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What Will the New Year Bring? January 2, 2012

Posted by Sharon Ely Pearson in Books Worth Reading, Faith & Culture, Resources, Spirituality, Tolerance, Uncategorized.
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I’m not one to make New Year’s resolutions.

Partly because I’m not very good at following through with them. Yes, I always say I will lose weight, exercise more or keep up with the laundry and cleaning better. Today I’ve noticed an extra number of joggers on the roads and many folks posting what their resolutions are going to be on Facebook. And I’ve learned there is a App to make sure you stay on track with your resolution.

I’m wondering if I should resolve to post more regularly here. That’s a tough one; I already blog daily at Building Faith and weekly at The Prayer Book Guide to Christian Education. With editing manuscripts and writing educational program materials, that’s a lot of writing. So, I’ll probably pass on this as a resolution.

However, this afternoon I cleaned up my office. AKA moving around file folders, straightening up books-to-be-read stacks, and filing receipts and clips I’ve torn out of magazines for some future reference. I rediscovered a number of books that I’ve picked up on my travels. I’m a sucker for book stores at conferences. I’ve started a few, but got sidetracked with other reading material. And my Kindle often takes precedence if I’m traveling (or looking for mindless entertainment).

In looking back at 2011, I’ve read plenty of books. Lots are work-related (I wrote the study guide for several*, so I really did read these) and definitely have a theme to them.

  • Love Wins: A Book About Heaven and Hell by Rob Bell
  • Christian Formation 2020 by John Roberto
  • Formational Children’s Ministry by Ivy Beckwith
  • Child by Child: Supporting Children with Learning Differences and Their Families by Susan Richardson (as editor)
  • Conversations with Scripture: Daniel by Edmund Desueza and Judith Jones*
  • Conversations with Scripture: Judges by Roy Heller*
  • Tweet if you ♥Jesus: Practicing Church in the Digital Reformation by Elizabeth Drescher
  • What Episcopalians Believe: An Introduction by Samuel Wells*
And some (fewer than I’d wish) were for pleasure:

So what’s on the list for 2012? Guess I should tackle that stack in my office:

Hmmmm . . . I sense a theme. Could 2012 be telling me something? What book would you recommend I add to my list?

Marked by Ashes March 7, 2011

Posted by Sharon Ely Pearson in Books Worth Reading, Events, Prose & Poetry, Resources, Seasonal Ideas.
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by Walter Brueggemann (b. 1933)

Marked by Ashes

Ruler of the Night, Guarantor of the day . . .
This day — a gift from you.
This day — like none other you have ever given, or we have ever received.
This Wednesday dazzles us with gift and newness and possibility.
This Wednesday burdens us with the tasks of the day, for we are already halfway home
halfway back to committees and memos,
halfway back to calls and appointments,
halfway on to next Sunday,
halfway back, half frazzled, half expectant,
half turned toward you, half rather not.

This Wednesday is a long way from Ash Wednesday,
but all our Wednesdays are marked by ashes —
we begin this day with that taste of ash in our mouth:
of failed hope and broken promises,
of forgotten children and frightened women,
we ourselves are ashes to ashes, dust to dust;
we can taste our mortality as we roll the ash around on our tongues.

We are able to ponder our ashness with
some confidence, only because our every Wednesday of ashes
anticipates your Easter victory over that dry, flaky taste of death.

On this Wednesday, we submit our ashen way to you —
you Easter parade of newness.
Before the sun sets, take our Wednesday and Easter us,
Easter us to joy and energy and courage and freedom;
Easter us that we may be fearless for your truth.
Come here and Easter our Wednesday with
mercy and justice and peace and generosity.

We pray as we wait for the Risen One who comes soon.

For over thirty years now, Walter Brueggemann (b. 1933) has combined the best of critical scholarship with love for the local church in service to the kingdom of God. Now a professor emeritus of Old Testament studies at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, Brueggemann has authored over seventy books. Taken from his Prayers for a Privileged People (Nashville: Abingdon, 2008), pp. 27-28.

