Lives continue to change as Dr. David Gushee reaches a milestone of 30,000 with his LGBTQ-affirming ‘Changing Our Mind’

August 21, 2023 by

Finding Christian pathways for LGBTQ friends and families

By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of ReadTheSpirit magazine

In our publishing house, we say, “A book is a community between two covers—and good books connect with real communities in the world.” That vocation for our authors defines the remarkable global growth of Dr. David Gushee’s landmark book, Changing Our Mind. And, this week, Dr. Gushee is celebrating with our publishing house reaching the milestone of 30,000 copies sold. We’re not only marking the sheer number of books sold—we’re celebrating with thousands of individuals and their families who have been helped by this book.

Click on the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page.

“This book has opened up a whole field of ministry for me,” Gushee said in an interview this week. “I realize now what an enormous need there is among so many people and their families to connect with ministers with serious Christian perspectives in counseling—people who understand how sexuality works and who accept LGBTQ people for who they are. I have learned through my journey with this book—and with people I have met around the world because of this book—that, when we as Christians are able to accept all people, then so many LGBTQ people and their families are able to find their own pathways forward in life that allow them to remain in relationship with Christ.

“I often talk about three callings in my life: my calling as a Christian, as a pastor and as an academic. In this book, and all of the talks and writings that have come from this book over the years, I have been able to exercise all three of those callings. I have found it immensely rewarding that my academic work in Christian ethics has been able to be of such pastoral significance to people who have told me this has helped them to put their lives and in many cases their families back together again and put them back in relationship with God.”

Since his book first was published in 2014, Gushee has heard from thousands of readers around the world, ranging from angry evangelical critics who are furious that he broke ranks with them—to people who have thanked him because they desperately needed this sign of hope.

“And within that larger response, there are probably 600 individuals with whom I’ve had even deeper conversations. With some, I’ve even formed ongoing pastoral connections and friendships,” he said. “These are people all over the world.”

Asked to share some examples, Gushee said, “Oh, there are so many! One example: I was particularly moved to hear from a woman in Indonesia who had been suffering from her family’s attempts to try to ‘beat the lesbian out of me.’ My book was a sign of hope to her that helped her to see a different way of understanding her life and new possibilities for a relationship with God.”

‘I Need to Tell You My Story …’

Usually, these new conversations begin with he words: “I need to tell you my story—”

As Gushee travels around the world to this day, he tells his audiences that listening is often more important than speaking. So, despite his jam-packed schedule and never-ending deadlines for writing and teaching, he has found himself devoting countless hours to listening.

He vividly recalls an event in San Francisco in late June 2015, when the Supreme Court announced its decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, the ruling that declared the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.

“I was invited to speak at a vesper service at Grace Episcopal Cathedral in San Francisco, when the ruling was coming. The invitation was: ‘If the court votes against us, then lament with us. If the vote goes for us, then celebrate with us.’ And, as it turned out, this became a big celebration.”

The pioneering San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, which helped to foster the LGBTQ choral movement in the 1970s, sang during that service.

“It was quite a celebration, very festive. There were robes—the choir was robed and I was wearing this Episcopal-style robe—and there was this gala event after the service with deserts so we could talk with people. And I’ll never forget one of the leaders of the chorus coming up to me, saying, ‘I need to tell you my story—’ And, of course, I am glad that I listened to his story, even though his experiences had been painful.

“He had been a minister of music in a Texas Southern Baptist church. Then, when he came out, he found himself cut off like so many LGBTQ people do if they have been part of an evangelical community. He said, ‘I lost everything. I lost my job. And I wound up out here.’ That’s a story I have heard from so many LGBTQ Christians who have come out. They lose their church, their community, often their friends and family. They lose their whole world.

“The difference in this case was that we were talking long after those painful experiences in his life. He said, ‘I was booted out of the evangelical culture in Texas, but I wound up finding a new home in San Francisco.’ And he had enough distance from that pain to say, ‘Now, I think it’s funny how happy my life is in this community. And I’m so glad you came out here to be with us on this night, so we can celebrate together.’ ”

In that journey, Texas lost one of its most talented Christian musicians, relationships were shattered, there was lingering trauma—and it took years for that talented musician to build relationships in a new supportive community.

“It’s so hard for people and their families to try to put their lives back together again,” Gushee said.

‘Conversations I didn’t expect to have’

Gushee himself is now known around the world as an “ally.” He’s “straight” and married, so he often tells audiences that the past decade of new friendships with LGBTQ folks has been a revelation of how complex and sometimes traumatic human relationships can be. Then, he tells people that two important values that anyone—whether LGBTQ or a “straight” ally—should model are openness and honesty.

That has led him to a relentlessly public affirmation of this inclusive journey in ministry—despite the years of attacks from evangelicals who are angry that he left their circle.

“Despite all of the criticism I have received from former colleagues, some of them friends I knew for many years, I would not change this path I have taken. I have never been tempted to change course. And, because I have remained true to this course, there have been many things—including many conversations—I didn’t expect along the way,” he said.

Just one example, he said, “Is an airline pilot from Chicago who reached out to me and told me his story of living for many years as a closeted gay man. He told me that he had read my book. And, after reading the book, he said, ‘I need to tell you my story—'”

He had grown up in a Christian family and had excelled in doing all the things that were expected of him as a promising young man in such a community. He became a successful pilot, but as he reached his 50s, he realized that his life was about to implode. At the end of his story, he told Gushee, “I just can’t live a lie anymore.”

“These are the kinds of conversations that, even as a pastor and as a teacher for many years, I was never invited into before writing this book,” Gushee said. “That’s not surprising, because people who are LGBTQ are well aware that non-affirming straight ministers are not safe people for them to have conversations with. That kind of conversation will only lead to more pain. So, this book suddenly put my name out there in the world as someone who is safe to talk with.

“What surprised me in talking with the pilot is that he flew down here to Atlanta and came to the Sunday School class I teach—and we wound up becoming friends,” Gushee said. “I’m so glad I was able to play that kind of role in his life.”

The warmest thanks: ‘This book changed my life.’

But the biggest surprise since Changing Our Mind was published in 2014?

“The biggest surprise is that for so many people—the book itself is enough,” Gushee said. “We’ve been talking about people who contact me, either at an event or in other ways, and conversations I’ve had with hundreds of people. But that’s not the case with most readers—and I’m so proud that this tells me: The book itself tells the story effectively.

