstrates how this prophetic voice from the past can help us navigate the hostile and combative climate of today.

Millions of photos are taken every day across the world. Some are just snapshots. Others are more carefully crafted and have the capacity to deepen our vision and sharpen our sense of what life is truly about. Spirituality in Photography explores how photography can offer unique perspectives on the self, the world, and what we live by. Readers are invited to take photos more slowly, reframe their gaze, allow themselves to be fully present, and let their photos tell a story--this includes a section on how photography can offer new perspectives on the Bible. The book also explores how photography can help readers meditate on mystery and tune into their own 'rule of life.' Spirituality in Photography offers a range of ideas for readers to try out with their camera or smartphone and invites them on a journey of discovery, as they allow their photography and their spirituality to inspire each other.

You must become the change you long for. Fine words, a great vision, but where to begin? We caterpillars know. From the moment we are conceived in our parents' mating dance, we already contain the cells that hold our future butterfly. We become, literally, the change we carry within us, as our hidden wings take shape. Let us tell you our story... Tumultuous changes are occurring in the world around us, and the structures and values by which we have charted our lives seem to be collapsing. Many of us are struggling to plot a spiritual path through this unfamiliar landscape and to believe in a positive future. Hidden Wings is a book offering hope and understanding. Using the example of a caterpillar entering the devastating, world-altering stage of the chrysalis, before emerging--transformed--as a butterfly, Margaret Silf helps us to see that these times of chaos could in fact be an opportunity for profound spiritual transformation.

Walking in the Light draws inspiration from Jesus' words: Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world (John 11:9). This beautiful and meditative book is an invitation to walk not only in the light of the world, but to be in the light of the world. Each of the 12 chapters focuses on an hour of the day and a different theme of discipleship, with prayers taking us from morning until night, reflecting on the long-held tradition of monastic communities meeting for prayer several times a day. Woven around themes such as praise, thanksgiving, confession, forgiveness, peace, and growing in grace, they can be used throughout the day, at a particular hour of each day, or as a guide to our own prayers.

Rest for Our Souls uses everyday experiences as insipration for prayer. This collection of prayers encourages readers to look for God more carefully and intentionally in the world around us. The more we do, the more we will recognize God working in our lives.

Sister Frances Teresa, vicaress at the Convent of Poor Clares in Arundel, Sussex, has many years of experience writing prayers. She uses her expertise to approach prayer from a different perspective and tradition. Praying in the Franciscan Spirit guides readers through its particular strengths and flavors, all while providing a minitiare anthology.

The Rule that St. Benedict wrote for monks gives us a lasting impression of the man of God. This Rule has inspired monks, nuns, and lay people for over 1,500 years. Recent times have seen a flowering interest in St. Benedict's way, and this little book serves as a simple introduction to the spirituality of St. Benedict. Praying in the Benedictine Spirit aims to highlight the main signposts on St. Benedict's way and to encourage readers to take up the Rule themselves and fit in it a sure guide in their search for God. St. Benedict teaches a complete and trusting surrender to God, together with an awareness of the presence of God at all times, such that the whole of life is an act of worship. This love for Christ is shown in love for our brothers and sisters, in prayer, in song, in our daily work, and by practicing that stillness which allows us to hear the voice of God.

The wealth of beauty around us, the richness of the earth and its resources, all life, creation, fruitfullness, and growth flow from the generosity of God. The prayers in this book, drawing inspiration from our Celtic heritage, beautifully and lyrically express our thanks and praise that we live in harmony with God's laws, and cherish and strive to be good stewards of his gifts.

All human life should be encompassed in prayer--there is nothing we can't pray about. Prayer can heal the world, change the world and change the person who prays. The prayers in this book, drawn from Ray Simpson's many writings on Celtic spirituality, embrace all aspects of our world, our daily struggles and conflicts, and will help and inspire us to transform our lives and build a community of justice and a kingdom of love.

This book brings together over 300 beautiful prayers for advent and the Season of Christmas, written by four of the best-loved and most distinguished Christian writers: David Adam, Nick Fawcett, Susan Sayers, and Ray Simpson. This book is an invaluable resource for all those who prepare public worship.