This, Too, Is Heaven January 26, 2011

Posted by Sharon Ely Pearson in Books Worth Reading, Prose & Poetry, Spirituality, Thoughts & Ramblings.
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It’s snowing here again in Connecticut. We seem to have had a major storm every week for the past five (is it five?) weeks. Yesterday I went to fill the bird feeders, and had a hard time tramping in the snow that went past my knees. I fell over a couple of times. Of course, not having have boots on could have attributed to this. Later in the day, Shadow (our cat, who has found a nice perch at the window to watch the squirrels and birds close-up), flipped out. Not knowing what spooked her, we looked up to see a deer climbing the pile of snow at the window to feed. Guess we should get a salt lick.

Every day I get a meditation from Inward, Outward. Today’s was especially appropriate as I look out my office window with more white stuff coming down from the sky.

Henry David Thoreau‘s, “This, Too, Is Heaven“

Every winter the liquid and trembling surface of the pond, which was so sensitive to every breath, and reflected every light and shadow, becomes solid to the depth of a foot or a foot and a half…and it is not to be distinguished from any level field. Like the marmots in the surrounding hills, it closes its eyelids and becomes dormant for three months or more.

Standing on the snow-covered plain, as if in a pasture amid the hills, I cut my way first through a foot of snow, and then a foot of ice, and open a window under my feet, where, kneeling to drink, I look down into the quiet parlor of the fishes, pervaded by a softened light as through a window of ground glass, with its bright sanded floor the same as in summer; there a perennial waveless serenity reigns as in the amber twilight sky, corresponding to the cool and even temperament of the inhabitants. Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.

Source: Walden


A Prayer for the New Year December 30, 2010

Posted by Sharon Ely Pearson in Books Worth Reading, Christianity, Discernment, Prose & Poetry, Thoughts & Ramblings.
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I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions, although I do try to start a new year off with a fresh start. A new year always seems like a second chance, a fresh beginning. Beginning something new is not easy . . . just like having to write a new year’s date on a check for the first time – you forget, and unconsciously write the previous year in the tiny box.

I already know 2011 will be a watershed one for me.  The likelihood of three aging parents making it through to 2012 is slim. My daughter getting married. Endings and beginnings. Bookends with lots of unknowns in-between them.

I Hold My Life Up to You Now

by Ted Loder in Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle (1984: Innisfree Press, Inc.)

Patient God, the clock struck midnight and I partied with a strange sadness in my heart, confusion in my mind.

Now I ask you to gather me, for I realize the storms of time have scattered me, the furies of the year have driven me, many sorrows have scarred me, many accomplishments have disappointed me, much activity has wearied me, and fear has spooked me into a hundred hiding places, one of which is pretended gaiety.

I am sick of a string of “Have a nice day’s.”

What I want is passionate days, wondrous days, blessed days, surprising days.

What I want is you!

Patient God, this day teeters on the edge of waiting and things seem to slip away from me, as though everything was only a memory and memory is capricious.

Help me not to let my life slip away from me.

O God, I hold up my life to you now, as much as I can, in this mysterious reach called prayer.

Come close, lest I wobble and fall short.

It is not days or years I seek from you, not infinity and enormity, but small things and moments and awareness, awareness that you are in what I am and in what I have been indifferent to.

It is not new time, but new eyes, new heart I seek, and you.

Patient God, in this teetering time, this time of balance, this time of waiting, make me aware of moments, moments of song, moments of bread and friends, moments of jokes (some of them on me) which, for a moment, deflate my pomposities; moments of sleep and warm beds, moments of children laughing and parents bending, moments of sunsets and sparrows outspunking winter, moments when broken things get mended with glue or guts or mercy or imagination; moments when splinters sine and rocks shrink, moments when I know myself blest, not because I am so awfully important, but because you are so awesomefully God, no less of the year to come as of all the years past; no less of this moment than of all my moments; no less of those who forget you as of those who remember, as I do now, in this teetering time.

O patient God, make something new in me, in this year, for you.

Come Away With Me September 2, 2010

Posted by Sharon Ely Pearson in Adult Formation, Books Worth Reading, On the Road Again, Spirituality, Teacher Training.
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I always enjoy being with Christian educators. They are a species that is passionate about storytelling, creativity and thinking outside-of-the-box. They are (usually) open to new ideas and trying on new things.

This August I was privileged to lead some reflections at the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina’s annual spiritual retreat for those involved in Christian formation. Volunteer teachers, staff educators and clergy gathered at St. Francis Springs Retreat Center, a beautiful retreat center in the midst of nature in north central North Carolina. We focused on Mark Bozzuti-Jones’ wonderful book of inspiration and reflection, Informed by Faith: A Spiritual Handbook for Christian Educators and Parents.