“For all the people I’ve had conversations with, there are far more readers who simply say: ‘Your book helped.’ Or: ‘Your book is what I needed.’ And that’s amazing to me—touching lives through the book itself, not even a conversation was needed. Of all the responses I’ve received from these 30,000 books that are now out there in the world—that kind of response still moves me: ‘This book changed my life. Thanks.’ ”

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Care to Learn More?

Click on the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page.

GET THE BOOK—It’s available in hardcover, paperback and Kindle from Amazon—as well as through Barnes & Noble, the Walmart website and bookstores everywhere. On Amazon, the book has earned an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars from 365 reviews—and it has earned a “Great on Kindle” badge from Amazon. On Goodreads, the book averages 4.3 stars, based on 962 ratings.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CONTEXT OF THIS BOOK—Order a copy of Gushee’s magnum opus from his decades of teaching Christian Ethics at Mercer. It’s a book called, Introducing Christian Ethics, and this unique multi-media book includes both video and audio of Gushee delivering the talks included in the book.

CONNECT WITH DR. GUSHEE by visiting his website (davidpgushee.com), where you also can learn about his upcoming book, Defending Democracy from its Christian Enemies, which will be launched in October 2023. While on his website, you will find links to his latest Articles and Podcasts. You also can learn more about his extensive public speaking and, on that same page you will find a link to invite him to speak in your community or event.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SEXUALITY AND GENDER through the award-winning “100 Questions & Answers About—” series from the Michigan State University School of Journalism’s “Bias Busters” program. These guides are prepared by student reporters, guided by blue-ribbon national panels of experts, and are a perfect way to start discussions about topics ranging from race and ethnicity to religion and gender.

The Rev. Dr. George A. Mason takes us to a very different kind of ‘Sunday Service’ complete with skateboards and fresh vegetables

July 30, 2023 by

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By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of Read the Spirit magazine

Here’s why the Rev. Dr. George A. Mason—author of the new book Word Made Fresh—is nationally celebrated as a prophet among preachers: Like the great prophets of old in Jewish, Christian and Muslim tradition, George Mason carries his faith into the real world and shares the Good News he finds there every week. Mason’s parish truly is the whole world.

This week, he’s taking all of us—via a video feature you can see below—to the Sunday Service at the 4DWN skateboard park in South Dallas. The moment we saw the headline on this new video episode in George’s ongoing podcast series—titled “A Different Kind of Sunday Service”—we guessed that George would show us some kind of trendy evangelical worship service with a rock band and a casually attired speaker maybe spouting skater slang in his sermon.

No!

And that’s why George’s latest video is our magazine Cover Story this week. This is a story from one small corner of Dallas that the world needs to know about. George’s mission for many years—at his own home church, Wilshire Baptist and in his book The Word Made Fresh—has been sharing a vision of what “church” can become in our increasingly diverse world.

The Sunday Service in the video, below, is a very compelling vision, indeed.

The big surprise in this video is that it’s a weekly congregation of people who 4DWN co-founder Rob Cahill lovingly describes as “weirdos”—as in: “If you come here on a Sunday and look at all these people working on sorting and packaging food, you wonder: Who are all these weirdos who come together on a Sunday to give their time to this? A lot of these people are lawyers, doctors, movers and shakers—but they come here and they are working side by side with people, some of whom don’t even have a home. What unites these people are the values we share.”

Remember our recent Cover Story by Duncan Newcomer about Braver Angels, another small group that is making a big difference in bridging America’s dangerous divides? Well, this week, George is bringing us another innovative idea from an at-risk neighborhood in Texas. We are covering these stories for our national audience because the world will be a better place if more people learn from these examples—and perhaps try something like these ideas in their own communities.

Come on! Right now, you could share this story across your social media or via email—and perhaps that idea will spring to life in another community.

Here’s the video from Dallas!

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Care to Learn More?

First, order your own copy of George’s book—and consider ordering a second copy to give to a friend. Amazon offers both hardcover and paperback editions for gift giving.

Connect with George yourself via www.GeorgeAMason.com—which is a gateway both to his new book and to all of George’s ongoing work now that he has moved to emeritus status with Wilshire. When you first visit, sign up for his free email updates. (It’s easy to cancel anytime, but we doubt you’ll want to cancel.) Then, the website also makes it easy to Contact George, if you’re interested in an invitation to speak or have other questions.

In ‘Chicken Scratch,’ veteran writer Ann Byle invites us to join her creative flock

July 24, 2023 by

Chickens roaming among bushes in the back yard of the Rev. Joel Walther’s parsonage some years ago.

Are you ready to take the next step in your creative life?

By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of ReadTheSpirit magazine

What’s your role in the flock?

Ann Byle with one of her chickens.

One thing I’ve learned from watching the chickens raised in our family is: Some may look alike but chicken personalities vary widely, so we can’t always anticipate what they’ll do. Chickens can surprise us; people can surprise us; and we can surprise ourselves. That’s one of the helpful insights in journalist Ann Byle’s new book, Chicken Scratch: Lessons on Living Creatively from a Flock of Hens.

A second helpful insight—and one I’ve taught myself in seminars and workshops through the decades is this: If you want to create—then create. You’re not a writer unless you write. If you want to be a good writer, you’ll write something every single day. And, in a wide variety of ways—sometimes funny and sometimes downright blunt—that’s another essential lesson in Byle’s book.

As simple as it sounds, that’s the first step toward a creative life: You have to start creating and, as Ann puts it, as you start, “Don’t worry about mistakes.” If you’re counting with me, that’s a third valuable “take away”—the creative life involves lots and lots of mistakes. Don’t be discouraged by disappointments; they’re part of the process. Keep going!

So, at this point, you probably realize a fourth important truth about this book: This is not guidebook on how to raise chickens in your yard. This book is about how a nationally known journalist and expert on creativity drew practical and sometimes surprising lessons from the chickens in her backyard. When you open her book, she’s up-front about her goals:

My dream for Chicken Scratch is that it inspires you to take the next right step in your creative life, and to move ever forward. It could be a new casserole recipe, a gorgeous oil painting, a better way to perform a lifesaving surgery, a new piece of music, a new children’s book. The world needs your creativity, needs your dreams, needs the very thing you dream of doing. Please, go forth and create—and maybe my little coop will inspire you as they have me.

