Book of the Month

Bare Feet and Buttercups: Resources for Ordinary Time (Trinity Sunday to the Feast of the Transfiguration). Ruth Burgess ed. 270pp. Wild Goose. $50.00

This fine collection of resources for Ordinary Time includes prayers, stories, responses, songs, poems, reflections and meditations, written by Iona Community members and others. While offering resources for groups and individuals covering the weeks from Trinity Sunday to the Feast of the Transfiguration, much of the material can be used at other times during the year. Suitable for worship, groups and individuals.

A companion resource book to:

·         Fire and Bread: Resources for Easter Day to Trinity Sunday. $55.50.

·         Eggs and Ashes: Practical & Liturgical Resources for Lent and Holy Week $49.99

·         Candles & Conifers: Resources for All Saints’ and Advent $55.00, and

·         Hay & Stardust: Resources for Christmas to Candlemas $55.00

IBRA 2009 Bible reading notes

Words for Today 2009. Nicola Slee ed. 370pp IBRA, UK. $27.00

A lively, fresh, radical approach to the Bible from writers drawn around the globe and many different traditions. A year’s reading notes in one volume. Challenges readers to action.

Lent & Easter Selection

·         Are planning Lent and Easter services

·         Wonder what’s new for group study, personal reading and reflection          

·         Want some fresh ideas for children’s ministry, including crafts and activities

·         Are looking for Easter children’s story books.

Other featured titles

Jesus: A Short Life. John Dickson. 160pp. Lion. $27.99

Recent claims about the life of Jesus have raised many questions about the historicity of the man from Nazareth. Australian John Dickson sets the record straight. He draws on the latest scholarship to provide a succinct account of Jesus' life, teachings, death and resurrection - and his continuing significance today. The text is illustrated throughout with fine art reproductions and photographs of the places that Jesus knew.

Field Punishment No. 1: Archibald Baxter, Mark Briggs & New Zealand’s anti-militarist tradition.  

David Grant. Bob Kerr Illust. 160pp. $34.99.

One of New Zealand's most extraordinary stories describes the courage of the conscientious objectors sent overseas during World War I, in a brutal attempt to force them to renounce their convictions and join the war effort.

Despite torture and privation, Archie Baxter and Mark Briggs held out till the end, in one of the bravest displays of principle New Zealand has ever seen. They were this country’s first successful dissenters, in defiance of a militaristic, neo-colonial government that feared non-conformity.

Also available on this topic:

·         We Will Not Cease. Archibald Baxter, 215pp. Cape Catley (2003). $24.99

·         Indeterminate Sentence. Allan Handyside, 120pp. Philip Garside (2005). $25.00

·         Bread and Water: The Escape & Ordeal Of Two NZ World War II Conscientious Objectors. Will Foote with Chris Palmer and Merv Browne.67pp. Philip Garside (2000). $10.00

·         Question of Faith: A History Of NZ Christian Pacifist Society. David Grant. 120pp large format. Philip Garside (2004). $10.00.

More Dumb Things Churches Do and New Strategies for Avoiding Them. Philip Wiehe & Linda McFadden. 149pp Morehouse. $39.00

Sometimes forming committees, fixing the heaters and printing the Sunday bulletin feel like the most urgent business of the church. Here are new ideas and creative strategies for dealing with the important challenges that all congregations face. With humour, wisdom and insight the authors provide a pattern for renewing the Body of Christ in our time.

Jesus, the Final Days: What Really Happened. Craig Evans  & NT (Tom) Wright. 116pp. Westminister John Knox. $29.99

What do history and archaeology have to say about Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection? In this accessible book, two of the worlds most celebrated writers on the historical Jesus share their findings. They concisely and compellingly convey the drama and the world-shattering significance of Jesus final days on earth. 

Ratana: The Prophet. Keith Newman. 263pp. Raupo. $40.00

Throughout history, certain individuals with a rare passion for justice and a gift of insight have been able to rally and motivate people through periods of great social change. Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana was such a man, called to prominence at a pivotal time, with a message for the Maori people and for the wider world. As founder of the Ratana Church and the Ratana movement, he led his followers in the quest to unite all Maori under one God, and to restore the Treaty of Waitangi as the founding document of the nation, giving Maori equal rights to British citizens.

A Message for Today: A Study in Mark's Gospel. Marion Deelen. 44pp. Christian Focus. $9.99

Through this study you will learn more from Mark’s action-packed gospel and more about the life and work of Jesus Christ – His identity; his teaching; his works; his death; his resurrection. Geared for Growth series study materials encourage: a daily encounter with God, group learning and sharing, spiritual growth and church growth.