The mission of teachers is to talk about God’s activities in the world, to study the Bible, to be transformed by the Bible, and to show ways in which the Bible and the Christian life bring decisive action to bear on the events of our lives. In creation God teaches us much about who God is and how God acts. Mark Francisco Bozzuti-Jones (Informed by Faith. Boston: Cowley Publications, 2004).

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Our day was marked with shared meals, prayer, reflections, conversation and time to just “be.” There were areas for dabbling in creative activities and meditation – coloring mandalas, walking a labyrinth (on a canvas and with one’s finger), making all sorts of prayer beads and ropes, praying in color, reflecting on stones, water, shells and feathers. A time for walking in the woods to discover the variety of mushroom all within a short distance from each other.  To be fully human in God’s creation.

We were fed by stories of each other’s ministries as well as wonderfully prepared meals and the Eucharist. We danced. We sang. We shared resources and ideas. Hospitality abounded.  All in 24 hours.

So many of us educators are a “Martha” in need of time to be “Mary.” How might you invite others in your congregation, diocese, or synod to provide such a retreat for educators?

Jesus & Harry Potter August 15, 2010

Posted by Sharon Ely Pearson in Books Worth Reading, Children's Ministries, Christianity, Curriculum, Discipleship, Faith & Culture.
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Wizards, Wonders, and Discipleship

Using the stories of Harry Potter in church settings with children has again raised some eyebrows. This is not a new phenomena, as the fundamental Christians and biblical literalists are always getting their surplices and cottas (or academic robes) in a twist when it comes to being creative with children.

A congregation in the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa recently concluded a successful Vacation Bible School with 30+ children in which they used the themes of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series using a program called Wizards & Wonders. The local Iowa City newspaper picked up on the event and shared a news story which hit the news services, and in turn, showed up on the blogosphere.

The comparisons of Harry Potter (and all the books) to themes of Christianity is not new. Even the author’s own acknowledgement says “Harry Potter” deals extensively with Christian themes. Myriads of books and curriculum have been written comparing the themes of good vs. evil, sacrificial giving, loyalty & friendship, spirituality, self-awareness, and call – to name just a few. An article in Christianity Today from November 2005 (Redeeming Harry Potter) compares this series to C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia and the Star Wars trilogy. All literary devices where good overcomes evil through the passion of faithful characters who rise above adversity.

I just finished reading The Life, Death and Resurrection of Harry Potter by John Killinger (2009: Mercer University Press) for a book review. He compares why religious conservatives dislike Harry to the Pharisees  who “cleanse the outside of the cup and leave the inside untouched, or strain at gnats and end by swallowing camels.” Killinger believes they also “forget what it is like to be a child  and fend for oneself in a complex world of competing loyalties, baffling hormonal development, and sometimes faithless friends.”

Killinger makes many comparisons and observations of Rowling’s storytelling (and he believes she gives an overt Christian message). A few are a bit far-fetched for me, but some examples:

  • “There was a scarlet oval over his [Harry's] heart where the locket had burned him.” A scarlet oval over Harry’s heart recalls the Sacred Heart of Jesus, one of the most revered signs in Christian history.
  • Dumbledore as a God-Father figure with characteristics of loving kindness, forgiveness and inclusiveness.
  • There is an eschatological moment at the death of Voldemort and the triumph of Harry Potter (the Boy Who Lived). The witnesses scream and roar in excitement, and at that moment “the fierce new sun dazzled the windows.” Could it be Easter morning at Hogwarts?
  • As the three friends (Ron, Hermione, Harry) eat supper, Ron prods at the “lumps of charred gray fish on his plate” and reminisces about the way his mother can “make good food appear out of thin air.” Supper on the beach?

Back to the VBS controversy. Don’t we want children to experience the Christian message in a language and mileau they are familiar with and engaged to learn more? Didn’t Jesus use stories to explain the Kingdom of God? Wasn’t Jesus consider a “magician” in his time? Children are pretty sophisticated today; they know the world has temptations. And they are quickly losing their imaginations by the hard and unforgiving world that we live in. Why not engage their wonder with seeking God in all shapes and forms?

Kudos to Meg Wagner and her volunteers for making their church a hospitable, fun and inviting place for children this summer. They could have been home playing video games or reading comic books. Instead they learned about friendship and cooperation. And maybe they’ll come back on Sunday for worship – and bring their parents with them!

