In this series, we highlight books we think our readers may enjoy, written by authors affiliated with the Collegeville Institute.
A Family Like Mine: Biblical Stories of Love, Loss, and Longing
Upper Room, 2020
By Rosalind C. Hughes, former writing workshop participant
Families have always been complicated. A Family Like Mine explores the surprising variety of family reflected in the Bible, emphasizing God’s grace, reconciliation, and renewal. Hughes tells the family stories of our spiritual ancestors in ways that resonate with our own family stories, weaving accounts of biblical characters with stories of family formation, estrangement, adoption, and more. Her imaginative retelling of biblical stories invites readers to dig deeper into the motivations, disappointments, faith, and fulfillment we hold in common with our biblical ancestors. Story-based and biblically informed, this book combines spiritual autobiography with Bible study. Reflection questions encourage readers to compare their own stories with the stories of families found in the Bible.
When Kids Ask Hard Questions: Faith-filled Responses for Tough Topics
Chalice Press, 2019
Edited by Karen Ware Jackson and Bromleigh McCleneghan*, writing workshop participant
When kids ask the really hard questions, are you prepared to respond? In When Kids Ask Hard Questions: Faith-filled Responses for Tough Topics, learn how to craft faithful conversations on tough topics with your children. More than 30 essays from a diverse group of progressive young parents, pastors, and experts address topics including gender identity, bullying, mental illness, disabilities, death, divorce, money, technology, and more. The book models thoughtful and faithful responses and shares how to create safe spaces for the important, ongoing conversations you’ll want to have with the kids you love and care for. Responses are aimed at children aged 5-12, but many chapters include suggestions for pre-school and older kids/teens. Each essay includes a resource list.
Atomic Theory 7: Poems to my Wife and God
Resource Publications, 2020
By Shann Ray, former writing workshop participant
Atomic Theory 7, a collaboration between the fiercely-imagined poems of Shann Ray and the sacramental art of Trinh Mai, considers the body at rest and war, in beauty and peace, in the finality of darkness and the atomic fusion that beckons new life. Atomic truths are presented in visceral, physical gestures: a healing hand on the chest of friends and strangers, a loving embrace between enemies. The breath of the holy over the wrist bones of a child. God in all things. Breath. Whisper. Song. Here it is not the Divine who commits genocide but people, and in the heartrending aftermath, we are sometimes graced to meet one another again, kiss each other in peace, and go forth aware of our atomic responsibility. Comprised of 7 sections of 11 sonnets each, interwoven with 28 images by Trinh Mai, the collection speaks to Isaiah’s mystery that despite our capacity for evil, God has given the garment of praise instead of the spirit of despair.
Like this post? Subscribe to have new posts sent to you by email the same day they are posted.
Leave a Reply