Click the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page.

How do we know that Ann Byle has authority in these areas?

Although her byline may not be a household name, she is well known in our professional field of publishing about religious and cultural diversity. Her substantial background as a journalist includes regular reporting for Publishers Weekly (PW) magazine about new books coming out on faith, spirituality and religion. She’s a media veteran who understands what’s popular with readers in this genre that rests primarily on inspiration: Will readers walk away from books feeling better than when they started reading?

As you read Chicken Scratch, you’ll realize that Byle has carefully planned each of her short chapters so that they are packed with ideas, questions for reflection, practical tips and even lists of other resources she recommends.

If you want to explore the creative capacities in your life, this is a book-length toolbox you’ll be pleased to own and open.

‘Touch-points on Faith’

Because I have never raised chickens myself, I invited my son in law, the Rev. Joel Walther, who directs the office of human resources for the United Methodist church in Michigan, to read Byle’s book and help us with our Zoom interview. Before his pastoral career began, Joel had managed a farm in Maine and, during his first years in ministry, he raised chickens in the backyard of the parsonage.

“I think this book is a delightful way to reflect on creativity from the perspective of chickens,” Joel said as we began our conversation with Ann on Zoom. “As I read your book, I found myself thinking about my own chicken stories from the years we raised chickens. Then, as a pastor, I also appreciate the touch-points on faith throughout this book. At one point, you remind us that Peter’s symbol became a rooster, because he denied that he knew Jesus three times before a rooster crowed. You also remind us of the famous passage in the Gospels when Jesus says he wishes he could gather his people under his wings like a mother hen.

“So, yes, I really enjoyed this book,” Joel summed up. “Chickens are a great place to jump off into lots of learning and teaching opportunities.”

“I very much agree,” I said. “And one of the most important lessons you draw in the book is that, like raising chickens or any livestock really, this requires daily practice. You can’t occasionally dabble in raising chickens or any other animals, right? It’s a daily commitment. And you can’t fully develop a creative pursuit without discipline.”

“I’m glad you’re pointing this out. It’s so important,” Ann said. “Way too many people don’t take their creative endeavors seriously enough. For example, people think of writing as a gift that’s always waiting—like a faucet that you can turn on any time and these things just flow out of you. Yes, writing may be a gift that you have, but you have to treat that gift seriously. You have to work at it.”

“It’s one of the first things I teach in classes about writing,” I told Ann.

She nodded across the Zoom screen. She said, “Having worked for a newspaper for many years, we learn that you don’t have the luxury of only writing when you feel like it.”

“I like the way you explain the challenges—and the mistakes we’ve all made along the way,” Joel said. “Raising chickens isn’t like raising a puppy. We’ve done both and we know. Chickens are different.”

“You’re right,” Ann said. “Chickens are livestock. The goal with chickens is not to have them curl up with you on the couch. They’re quite independent. They can fend for themselves most of the time—but you’ve got to pay attention everyday.”

“And sometimes there are setbacks, even tragedies,” Joel said. “I remember when we lost our first chicken because it literally chose to cross the road in front of our house. The other chickens did learn to avoid the road, after that, but there are lots of challenges—from cars driving by to predators that eat chickens. This is quite a commitment.”

“It is,” Ann said. “Chickens want to do their own thing, but every day you’ve got to be sure they’re safe and warm and have water and food. In the great scheme of things, chickens are not terribly difficult to raise—but you quickly learn that what you get out of raising chickens depends on what you put into this on a daily basis. And the same it true of creativity.”

‘Plus, this is just fun.’

Both Joel and Ann, who is active in her own congregation, said they can see this book as popular with small groups, perhaps discussing parts of the book over a series of weekly sessions. Those discussions could be within congregations—or in secular settings like a local library. Ann’s expressions of her faith in some passages of the book are within the context of a larger community conversation.

“I definitely could see people discussing this book in small groups—because it fits with a theme I always emphasize,” Joel said. “One thing I try to teach in my own community, especially in my church, is creativity. So for me this book is a perfect marriage of what I know about raising chickens and the challenges of the creative life. Plus, this is just fun—this book is fun.”

Ann said, “Churches would do well to have more fun and I appreciate that about my own church now—we do know how to have fun sometimes.”

We all agreed that one of the first reactions people will have to Chicken Scratch is: A big smile.

You will learn a few things about fostering creativity. You’ll feel encouraged if you already are a creative person. You’ll learn a lot about chickens. And, when you’re done, you’ll have a list of creative ideas to explore and lots of other recommended books to consider reading next.

“I hope people walk away inspired to tap into that dream they’ve always had,” Ann said at the end of our Zoom conversation. “It doesn’t have to be a big dream. It doesn’t have to be writing a whole novel or painting a big painting—but everybody has something that they love and they wold love to do more often—or they would like to start. Even if it’s just putting a new spice in a recipe or using a different kind of yarn when you’re knitting, I hope they come away from this book with the courage to try something new and creative.”

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Care to learn more?

GET THE BOOK: It’s available in hardcover and Kindle versions from Amazon.

VISIT ANN ONLINE: The best starting place is her website, AnnByleWriter.com. Many of our ReadTheSpirit readers are professionals and community leaders who are looking both for fresh ideas as well as the work of other talented professionals. If that sounds like you, then don’t miss the section of Ann’s website labeled AB Writing Services, where Ann outlines the many professional ways she has worked with clients over the years. You might want to remember her, if you or your community group needs a professional writer or editor. You might also want to take a look at her Events page, which includes a box you can use to sign up for her free newsletters.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SPIRITUALITY OF THE NATURAL WORLD: Our online magazine regularly publishes stories about the connections between faith, spirituality and the natural world. In a May Cover Story, we featured popular author Barbara Mahany talking about her new release, The Book of Nature. If you are interested in Ann Byle’s book, we can guarantee you’ll also enjoy Barbara Mahany’s writing.

 

David W. Peters’ ‘Post-Traumatic Jesus’ offers ‘A Healing Gospel for the Wounded’

July 10, 2023 by

Isolation is one of the greatest challenges for the millions struggling with PTSD.

