Book of the Month

Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practice. Brian McLaren. 216pp. Thomas Nelson. $24.99

Many people are beginning to explore the ancient Christian spiritual practices that have been in use for centuries, everything from fixed-hour prayer to fasting to sincere observance of the Sabbath. What is causing this hunger for deeper spirituality? McLaren guides us on this quest for an explanation of these spiritual practices, many of which go all the way back to Abraham and the establishment of Israel. In the midst of contemporary Christianity, we discover the beauty of these ancient disciplines and the transformation through Christ that each can provide.

Also by McLaren:

• Everything Must Change. Thomas Nelson. (2007) $27.00

• Generous Orthodoxy. Zondervan. (2004) $29.99

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

The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church’s Conservative Icon. Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan. 230pp hbk. HarperCollins. $54.99

How could the letters of Paul be used both to inspire radical grace and to endorse oppression: condoning slavery, subordinating women, condemning homosexual behaviour? Borg and Crossan use the best of biblical and historical scholarship to explain the reasons for Paul’s mixed reputation and reveal that the later letters of Paul were created by the early church to dilute Paul‘s egalitarian message and transform him into something more “acceptable.” 

Also by Crossan and Borg:

·         Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Final Days in Jerusalem. HarperCollins (2006). $24.99

·         First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Birth. SPCK (2008) $27.99 

Re-enchanting Christianity: Faith in an emerging culture. Dave Tomlinson. 148pp Canterbury. $29.99

Many people have given up on the Church. Tomlinson explores how Christianity can become credible for them again, through finding a realistic faith that reconciles heart and head, and offers a positive, engaging spirituality, that is unafraid of grappling honestly with difficult questions.

Also by Tomlinson:

·         Post Evangelical. SPCK (1995) $26.99 (Allow 1 week)

·         Running into God: Reflections for Ordinary Days. SPCK (2004). $29.99 (Allow 4 weeks)

·         I Shall Not Want: Spiritual Wisdom from the 23rd Psalm. SPCK (2006) $29.99 (Allow 1 week)

Noonday Demon: A Modern Woman’s Struggle with Soulweariness. Kathleen Norris. 351pp. Lion. $37.99.

There’s a spiritual relative of depression that few understand or have explored. Norris discusses how the condition, known as acedia, has intersected with her life, and why the monastic life may hold the key to understanding the condition.

Also by Norris:

·         40-Day Journey with Kathleen Norris. Augsburg (2008) $24.99.

·         Cloister Walk. Berkley Books. (1996) $27.99

Earth Gospel: A Guide to Prayer for God's Creation. 221pp. Upper Room. $47.00

How are Christians to respond as stewards of God's creation? Explore through prayer the interconnecting love that binds God, humankind and creation,  forming a sacred trust. Offers four weeks of prayer, seven days per week, meditation with scripture and prayerful reflection. Also suitable as a worship resource.

Praying with Stuff: Ideas for Hands-on Prayer. Sally Dakin. 28pp. Grove. $16.00

This booklet will appeal to those who are at home with potatoes, paper shredders and pipe cleaners. Some of the ideas are for individuals to experiment with on their own, and some are intended to be used as ‘prayer stations.’ Some ideas are particularly appropriate for groups, and some can be used with whole congregations. Most of the ideas can be modified for use in several contexts.

Creative Ideas for Quiet Corners: 14 Visual Prayer Ideas for Quiet Moments with Children. Lynn Chambers. 110pp. BRF. $24.99

Designed to encourage children to find space for prayer by creating a physical prayer space in the home or at church that children can visit and enjoy. Each prayer idea uses simple but effective materials to create a quiet, reflective corner. The book also offers practical support to parents and leaders, so they can help children to move at their own pace into a sense of quietness and prayer.

Messy Church 2. Lucy Moore. 219pp. BRF. $29.99

15 more themed sessions of food, crafts and mess,  to bring people of all ages together for fun-filled Christian community outside Sunday worship. Explores discipleship, faith development and training for leadership. Ideal for clergy, lay ministers, those responsible for all-age worship, and those involved with outreach to the wider community.

Also available: Messy Church. Lucy Moore. BRF (2006) $26.99

Quiet Spaces Journal: Noon. Naomi Starkey ed. 64pp BRF. $14.99.

This edition of Quiet Spaces considers some of the most active times of life, when we are in our prime, at our busiest, and when, perhaps, we need to create a quiet space in the shade. Articles include Margaret Silf on ‘Life's noontide hour,’ an extract from Joyce Huggett's book Embracing God's World and Henry Wansbrough reflecting on St Benedict's rules for life. Other contributors include: Stephen Rand & Sarah Parry.