October 8, 2010: Harry Potter, Christian Hallows & C.S. Lewis – A book review for “One Fine Potion: The Literary Magic of Harry Potter” by Greg Garrett

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The Summer Book List July 23, 2010

Posted by Sharon Ely Pearson in Books Worth Reading.
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What are you reading this summer?

The dog days of summer were always my favorite times to build up a stack of books that I could work through while sitting on the beach or lounging on my deck. Usually something from the NY Times best-sellers list was included, the latest Sue Grafton alphabet mystery (always a quick, fun read) or some historical fiction (my favorite genre).

Since I took my vacation in May, I did my beach reading then. Those ‘take me away’ books seem so far away from me now. I’m finding that I’m reading ‘professional’ books these hot summer nights – ones I have been asked to review or ones I really felt I’d be missing out on if I let another season pass by.

  • The Case for God by Karen Armstrong (another excellent Armstrong book, but space yourself with a fun one in between chapters).
  • The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Harry Potter by John Killinger (I had to read this one to write a review. If you’re a Potter fan and want to know all the signs of Harry as a Christ-like figure, you’ll like this. Didn’t impress me much with anything new.)
  • Conversations with Scripture: Acts of the Apostles by Chuck Roberston (I wrote the study guide – book is due out this fall)
  • Informed by Faith: A Spiritual Handbook for Christian Educators and Parents by Mark Bozzuti-Jones (A re-read as I am leading a retreat in North Carolina in August and the Diocese of North Carolina has commended this book to all their Christian educators.)

Sitting on my nightstand now is Einstein’s God: Conversations About Science and the Human Spirit by Krista Tippett (I participated in the writing of session plans for a new curriculum based on her radio program, Speaking of Faith for Small Groups to come out this August from Morehouse Education Resources, so have gotten into the whole science and religion thing).

All year ’round I get questions from Christian educators about what my ‘top ten’ books are for those in formation ministries. The list is ever-changing and always growing. So . . . I’ve decided to add a tab on this blog to provide a listing of my recommended resources. Check it out and come back often as I’ll be adding as I discover new resources and continually post new bibliographies.

Spring, Summer, Winter or Fall.

A good companion is always a good book!

Looking for a Bible? July 7, 2010

Posted by Sharon Ely Pearson in Adult Formation, Bible, Books Worth Reading, Children's Ministries, Christianity, Parenting, Storytelling, Teacher Training, Youth Ministry.
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What’s a good study Bible?

What’s Bible should we give our 3rd graders?

What Bible translation is most accurate?

When should we use a paraphrase?

These are just a few questions that are always popping up when it comes to using a Bible. There are a multitude of translations out there and there will soon be a brand, spanking new translation called the Common English Bible that has been in the works for several years with some reputable biblical scholars. And you can get a free copy of the New Testament before it comes out. Sweet!

I’m not the expert on choosing a Bible. But I do know the difference between them all and what I personally prefer to use in my own study and reading (NRSV with comparison using The Message and the NIV). Check out my overview of some of today’s more popular translations. And Gretchen Wolff Pritchard offers a great article on Choosing a Children’s Bible.

For adult study, I prefer these NRSV editions (with equal opportunity links):

What’s your preference? For yourself? For teens? For children?

Paying “Caesar” aka Tax Time April 13, 2010

Posted by Sharon Ely Pearson in Books Worth Reading, Faith & Culture, Prose & Poetry.
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April 15th at my house is a bit deal. Having been married to a CPA for almost 33 years, there is always a sigh of relief when this day is over. With computers and e-mail, the phone doesn’t ring as constant as it used to in the days leading up to the deadline and John doesn’t make those 11:00pm trips to the Post Office to drop off the returns of those wait-until-the-last-minute clients.