You May Have a Friend with PTSD—and Not Know It

By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of ReadTheSpirit Magazine

Here’s the first reason you need to read David W. Peters’ Post-Traumatic Jesus: A Healing Gospel for the Wounded—and it’s not a book review. It’s research summarized by the National Center for PTSD, part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs:

“About 6% of the U.S. population will have PTSD at some point in their lives. Many people who have PTSD will recover and no longer meet diagnostic criteria for PTSD after treatment. … About 5 percent of adults in the U.S. has PTSD in any given year. In 2020, about 13 million Americans had PTSD.

“Most of us will experience at least one trauma in our lifetime that could lead to PTSD. There are factors that put you at risk of experiencing a trauma, many of which are not under your control. For example, if you were directly exposed to the trauma or injured, you are more likely to develop PTSD.” (For more information, you can read the rest of this article on the National Center’s website.)

The point of quoting from this national research is, quite simply—

Click on the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page.

You may have a friend with PTSD

Let’s do the math: The highly respected Hartford Institute database on religion in America reports that the average attendance at the 350,000 congregations across the U.S. is 75 people. That means: If you are involved with a congregation, then it’s likely several people around you may be suffering from PTSD. In your larger community, you’ve got neighbors with PTSD.

Even if you are not suffering the effects of trauma yourself—and the majority of us are not, thank goodness—this issue nevertheless is likely close to home.

The Authenticity of David Peters’ Experiences

The author of this book we are recommending today, David W. Peters, was an enlisted Marine and an Army chaplain. He’s now the vicar of St. Joan of Arc Episcopal Church in Texas, where the congregation focuses on welcoming survivors of trauma. In the 150 pages of Post-Traumatic Jesus, this expert in PTSD explains how the Gospel stories of Jesus relate to  millions of men and women who have suffered trauma.

I am using that verb “explains” rather than “interprets” the Gospels, because Peters argues—much like John Dominic Crossan and other leading Jesus scholars—that the original context of the Gospels was Roman oppression and violence. David lays out that idea in the first line of his book: “The post-traumatic Jesus is the only Jesus Christianity has ever known.” While that may not be a theme emphasized in most American congregations, it certainly is a hopeful and transformative theme preached in growing Christian communities in the Southern Hemisphere to this day. The Gospels are filled with stories of traumatized people seeking Jesus’ help—and the four Gospels end with Jesus’ own trauma and resurrection. When readers reach the letters of Paul in the New Testament, as David points out in his book, they find Paul especially focused on Jesus’ death and resurrection.

This subject is not a tangent from Scripture. The responses to trauma are right there on the pages of the Bible that are read in churches every Sunday, David explains.

His opening chapter begins with the story of the Annunciation from Luke, the story of the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she will give birth to Jesus. David explains the relevance this way:

The world was brutal before Rome, but Rome industrialized brutality, incentivizing the rapacious and greedy to take more and more. For all those in Jesus’ day who were helpless in the face of their violations, the story of the Annunciation is a story where the God of power and might waits patiently for the answer of a young woman in an obscure town called Nazareth. Like the ER doctor, God offers a relationship of participation to Mary, and to us as well.

In 30 short chapters, Peters takes us through some of Jesus’ parables, Jesus’ encounters with people seeking his help, Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.

Reclaiming that core message can be as powerful today in helping people find hope and resilience as it was 2,000 years ago, David tells us.

I agree. This is a must-have volume for pastors, small-group leaders, chaplains and anyone who cares about the lives within their families, their local congregations and their surrounding communities.

The Need to Find Such Resources for Congregations

For our ongoing special attention to these issues in ReadTheSpirit magazine, I have to credit my son in law the Rev. Joel Walther—who is now the Director of Benefits and Coordinator of Human Resources for the Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church.

During the years Joel served as the pastor of several United Methodist congregations in Michigan, he continually tried to find helpful resources for members he knew were suffering from various traumas, including critical mental health issues. In 2018, Joel convinced me to report a Cover Story on David Finnegan-Hosey’s groundbreaking book, Christ on the Psych Ward. Then, two years later, Joel helped me with another cover story on Finnegan-Hosey’s follow-up book, Grace Is a Pre-existing Condition. Earlier this year, Joel helped me to select several more books on related topics, including our coverage of Charles Kiser and Elaine A. Heath’s new book Trauma-Informed Evangelism, Cultivating Communities of Wounded Healers.

And, now, Joel has helped me with this cover story on David W. Peters’ book. (Plus, if you read to the end of this column, you will learn that David Peters’ has another related book coming out this autumn—so stay tuned for that.)

‘Presence has a power to heal’

Compared with the other books on related themes that we have covered in recent years, Peters brings a unique authenticity. “Ever since I came back from the Iraq War, I’ve read Scripture through a post-traumatic lens,” he writes.

“I also appreciate that you have a pastoral voice throughout this book,” said Joel in our Zoom conversation with Peters about this book. “As a pastor myself, I am always trying to figure out how to help people move forward from trauma. And, I keep asking: How do we do that in a way that is helpful for that person? For example, I was particularly struck that at the end of Chapter 11 you write about a particular parable you offer to readers, then you end the chapter with: ‘There is much more to say, of course. However, there is enough in this parable to get you through the rest of the day. There is enough here to survive.’ I appreciate that as a pastoral response. Often, our first pastoral response is to try to resolve everything right away.”

So, Joel asked David to talk more about that insight in his book—how accompanying people who have experienced trauma is a long journey.

David said, “When Jesus comes back after the resurrection, the emphasis is on his presence among his followers. His spirit will be with them. The emphasis is on: You’ll never be alone. I will stay with you. And that’s so important. … If someone does decide to come into the church, we all need time to let that person feel the love of the community. Jesus taught us that presence has a power to heal—and that takes time.”

We Are Not Alone

We are not alone. This theme of presence within a caring community also is a central theme of Greg Garrett’s new novel Bastille Day, which we featured in a June 2023 cover story. The main character in that novel is a repeatedly traumatized TV war correspondent, Calvin Jones.

In that earlier cover story, we explained that Greg researched all of his fictional characters’ lives before completing his novel, including talking to his friend David W. Peters about PTSD. Peters’ own experiences as a Marine and Army Chaplain mirror some of Calvin Jones’ hard-earned wisdom in the novel.

“Greg and I talked as he was writing Bastille Day,” Peters told us. “And, now that I’m reading his book myself, I can see some of what we talked about reflected there. For veterans I’ve known, myself included, combat trauma opens a much deeper wound inside us that is unable to be healed or medicated or numbed in the normal ways people do. In Bastille Day, Greg really captures the way that kind of trauma affects relationships and our ability to function in the world.”