 Also available in this series for $14.99:

·         Night (in stock now)

·         Solitude – coming May

·         Community – coming September

·         And these other issues in stock or available to order: Fire – Rock – The City – Water – Wilderness – Creation – Feast – Garden – Journey – Morning

Let us know if you would like to receive each journal as it comes out – three issues per year

 Space for Grace: Creating Inclusive Churches. Giles Goddard. 140pp. Canterbury. $39.99

50 years ago Goddard’s church was almost exclusively white, middle class and male-led. As the local community became more diverse, change was inevitable. This highly readable book examines why inclusion matters theologically and how it can be put into practice in a parish context. Biblical reflection is interspersed with the personal stories of members of a very diverse congregation in South London and scenes from their life and worship together.

Pathway to Renewal: Practical Steps for Congregations. Mary Sellon & Daniel Smith. 184pp. Alban Institute. $39.99

This book offers pastors and congregational leaders a framework for understanding and addressing the deep cultural shift facing church members during congregational renewal. It will help leaders make sense of where their congregation could get stuck and guide them in thinking through what needs to be addressed next as a congregation seeks renewal. 

Promise and Peril: Understanding and Managing Change and Conflict in Congregations. David Brubaker. 169pp Alban Institute. $43.00.

Brubaker brings the tools of organisational theory and research to the task of understanding the deeper dynamics of congregational conflict. This book will help congregations avoid the pitfalls of conflict and instead head toward a healthy relationship between and among church staff and members.

ANZAC Day resources

The Duck in the Gun. Joy Cowley. Robyn Belton ill. 32pp colour. Walker. $17.99

The General is ready to go to war but a duck in the gun causes a sudden ceasefire … what will they all do? Special 25th anniversary edition to celebrate this classic satirical, funny – and still highly relevant – anti-war picture book.

Let There Be Peace: Prayers From Around The World. Jeremy Brooks, Jude Daly Illus. Hbk. 28pp colour. Frances Lincoln. $29.99

The world's need for peace is more urgent than ever before. Jeremy Brooks has gathered this beautifully illustrated anthology of thought-provoking prayers from different faiths all over the world. They range from Taoist and Hindu lines to a prayer by St Francis of Assisi and from words by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to a daily prayer said by Muslims everywhere. A thought-provoking special book for children.

My Grandfather's War. Glyn Harper. Bruce Potter illus. 32pp Raupo (2007). $16.99 (Expected mid-April 2009)

Eight year old Jade likes spending time with her grandfather. But she senses a sadness in him which has something to do with a war in Vietnam. When she has the courage to ask him about his experiences, he tells her about his time and actions in combat.

The Futility of War. Ernest McIvor. 366pp. National Pacific Press. (2007). $29.99

Wars have been used as a means of settling territorial and other political disputes since the dawn of human civilisation. Futility of War takes the reader through the long history of human conflict in all its forms, and considers the reasons why wars still exist today. In so doing, it offers a fascinating insight into how people in key positions of leadership have reacted to the threats and opportunities that have been presented to them.

Any discussion of this topic raises the question: Is there something about the nature of war that makes it an ongoing necessity for mankind, or is human nature such that we are fundamentally incapable of learning from the mistakes of past generations? These and many other thought-provoking questions are skilfully tackled by McIvor in this absorbing account of a phenomenon that has both fascinated and dogged us throughout human history.

Hymn for Anzac Day/Himene mo te ra o Anzac - Sheet Music. Words: Shirley Erena Murray, Music: Colin Gibson. 8pp A4. $5.00 plus $1.60 p&p.

The New Zealand Hymnbook Trust published the sheet music for this important new hymn in 2008. The sheet music includes settings of both melody line and SATB with piano accompaniment. The text is in both English and Te Reo Maori - translated by Rangi McGarvey and adapted by Whirimako Black. Order your copies now.

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.

Marching as to War? The Anglican Church in NZ during WWII. Geoffrey Haworth. Wily Publishing $39.99

Churches were put to a severe test by WWII and the Anglican Church was no exception. Its ablest young men were in uniform, and many of its women were thrust into roles more responsible that they had in peacetime. The bishops did not enjoy good relationships, and pacifists asked difficult questions of their Church. Tension grew between Maori and Pakeha Anglicans, and everyone wrestled with the theological issues surrounding death, reconciliation, the Holocaust and the atomic bomb. Haworth connects what the Church was saying and doing with what was happening in the society beyond its pews.

Bookstalls

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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.

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