Growing Spiritually with the Myers-Briggs® Model. Julia McGuinness. 153pp. SPCK. $34.99

Though as Christians we share a common faith, we also represent a glorious and diverse range of personalities. The way we grow spiritually will reflect these differences. Knowing ourselves better can save us frustration as we seek ways forward in company with those who may be rather different from ourselves. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ® Model is the most widely used psychological instrument of its kind worldwide and many people have found it a valuable aid to spiritual growth. This book sets out the essentials of the model, and presents profiles of the 16 personality types to enable us to discover our own.

We Walk His Way: Shorter Songs for Worship. John Bell. Wild Goose. $37.50.

44 short, memorable songs from the Iona Community and from around the world. An ideal collection for small choirs, social justice enthusiasts, multiculturalists and all who regard themselves as global Christians.

Also available: We Walk His Way CD with 19 tracks. $45

Take, Eat: Reflections on the Eucharist. Kenneth Stevenson. 85pp compact hbk. Canterbury. $29.99

In this short, reflective companion, Stevenson explores some of the Eucharist’s many layers of meaning – as sacrifice, memorial, sustenance for the Christian journey, sign of the new creation, anticipation of the heavenly feast – and more.  As a basic guide, he uses the Gospel of Luke in which feeding is a particularly strong theme. Taking well known stories such as Jesus eating with sinners, feeding the five thousand, the Last Supper and the evening meal at Emmaus after the resurrection, he grounds our understanding of the Eucharist in scripture and shows how it can shape our entire Christian experience.

Meaningful Funerals: Meeting the Theological and Pastoral Challenge in a Postmodern Era. Ewan Kelly. 212pp. Continuum. $49.99

“How is the church  to offer pastoral care to those who know little if anything of its Christian story, especially in situations of death and bereavement? Kelly provides a creative response to that postmodern dilemma in his well-researched invitation to co-construct funerals with the bereaved in ways that honour their story and challenge the church’s own theology. This pioneering study offers both sensitive guidance on pastoral practice for all who work with the bereaved and critical insights on ritual and theological reflection for scholars and students.” William Storrar, Centre of Theological Inquiry, Princeton.

Funeral Celebrant's Handbook: Creating services that celebrate life and mourn death. Barry Young. Jojo Publishing. now $67.00

Today personal funeral services that capture the essence of the departed person - their character, spirit and legacy - are being planned and conducted by civil celebrants in collaboration with family and friends of the deceased. With this move away from traditional funeral services, comes an increased responsibility for the funeral celebrant to honour the departed in an appropriate way and make sure each service runs as smoothly as possible.

Ideal for qualified celebrants or church leaders, celebrants-in-training or those who are thinking about entering this vocation. It covers every aspect of a service, beginning at the time of initial contact and the first meeting with the bereaved, right through to the service itself. Includes a varied collection of readings, poems and sample eulogies for each type of funeral service, as well as advice about conducting memorial services and funeral services with a difference.

40-Day Journey with Julian of Norwich. Lisa Dahill ed. 109pp. Augsburg. $24.99

The volumes in the 40-Day Journey series invite readers to explore their spirituality with a great spiritual guide from the past or the present. In this volume, readers will be inspired by Julian, a celebrated English mystic from the 14th century and a recluse at St. Julian's Church in Norwich, whose writings were the first works in English known to be written by a woman.

A medieval Catholic, Julian was seen as a precursor to Martin Luther and other Reformation writers. Much of what she wrote speaks of the most profound mysteries of the Christian faith, and her Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love (circa 1393) is considered to be one of the most remarkable documents of medieval religious experience. In it she speaks of the great love of God for God's people and how sin stands in the way. It is Jesus, however, who assures her, "that all would be well, and all manner of things would be well."

40-Day Journey with Julian of Norwich begins with a short introduction to the life of Julian and then offers forty chapters, each of which includes a reading from her writings, related Scripture passages, questions to ponder, journal-reflection exercises, and a prayer. The book also includes helps on how to use the book and hints on keeping a journal along with ideas for further reading. Each chapter in the book includes space for notes.

Also available for $24.99 in the 40-Day Journey with series:

·         Parker J Palmer

·         Joan Chittister

·         Martin Luther

·         Kathleen Norris

·         Dietrich Bonhoeffer

·         Gerard Manley Hopkins

·         Madeleine L’Engle

Coming in November 2009

2009 – Year B: Preaching, Worship and Devotional resources

Click here for an exciting list of new and favourite titles to support your work and personal devotions in the coming year: http://www.epworthbooks.org.nz/featured_books/2009_Year_B.htm

Please allow 4-8 weeks for delivery from the time of your order.

Massive 5^th Anniversary Sale

Choose from over 170books and CDs, most reduced by 70%, all $10 or less.

Click here for the list http://www.epworthbooks.org.nz/stock/sale.htm

Ordering

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