“Now, in your book,” I asked. “What do you hope readers will discover?”

David summed up his answer as: “The message of the Gospels that has given people hope and resilience for 2,000 years.”

“As pastors and as people who care about our congregations, we’ve got to make this message simple again,” David said, “and that should not be difficult, because the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection in the Gospels is real simple. It’s mostly the story of what Jesus is doing, what’s happening with the people around him and what people heard from hm before and after the resurrection. Through it all, we find hope. And, that’s a story that’s just as compelling today as it was back then.”

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Care to learn more?

Order a copy of Post-Traumatic Jesus in paperback or in the Kindle edition from Amazon.

You also can pre-order David W. Peters’ book, coming out in November, on a related theme: Accidental—Rebuilding a Life after Taking One. In this November book, David explores the concept of “moral injury” and focuses on accidental deaths, including accidental deaths on America’s highways. Once again, this new book offers a unique perspective on a pastoral issue rarely explored by other authors. Stay tuned to ReadTheSpirit, as well, because we will feature another interview with David this autumn to discuss this upcoming book.

You can learn more about the church startup David W. Peters is leading in Texas by visiting the congregation’s website.

There’s a helpful definition of PTSD at the National Institute of Mental Health website.

Finally: Want a fact sheet to share with others in your congregation? The Centers for Disease Control offers an easy-to-print, 2-page PDF titled “Coping with a Traumatic Event.”

 

‘Dear Mama God’ is a kid-tested window into the spiritual wonderment of children

June 26, 2023 by

Click on this book cover to visit its Amazon page.

Enjoy our Mom to Mom Conversation

By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of ReadTheSpirit magazine

“Dear Mama God”

The moment we see those three words on the cover of a big, colorful book, we know this is a book intended for children. But what may surprise you about this new book is that these pages actually contain the words of a child—specifically Daneen Akers’ daughter Lucy when she was aged 4-6.

Daneen collected and organized lines from her daughter’s nighttime prayers to form the text for this new book with gorgeous full-color illustrations by Gillian Gamble.

And, here’s another surprise: You are reading this story at the recommendation of my 4-year-old granddaughter who so thoroughly enjoyed the debut reading of this book in our home that I asked her Mom, my daughter the Rev. Megan Walther, to help with this story. Like Daneen, Megan collected some of her daughter’s reactions while reading the book and added those to our author interview.

Megan is associate pastor at Clarkston United Methodist Church in Clarkston, Michigan, and also is quite active in the Goodreads community in reviewing books for children.

Daneen and her family are part of a congregation that has a long connection to our ReadTheSpirit online magazine: The Circle of Mercy in Ashville, North Carolina. That unique congregation is best known to our regular magazine readers as the welcoming Christian congregation co-founded by Nancy Hastings Sehested and Ken Sehested. Since our founding in 2007, we have occasionally published news items and other writing from the Sehesteds.

How did Daneen and her family wind up with the Circle of Mercy, given that she has been widely known as a California-based media professional?

She and her family decided to make a fresh start on the East Coast and liked the Ashville area. “Then, it took us a while, being new to the South, to understand the many different flavors of churches around us. We fell in love with this congregation because it’s known as a peace church and it’s progressive and welcoming,” Daneen said. “Our choice really was made by our children, who right away met other kids they love being with—and we’ve never looked back on that choice. I think Mama God was helping us out.”

Click the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page.

Given how she described that choice of a congregation, I said, “So you liked Circle of Mercy because it is peacemaking and progressive and welcoming and kid-friendly—words that also describe your new book as well as your previous book, Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints.”

“Yes,” Daneen nodded on our Zoom screen. “I would say that is why Circle of Mercy was such a perfect fit for our family.”

Speaking Mom to Mom

Then, speaking Mom to Mom, Megan told Daneen: “There are a lot of things I love about this book. I love the expansive langue for God, No. 1. And, No. 2, I like the limited amount of text per page, which sounds simple, but for my 4-year-old that’s an important thing in pacing a book that’s fun to read.

“And, No. 3, I like that central phrase ‘Mama God,’ which is important—but I also like that those words are not used on every page of the book. This book doesn’t feel as though you’re trying to push that phrase on us at every turn of a page. We can tell that this is a natural way you think and talk about God in your family, and I like that natural feel in the pacing of this text.”

Then, Megan asked: “I also saw sub-themes that are easy for children to see in these pages, including the importance of gratefulness and the importance of creation care. Can you talk more about those themes?”

Daneen said, “I’m so glad that all came through to you and your daughter! Yes, I wanted this book to have a focus on gratitude because I think that’s part of the expansive wonder we want to encourage with our children. Remember that most of the texts on these pages are word-for-word prayers from my daughter. It’s what she would pray at night. One of the magical things about having children in your life is that you get to return to wonder along with them.

“We truly are living in a beautiful world—and this book celebrates that. I think that, as progressive Christians, we often feel this guilt that we need to be working on the many peace and justice issues that are so important in our world. I did consciously explore those themes in my earlier Holy Troublemakers book, but, in this case, I simply wanted to explore our thankfulness, the importance of gratitude and the many wonders of our world. So, I thank you for seeing those themes in this book and asking about them.”

“I’ve also seen your Holy Troublemakers, and I like that book, too,” Megan said, pointing out that a colleague at her church, who works with children, has shared a copy of Holy Troublemakers.

‘And a little child shall lead them’

Daneen said, “People like to repeat the words, ‘And a little child shall lead them,’ ” (from Isaiah 11’s vision of a peaceful kingdom). “And I think of those words in describing how this book can help us experience the wonders of our world with our children.

“Especially after going through the COVID pandemic—and so many other issues in our world today—we realize that this journey we’re on is truly multi-generational, meaning that it will unfold over a long period of time. I will do my part but I probably won’t completely fix anything in my lifetime—certainly not on my own. So, that means tending to joy and tending to gratitude in our families and our communities is that foundation of everything we hope can follow. We need to experience these soul-care practices, especially for me in the pandemic when I was experiencing so much anxiety. In that process, my children became teachers, because they were so in awe of the beauty they experienced around us.

