New Book On Radical Welcome
I just had the pleasure of flipping through the new book by Stephanie Spellers called Radical Welcome: Embracing God, the Other and the Spirit of Transformation:
http://www.allbookstores.com/author/Stephanie_Spellers.html
Stephanie is an Episcopal priest who has written about flinging open the doors of our hearts and our churches the way God would have us do, and why we don't always manage that in our various denominations (you may now nominate me for Understatement of the Year), and how we can get down and grapple with that. It's very well-written, well-organized and visually pleasing, making for what I anticipate will be an important resource for lay and ordained church leadership.
I haven't read it carefully yet, but from first glance I think I can safely say that this is a book that lays out a loving challenge. This is a book you have to be ready for, or it will gnaw at your conscience. This is a book that could be your next dog-eared favorite, and help you set forth a vision for the next decade of your congregation's leadership.
I remember when Steph was working on this book a few summers ago and I would get a call from her and she'd be in Seattle doing research and I'd get another call from her and I'd think she was home, but she'd be in Minneapolis doing research, and then Washington, DC, and then God-knows-where. This is by way of telling you that this isn't the work of some armchair philosopher waxing rhapsodic about What Could Be, but the vision of a devoted religious leader and serious researcher who moved her body all over this country in order to learn firsthand how radically welcoming churches got that way.
Stephanie, mazel tov on this new baby. I'm right proud of you, rock star. My suggestion for your next big project: Have more fun in 2007!
http://www.allbookstores.com/author/Stephanie_Spellers.html
Stephanie is an Episcopal priest who has written about flinging open the doors of our hearts and our churches the way God would have us do, and why we don't always manage that in our various denominations (you may now nominate me for Understatement of the Year), and how we can get down and grapple with that. It's very well-written, well-organized and visually pleasing, making for what I anticipate will be an important resource for lay and ordained church leadership.
I haven't read it carefully yet, but from first glance I think I can safely say that this is a book that lays out a loving challenge. This is a book you have to be ready for, or it will gnaw at your conscience. This is a book that could be your next dog-eared favorite, and help you set forth a vision for the next decade of your congregation's leadership.
I remember when Steph was working on this book a few summers ago and I would get a call from her and she'd be in Seattle doing research and I'd get another call from her and I'd think she was home, but she'd be in Minneapolis doing research, and then Washington, DC, and then God-knows-where. This is by way of telling you that this isn't the work of some armchair philosopher waxing rhapsodic about What Could Be, but the vision of a devoted religious leader and serious researcher who moved her body all over this country in order to learn firsthand how radically welcoming churches got that way.
Stephanie, mazel tov on this new baby. I'm right proud of you, rock star. My suggestion for your next big project: Have more fun in 2007!
posted by PeaceBang at 6:59 AM
1 Comments:
Not to mention that Stephanie walks the talk! She was the person that welcomed me to HDS and gave me an introductory tour (this is more than 10 years ago) with such hospitality and kindness that I thought Harvard and Boston was the friendliest place on earth.
It's wonderful that she's helping the rest of us learn to be better at this, too. (Mrs P and I are big fans of hers.)
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