Emmanuel Episcopal Church

Concluding The Great Emergence

This week, G2R, Emmanuel's Adult Christian Formation Class, concluded its study of Phyllis Tickle’s The Great Emergence with a discussion of “Where is it going?”

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The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

Shane Claiborne was a young Methodist who grew up in the Bible Belt, became a Jesus freak, and moved to Philadelphia despite his family's misgivings, helping the homeless there. Then in his early twenties he boldly requested an internship with Mother Teresa in Calcutta. She simply responded, "Come."

Besides illuminating his own faith journey, Claiborne is insightful on the huge U.S. cultural and economic divide: the problem isn't that wealthy Christians don't care about the poor, he says, it's that they simply don't know the poor.

Read the reviews. Order the book.

Where will you be this Sunday?

The Peculiar Life of Sundays by Stephen Miller

A WSJ book review by Jay Tolson

Who, raised in or around the Christian tradition, has not experienced the ambivalent dolors of a Sunday? That is only one question -- but a central and recurrent one -- raised by "The Peculiar Life of Sundays," Stephen Miller's lively history of a day that has exercised a peculiar hold on countless human beings for the past 2,000 years.

One might think that, for the devout, this hold would be especially firm. For them, after all, the day is unquestionably holy, unquestionably the Lord's: an Easter in miniature marking their savior's resurrection. But even the faithful can feel uneasy, as Mr. Miller shows by depicting the spiritual struggles of many of his exemplary figures.

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An Episcopal Church Primer

"Christopher Webber's book, Welcome to the Episcopal Church, is a very good, brief introduction to the Episcopal Church in history, worship and overall faith. Often used as a study guide or textbook during confirmation and new member classes, this book provides a clear, basic, accessible and interesting narrative that is easy to follow and easy to learn." -  Fr Kurt Messick

Welcome to the Episcopal Church: An Introduction to Its History, Faith, and Worship is available from Amazon.com.

Another primer, geared toward confirmation classes, is Joseph B. Bernardin's Introduction to the Episcopal Church, also available from Amazon.com.

A Brief History of the Episcopal Church

"David L. Holmes's A Brief History of the Episcopal Church is an outstanding tour through the history of the Episcopal church, from its earliest days to the present...Holmes successfully incorporates discussions of liturgy, theology, polity, and architecture into the story, while giving attention to women and men representing a range of ethnic and social backgrounds. In so doing he relates the history of the Episcopal church to that of the larger society in a way that makes church history come alive." -  A Reader

A Brief History of the Episcopal Church is available from Amazon.com.

A Little History of the English Country Church

"Early worship by Christians was deeply spiritual, ritualistic and physical. Images of saints adorned the walls of the church, where parishioners came for all the sacraments that represented the life cycle of ordinary people. Feast days and saints' days were many, the congregation stood during services, coming and going, talking and kneeling. The building boom of elaborately beautiful churches reached its height in the 14th and 15th centuries."

Click Here to continue reading the article, "Country Churches: Bruised Survivors,"  in The Economist of September 29th.

Order the book, A Little History of the English Country Church,  from Amazon.