“At the same time, I also am quite passionate about the importance of using explicitly feminine language for the divine, which I think is going to be important if we are going to find the cultural healing we need right now. I’ve heard from so many women sharing stories about this. And, we need this experience in many forms: song and poetry and prayer—and children’s books, too. And it is not just the words themselves I’m talking about here, which this book shows. Beyond the words on the pages, there is poetry about Mama God even in the illustrations. You mentioned, Megan, that you liked the minimal language and the way this book lets the illustrations speak directly to us. That is very intentional.”

Poetry in the illustrations

“Yes,” Megan said, “Poetry is a great word for this book, because the minimal language was paired with this beautiful artwork.”

“Well, that happened because Gillian is a complete genius,” Daneen said. “She and I also collaborated on Holy Troublemakers. She has three of her portraits in that book along with other artists who are part of that book. So, we had that earlier experience of collaborating and, when I began working on Mama God, I realized this new book really should would work mainly through the art. We talked for a long time about the style of art. We also had an art director who worked with us on both books in making those very intentional decisions.

“One crucial decision we made was not to just focus visually on just one child, who we might have shown going all the way through this book. After all, it was one child who voiced these prayers. But, instead, we decided we wanted diverse children to appear in these pages and come together throughout this book. We wanted everyone to feel welcome in these pages. It also was important to show both rural and urban landscapes in this book.”

“I love the way you approached those decisions,” Megan said. “I love that you can look into these pages and, somewhere, you can see yourself regardless of where you’re living or what you may look like.”

‘Inviting children to become a part of the creative process’

Then, Megan added: “I also specifically like the page toward the end of the book where you write, ‘Thank you for the paper that I can draw on.’ You’ve taken us, at that point, through these experiences of gratitude and wonder and then you’re inviting children to become a part of the creative process themselves—getting out paper and drawing on it themselves! I loved that.”

“I agree with you and I especially love that myself because those were words right out of the mouth of my 5 year old,” Daneen said. “There are so many books out there that read like an adult is trying to sound like a child—but these are actual words of a child.”

So, dear readers of our online magazine: You now know that you’re reading about a thoroughly “kid tested” book and should consider getting a copy of Dear Mama God for some young reader you love.

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Care to Learn More?

ORDER A COPY OF THIS BOOK: The book is available in hardcover from Amazon.

CONSIDER Daneen’s Holy Troublemakers book as well: That’s also available in hardback from Amazon.

CONNECT with Daneen: Her website for this book is https://www.dearmamagod.com/ and that includes a Contact page.

CONNECT with the illustrator: UK-based illustrator Gillian Eilidh O’Mara (formerly Gillian Gamble) also has a fascinating website showcasing many projects.

Give a gift of George Mason’s ‘The Word Made Fresh’ and encourage the spread of this good news

June 4, 2023 by

The Rev. Dr. George A. Mason begins the process of signing 500 copies of his new book, “The Word Made Fresh,” for members of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, at an hours-long reception before and after services on Sunday June 4. (Photo used with permission.)

Consider what these early readers are saying about this remarkable book—

By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of ReadTheSpirit magazine

Click on the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page.

Give a copy of this book to your congregation.

Give a copy of this book to your pastor.

That’s the advice of our Marketing Director Susan Stitt who is doing that in her own Catholic congregation in Georgia.

That’s also what members of the Rev. George A. Mason’s Wilshire Baptist Church are doing. This week, they are collectively giving more than 500 copies of this book to each family within Wilshire’s 2,500-member congregation.

And, while George’s church is Baptist, we already are seeing the interest in this book among readers from a wide range of religious traditions—because good preaching is still one of the most admired forms of media across America. In this book, readers find not only the text of 80 of George’s best sermons from several decades as one of the nation’s most-admired preachers—but also videos of George delivering half of those messages. Those videos are easy to see by clicking a smartphone at QR codes that appear with 40 of the sermons. In addition, other noted authors and scholars add prefaces to the various themed sections of the book to provide thought-provoking context for these messages.

The book does not even officially launch on Amazon until June 27, 2023, but early copies already are circulating among leading Christian writers and preachers.

We’ve been putting Susan’s advice—that it’s a good deed to give a copy of this book to someone—to practice by making sure a handful of influential pastors and writers see this book even before the official June 27 launch date.

And we’ve seen thankful replies come back from readers around the world.

The Rev. Tom Eggebeen is a nationally influential Presbyterian Church USA pastor and preacher, whose sermons also have an online following. Tom emailed us the day after his copy of The Word Made Fresh arrived: “Started reading immediately. I had never heard of Mason, and that’s my loss, because these sermons are seriously impressive and the preface for each section a little tour de force in theology and practice. I will move through this book with care, and learning—I’ve already grabbed a few ideas and phrases I want to use. Glad that this publishing effort will bring to a larger audience his skillful and faithful sermons.”

Best-selling Christian author the Rev. Greg Garrett, an Episcopal priest and canon theologian for the American Cathedral in Paris wrote one of those tour de force prefaces for George’s new book, writing in part: “My friend George Mason is one of the Christian world’s most accomplished preachers and pastors. A writer, teacher, activist and media figure, during 30-plus years as senior pastor at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, he modeled a Christian love of and advocacy for the marginalized, the disdained, the set aside, that feels absolutely like the Jesus I know, love and serve.”

Greg even gave George an international boost by including him in a worldwide Zoom from Paris in late May! And, stay tuned to ReadTheSpirit, because next week we’ll tell the rest of that story of Greg’s current work in Paris.

We’re not only hearing from Protestants and Anglicans. The best-selling Catholic author Chris Stepien opened his copy and immediately emailed us with very high praise, indeed: “Loving the book! Mason is a Baptist Fulton Sheen with a loving heart for the interfaith community!”

The Day1 radio network’s Peter Wallace didn’t want to be left out of this early litany of praise. “I love George Mason! Love the new book. I want to get George back on Day1 again.” For his part, George says he’d like to make a reappearance on Day1, so visit Day1’s website and sign up for updates there.

So, are you ready to jump over and order your copy—and a copy to give to your congregation or your pastor? Well, Amazon offers both hardcover and paperback editions for gift giving that will ship on June 27.

Not yet convinced? Well, just wait a moment: There’s more wisdom below in this ReadTheSpirit cover story from George about why good preaching matters today.

What Is the Goal of Good Preaching?

