This comprehensive and transformative guide offers a recipe for preparing a meal of mercy in the pattern of the Gospels. Jesus' challenge is clear enough: We are to reconcile with one another before bringing our gifts to the altar, for that table reflects God's desire that we live in a holy communion with all people.

A Struggle for Holy Ground results from thirty-five interviews with participants in the 1989 consolidations of then parishes in Chicago's Englewood and two parishes from the San Francisco consolidations after its 1989 earthquake. It explores the roles of ritual and pastoral care in this sometimes highly conflicted situation through the lens of trauma and reconciliation. It proposes a series of new rites: group reconciliation, atonement, lament, leave-taking, memorial, and inauguration based on the experience of people most impacted by parish restructurings.

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Can you find a proven source for lasting standards and values? God revealed the heart of His standards--the Ten Commandments--long ago at Mount Sinai. But what sets them apart from man-made rules and guidelines? What do they reveal about nature of God Himself. In this booklet you'll discover the answers to these questions and more. Inside this booklet:- The First Commandment: What Is Our Greatest Priority?- The Second Commandment: What Is God Like?- The Third Commandment: From Profanity to Praise- The Fourth Commandment: Key to a Relationship With Our Creator- The Fifth Commandment: A Foundation for Success- Sixth Commandment: Life Is a Precious Gift- Seventh Commandment: Protect the Marital Relationship- Eighth Commandment: Practice Giving Rather Than Getting- Ninth Commandment: Truth as a Way of Life- Tenth Commandment: True Righteousness Comes From the Heart- Does the New Covenant Abolish the Commandments?[ View or download other free booklets at www.ucg.org ]

“Fascinating . . . First Ladies is a wonderfully generous look at the women who, often against their wishes, took on what Truman calls ‘the world's second toughest job.’”—The Christian Science Monitor Whether they envision their role as protector, partner, advisor, or scold, First Ladies find themselves in a job that is impossible to define, and just as difficult to perform. Now Margaret Truman, daughter of President Harry Truman and an acclaimed novelist and biographer in her own right, explores the fascinating position of First Lady throughout history and up to the present day. With her unique perspective as the daughter of a First Lady, Ms. Truman reveals the truth behind some of the most misunderstood and forgotten First Ladies of our history, as well as the most famous and beloved. In recounting the charm and courage of Dolley Madison, the brazen ambition of Florence Harding, the calm, good sense of Grace Coolidge, the genius of Eleanor Roosevelt, the mysterious femininity of Jackie Kennedy, and the fierce protectiveness of Nancy Reagan, among others, Margaret Truman has assembled an honest yet affectionate portrait of our nation’s First Ladies—one that freely acknowledges their virtues and their flaws.

For twelve years Robert Blecker, a criminal law professor, wandered freely inside Lorton Central Prison, armed only with cigarettes and a tape recorder. The Death of Punishment tests legal philosophy against the reality and wisdom of street criminals and their guards. Some killers' poignant circumstances should lead us to mercy; others show clearly why they should die. After thousands of hours over twenty-five years inside maximum security prisons and on death rows in seven states, the history and philosophy professor exposes the perversity of justice: Inside prison, ironically, it's nobody's job to punish. Thus the worst criminals often live the best lives. The Death of Punishment challenges the reader to refine deeply held beliefs on life and death as punishment that flare up with every news story of a heinous crime. It argues that society must redesign life and death in prison to make the punishment more nearly fit the crime. It closes with the final irony: If we make prison the punishment it should be, we may well abolish the very death penalty justice now requires.