During Lent I read Marcus Borg’s The Last Week (HarperOne, 2006), in which he (and John Dominic Crossan) walk us through Holy Week according to Mark’s gospel. On Tuesday we hear the Pharisees and Herodians try to entrap Jesus with questions about paying taxes to Caesar. They give an interesting exegesis of this passage in addition to the usual: Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s. Give to God the things that are God’s. They question to ponder then is, “What belongs to Caesar, and what belongs to God?” For Jesus and many of his Jewish contemporaries, everything belongs to God.  Leviticus 25:23 says that the land belongs to God and all are the tenant farmers or resident aliens on land that belongs to God. To use Tuesday of Holy Week’s language, the vineyard belongs to God, not to the local collaborators, not to Rome. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” (Psalm 24:1)

Jesus is again posed a tricky question. He gives us the two-fold great commandment – to love God and to love our neighbors. How are the two connected – and what does this have to do with April 15, 2010? We are to give to God what belongs to God: our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength. To love one another means to refuse to accept the divisions rendered by the status quo around us, whether it is Caesar or the US government. We are to bridge divisions between rich and poor, respected and marginalized, righteous and sinners, friends and enemies. Hopefully paying our taxes today help provide services to those who need them.

Simplistic, yes. But I think Walter Brueggemann states it much better in his prayer from Prayers for a Privileged People (Abingdon, 2008):

Income Tax Day

On this day of internal revenue
	some of us are paid up,
	some of us owe,
	some of us await a refund,
	some of us have no income to tax.

But all of us are taxed,
	by war,
	by violence,
	by anxiety,
	by deathliness.

And Caesar never gives any deep tax relief.

We render to Caesar . . . 
	to some it feels like a grab,
	to some it is clearly a war tax,
	to some – some few – 
		it is a way to contribute to the common good. 

In any case we are haunted
	by what we render to Caesar,
	by what we might render to you,
	by the way we invest our wealth and our lives,
	when what you ask is an “easy yoke”:
		to do justice
		to love mercy
		to walk humbly with you.

Give us courage for your easy burden, so to live untaxed lives.
(more…)

From Barren to Fruitful April 9, 2010

Posted by Sharon Ely Pearson in Adult Formation, Books Worth Reading, Curriculum, Earth Day, Seasonal Ideas, Spirituality.
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An early bloom from one of my magnolia trees.

My garden is confused. This past week seemed like June instead of April. It has been a week of unseasonable weather. Following a Nor’easter one week and another of monsoon rains, this week saw sunshine and record high temperatures.  Forsythia usually blooms in southwestern Connecticut around April 15th, followed by the tulips, lilacs and magnolia trees a month later. This week, they all bloomed together.

There’s been lots of pro and con editorials in my local newspaper whether global warming really exists. With the huge cold and snowfall this winter, several ‘locals’ say it’s a scientist’s imagination. But global warming is about dramatic fluctuations and erratic weather patterns. March and April are prime examples that our planet is in danger.

April 22nd is Earth Day. Lots of communities and churches will note the day with ceremony, events and prayer. But what about the

Early flowering lilacs.

other 364 days? There are lots of resources for individuals and faith communities to reflect on what it means to be a steward of God’s creation. And how to protect what we have left for future generations.

Faith & Nature: The Divine Adventure of Life on Earth by Phyllis Strupp  (Morehouse Education Resources, 2010) is an intergenerational spiritual formation program that explores and embraces how God is at work in nature. It is a downloadable resource here. You can preview another award-winning book by Phyllis called The Richest of Fare about spirituality in the Sonoran Desert.

To Serve and Guard the Earth by Beth Bojarski (Morehouse Education Resources, 2010) connects the growing Christian environmental concern with the theology of creation in Genesis. It too is a downloadable resource for adults and high school youth.

The National Council of Churches of Christ’s Eco-Justice Network also offers numerous programs on sustainability, climate justice, global warming, and stewardship of the environment.

The Season of Creation is designated as four weeks in September, but can be celebrated at any time of year. Rogation Days in the spring time as well as The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi on October 6th might also be considered. The Web of Creation as well as the Season of Creation websites have lots of ideas to offer.

Speaking of Faith for Small Groups: Sustainable Faith is a downloadable resource with MP3 files to continue the conversation from Krista Tippett’s popular radio program. Discuss your role as a steward of the planet and how to make sense of the current climate of challenging political and environmental issues. Inspire conversation and introspection about the choices we make about nourishing ourselves, both nutritionally and spiritually. Hear from experts working to meet needs on the frontlines of suffering in both Africa and New Orleans. Meet a host of inspirational people brave enough to challenge the establishment to ensure that both the planet and the people who inhabit it are protected.

An early busy bee

A Reflection on our Present Plight
Hildegard of Bingen

The high,
the low
all of creation
God gives to humankind to use. If this privilege is misused,
God’s Justice permits creation to punish humanity.

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