Because this book contains—by the consensus of early reviewers nationwide—some of the best progressive Christian preaching in America, the first question I asked George in our interview, this week, was:

“Can you tell us how you define good preaching?” I explained my question this way: “Preaching styles vary widely, but there is a core to preaching that you illustrate so well in this book. With each sermon, you’re welcoming people into a much larger community of faith—the timeless calling of Christianity to love God and to love our neighbors. There’s a much larger connection you’re calling people to make, each Sunday morning—right? How do you explain the goal of good preaching?”

George paused, collected his thoughts, and then said:

“Probably the main concern I have is that the big story we are trying to share with the world gets lost in preaching sometimes. The overall theme of redemption, the arc of the biblical story, is not evident in the sermon sometimes. The Gospel itself, the narrative of God’s redemptive work in the world, doesn’t come through in a given sermon that is thematically more narrow.

“As you and I have discussed, David, as we have worked on preparing this book—I think that every sermon has to offer some hope in it, some sense of grace, some vision of the New Creation, some sense of God’s presence that transforms us. Sometimes, there’s a teaching focus in sermons that is too narrow on a particular text and the proclamation is lost in the didactic nature of that specific explanation of a text. So, in a sermon like that, we may come away with a better understanding maybe of a particular slice of a biblical passage—but we may miss the sense that we are caught up in the grand drama of what God is doing in the world.

“This is such an important thing for preachers to recognize: We all are living some kind of story and it’s our job to get the story straight about what the Gospel is and to remind people that they were baptized into this Gospel story. It’s very easy to slip into more of an American story, say, or more of a family story, say, or more of a business story, perhaps—and lose the sense of what your particular place is in this great narrative of what God is up to in our world.

“Related to that is a need for preaching to help shape our souls and our characters in a way that allows us to resist those alternative stories—first to recognize them and then second to resist them and third to be able to be a witness to an alternative way.

“We have to remember what our job is when we’re standing up to preach. Too often we sense that we’re there to entertain because we want people to keep coming back. So, yes, we’re trying to tell good stories. But the stories we need to tell in good preaching are not just the stories that will capture people’s attention. The question is: Why do we tell these stories? What is the point of the stories we choose to tell? How do the stories we tell link to the bigger narrative of God in our world? How does it connect with the stream of God flowing through our world?

“We sometimes are too tempted to entertain or even to pander to the congregation in terms of what would delight them or make them know that we are on their side. In fact, out of love for the Gospel, love for God, love for our calling, sometimes we are called to challenge people—sometimes we need to actually make them uncomfortable. That requires of preachers a tremendous amount of personal spiritual fortitude because the pushback you’re going to get will be real if you are making people feel uncomfortable. You have to have the sense that you are sustained by a greater power. You need that strength, that fortitude, so that you don’t lose your identity when sometimes you are criticized for what you have been preaching.”

Challenges Clergy Face

Click on this photo to learn more about the pastoral residency program that George Mason and his predecessor, Bruce McIverhas, conceived for Wilshire Baptist Church.

Whatever your faith may be, the world’s great religious traditions are united in calling people toward building healthy communities, caring for the needy among us and promoting peaceful solutions in the world.

Currently, there are more than 444,000 clergy in the U.S. and those numbers are growing each year, according to the DATA:USA report on clergy compiled by Deloitte, Datawheel and Cesar Hidalgo, Professor at the MIT Media Lab.

As I looked at that DATA:USA clergy report with George, one conclusion we drew was: These folks certainly didn’t choose this field for the money. Clergy earn an average of slightly more than $47,000 a year. K-12 school teachers average more than $56,000; registered nurses earn nearly $68,000; police officers earn more than $72,000; pharmacists earn $107,000.

“One thing that really concerns me about these data is that we should be alarmed by how low clergy salaries are. That’s a national average and that means many clergy families are trying to exist on what’s less than a living wage today. That’s especially true for students leaving seminary today with more debt than ever—debt they’ll be paying off for years,” George said.

“The other thing that surprises me here, in this report, is the projected growth of the numbers of clergy,” he said. “I know that enrollment is down in seminaries all across the country and it’s increasingly difficult for many of these schools to stay open—especially to get master of divinity students. There are many students now looking for one- or two-year master degrees but not the longer program that qualifies you traditionally for ordination.

“And beyond the basic financial challenges that we see here for clergy, there are so many other challenges clergy face and so much more we need to know to be prepared for ordained ministry today,” George said.

Diving deeper into the DATA:USA report, the many facets of clergy education today become clear, including: studies in business, social sciences, psychology, public health, administration, computer technology and legal issues.

Even though George recently retired from Wilshire and switched to an ongoing emeritus status with his congregation—his calling to help prepare new pastors continues.

I asked George to describe some of the ways he has been working on that vocation. “Specifically, since this new book is about preaching, can you tell us how you’ve worked on improving the quality of preaching?” I asked.

“Over the past 20 years, the main way I’ve tried to work on improving preaching nationally is through our pastoral residency program at Wilshire Baptist Church, which started in 2002,” George said. “Soon after Wilshire’s program began, we became one of the first congregations in America to receive a major grant from the Lilly Endowment for its Transitions to Ministry program.

“Through that program, we really focused a lot on preaching. We now have 40 graduates of that program who are out in other congregations now and a lot of the work we’ve done is helping them to find their voice, learn how to exegete context as well as biblical texts, talk to them about the setting of where they are preaching, who they are preaching to, what the cultural context is and how to match their voice to the ears of a congregation. So, that’s been a good part of my effort nationally.

“Plus, we’ve supported Day1, which is a longstanding broadcast effort to improve preaching, and I’ve been on Day1 a few times with Peter Wallace’s team.”

And, as we have said above, stay tuned to Day1, because you may hear George again later this year.

Ways We All Can Help Spread Good News

First, order your copy of this book—and another copy to give to your congregation or your pastor. Amazon offers both hardcover and paperback editions for gift giving. If you email us at [email protected] and tell us about your order, we can even arrange for some of those first emailers to receive a signed bookplate from George that you could affix to the front of your copy. We really would like to hear what you think—because we know that more and more readers will be inspired by meeting George in the pages of this multimedia book.

(And because our cover stories remain online for years, we will add this qualifier: We can’t continue the bookplate offer forever, but we would welcome hearing from some of you who are becoming early readers!)

Connect with George yourself via his brand-new author’s page on Facebook—www.facebook.com/revgeorgemason

And visit George’s similarly brand-new website—www.GeorgeAMason.com—which is a gateway both to his new book and to all of George’s ongoing work now that he has moved to emeritus status with Wilshire. When you first visit, sign up for his free email updates. (It’s easy to cancel anytime, but we doubt you’ll want to cancel.) Then, the website also makes it easy to Contact George, if you’re interested in an invitation to speak or have other questions.

Care to learn more?

This week in our Front Edge Publishing column, we have a special “thank you” from the head of the Wilshire Baptist Church publishing team, Gail Brookshire, who writes about how her team was able to create and launch this book project within one year—a remarkable feat in publishing.

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Did you know it’s healthy to observe ‘Sabbath’? Martin Doblmeier’s new film shows how ‘Sabbath’ revives us

May 28, 2023 by

Pastor Michael Mickens walks down a hallway in Jackson, Mississippi, in a scene from Martin Doblmeier’s documentary “Sabbath.” (Clicking on this photo will take you to the filmmaker’s website where the film is streaming in addition to its release on public TV.)

‘Sabbath is the perfect spiritual technology’

By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of ReadTheSpirit magazine

There’s a whole lot of wisdom in the 3,000-year-old Commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

Anna Serviansky holds the wine while a camper holds the braided candle at Havdallah at camp Ramah Darom in Georgia, a scene from filmmaker Martin Doblmeier’s documentary “Sabbath.” (Clicking on this photo will take you to the filmmaker’s website where the film is streaming in addition to its release on public TV.)

On June 1, filmmaker Martin Doblmeier is debuting his two-hour invitation to Sabbath on public television—at a time when millions of us are overwhelmed with pandemic anxiety, loss of loved ones and fears about the future of our country and our planet’s resources. We all wonder if we’re running out of time.

“Time is our only non-renewable resource,” J. Dana Trent—a pastor, scholar and author of For Sabbath’s Sake—tells us early in this new documentary. Dana is among 26 interviewees from various religious traditions featured by Martin in this film.

Because the film is debuting on public TV channels nationwide starting on June 1, Dana and Martin talked with me in a Zoom interview this week and Dana expanded on the film’s central theme:

Sabbath is good for us!

“This film could not be more timely,” Dana said. “We are just coming out of this devastating pandemic and we now have an epidemic of loneliness. Our Surgeon General Vivek Murthy right now is talking about the need for a healthy culture of connection. Isolation, loneliness and a lack of connection is dangerous. This film ‘Sabbath’ shows us how people are embracing this ancient practice of Sabbath as a way to rest, renew and reconnect. We all want a healthy culture of connection, as Dr. Murthy is saying—and I like this phrase that I heard from a rabbi describing the importance of Sabbath. He said, ‘Sabbath is the perfect spiritual technology.’ ”

“Technology?” I asked Dana in our interview.

“Yes, I like that word. That word points out how Sabbath works with us and through us,” Dana said. “Practicing Sabbath can be a spiritual technology.”

As a publishing house, we wholeheartedly agree with Dana. If you are a regular reader of our online magazine, then you have seen at least a dozen columns over the past two years about our book: Now What? The Gifts and Challenges of Aging. Based on research into the Social Determinants of Health, that book even includes a chapter titled “Connecting with a Congregation” that lays out all the research into the public health benefits of regular participation with congregations.

In this new documentary, Martin crisscrosses America showing us vivid ways that men, women and children are celebrating Sabbath all around us—translating that ancient wisdom every week into healthy and spiritually enriched living. In fact, this film’s production and its release through public TV is so focused on practical benefits that Martin also is providing these free online resources for his audience:

How You Can See This Film—
and Contribute to the Nationwide Effort

Right now, under an agreement with the documentary’s funders, Journey Films is allowing individuals to stream the entire documentary for free online. You can watch the film on your smartphone, tablet or computer. Or, the film could be played on the main TV in your home if that TV is internet-enabled or you might be able to screencast from your digital device to your TV.

Starting June 1, the film also will be available on public television websites, as well. Some public TV stations will schedule broadcasts of the film, which viewers could save to their DVRs, if they wish.

“These offers really are based on scout’s honor that people will visit our film for a site license if they want to show this film to larger groups, which I would say is 20 people or more,” Martin said. “We realize that people could use their individual access to show this film to their classes or small groups at church, but we are asking people to visit our website and pay a public screening fee of $250 if you are planning to show this as a public event.”

That’s a reasonable fee to help support Martin and his small filmmaking crew.

If you would like to view and discuss this documentary in your community, please visit the “Screening Store” at Journey Films for the link to pay this film’s $250 fee. When you visit that page, you can learn about paying similar fees to publicly show other inspiring documentaries Martin has produced.

If you already are familiar with Martin’s work for Journey films, you may wonder:

Can I buy a DVD copy? “There is no DVD or Bluray available of this new film. We’re hearing that those formats are not what they used to be,” Martin said. “So, we’re only offering the streaming or, if you pay the fee, you can download the film.”

Is this film 1 or 2 parts? It’s both. Martin has released a version of the documentary divided into two parts that can be shown in two one-hour time slots on public TV. That version has transitional material added to the end of the first part and the start of the second part to help orient viewers. However, the version streaming from Journey Films runs straight through without a break.

Are there multiple tiers of fees? In the past, Journey Films did offer a higher-priced tier for larger public showings. This film is being released with a simple one-price fee.

“We’re telling people: Pay this one fee and you can stream it or download it, if you want, and you can show it as many times as you like in perpetuity,” Martin said. “We know there are ways around this, but we also know our viewers and we know they appreciate and support the good work we are doing. We’re asking people to help us by paying the fee—it’s a reasonable fee—if they want to use the film in their communities.”

Care to Learn More?

Religion News Service reporter Yonat Shimron has published an in-depth Q&A with Martin, headlined, “A new documentary takes a deep dive into the ancient and modern practice of Sabbath.”

That article begins:

(RNS)—In his book The Sabbath, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote that Jews did not build great cathedrals into space. Their great accomplishment was a cathedral in time—the Shabbat, or 24-hour period of rest. “Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things of space; on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time,” Heschel wrote. That cathedral in time is part of filmmaker Martin Doblmeier’s latest two-part documentary called “Sabbath.” 

Yonat’s article also was picked up and republished in The Washington Post.