Priest, Prophet, Pilgrim: Types and Distortions of Spiritual Vocation in the Fiction of Wendell Berry and Cormac McCarthy provides a reading of characters in the novels and short stories of two important contemporary American writers through the lens of spiritual theology. Applying the work of Rowan Williams, Nicholas Lash, and others, Edmondson constructs a theological framework that takes seriously the notion of Christian spirituality not as an invitation to flee from this world, but rather as a way of life that seeks reconciliation and joy within this world, encountering and embracing Godʼs presence within everyday existence, in the contexts of such realities as corporeality, communities, and the created order as a whole. This framework is then applied to the fiction of two American authors, Wendell Berry and Cormac McCarthy. By comparing these writers, the characters they create, and the worldviews that shape their narratives, Priest, Prophet, Pilgrim demonstrates, in ways that can be applied to other works and other characters, how the reading of fiction can inform the pursuit of the spiritual life.

For many people, the name of Archbishop Rembert Weakland brings to mind only connotations of scandal the titillating tale of a prominent priest disgraced. But that whiff of dishonor barely begins to tell the whole story. / In these pages Archbishop Weakland recounts his life from his childhood in rural Pennsylvania to his retirement from the archbishopric in 2002 at the age of 75, all in the context of the Church that he long served. Weakland takes readers with him to Rome, where he discovered the splendor of a whole new intellectual world, and then to New York for his extensive musical study at Julliard and Columbia University. From his early days in the priesthood to his struggles with pontiffs, Weakland details how he learned to become a leader and minister to his people and how his famously liberal beliefs affected his ministry. While he presents an honest account of the scandal he is so often recognized for, the complete picture beyond rumor and accusation may come as a surprise to many readers. / Throughout his memoir Weakland describes with poignant honesty his psychological, spiritual, and sexual growth. Candid and engaging, A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church offers a fascinating inside look at both Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II even as it tells the story of a life fully lived.

Pilgrim Journey guides newly baptized Christians to discern the mysteries of the gospel. It is a sequel and companion volume to Pilgrim Letters (Fortress, 2020). Like its predecessor volume, Pilgrim Journey is a series of letters written by Interpreter, the teacher, to Pilgrim, the newly baptized Christian. The theological and ecclesial scope of the letters is evangelical-catholic, free church-ecumenical, and ancient-future. Each letter is shaped by the prophetic imagination of the biblical illustrations of William Blake and informed by the narrative spirituality of The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. Pilgrim Journey begins with an introduction into the mystery of redemption hidden through the ages and revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The program of instruction contains the exposition of seven mysteries, each of which displays the central mystery of the gospel: (1) God speaks one true word in Jesus Christ; (2) the two Testaments form the one canon of Christian Scripture; (3) the one true God is made known in the three persons of the Holy Trinity; (4) true knowledge of God is discerned through reading the sacred Scripture literally and spiritually, especially in attention to the formation of faith, hope, and love; (5) a clear understanding of God's mysterious providence is aided by a sense of the scope of God's story from creation, covenant, Christ, and church, to consummation; (6) the marking of Christian time attends to God's unfolding revelation in Scripture as shown in the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost; and (7) the infinite reality of God becomes present in finite forms in seven sacramental signs of preaching, baptizing, blessing, breaking bread, washing feet, forgiving sins, and anointing. There is a final summary and conclusion about the way things deep, hidden, and mysterious shape the daily active living of Christians as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Today's tensions between the 'Islamic' East and 'Christian' West run high. Here Paul-Gordon Chandler presents fresh thinking in the area of Christian-Muslim relations, showing how Christ_whom Islam reveres as a Prophet and Christianity worships as the divine Messiah_can close the gap between the two religions. Historically, Christians have taken a confrontational or missionary approach toward Islam, leading many Muslims to identify Christianity with the cultural prejudices and hegemonic ambitions of Westerners. On the individual level, Christ-followers within Islam have traditionally been encouraged by Christians to break away from their Muslim communities. Chandler boldly explores how these two major religions_which share much common heritage_can not only co-exist, but also enrich each other. He illustrates his perspective with examples from the life of Syrian novelist Mazhar Mallouhi, widely read in the Middle East. Mallouhi, a self-identified 'Sufi Muslim follower of Christ,' seeks to bridge the chasm of misunderstanding between Muslims and Christians through his novels.

Ralph Leo Kleiter, priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, Canada shares the unique story of one who experienced the time before the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the following years that energized him. With the help of his daily journal, files and memory he writes candidly and highlights his “steppingstones” and “turning points”. In twelve chapters, with meticulous details, his narrative outlines his rural Saskatchewan formation and religious institutional education; the background and interesting events in all the parishes he served; and his global experiences and outreach through a Ministry to Tourism he established. In several sections, the reader will be able to really feel the author’s presence within the narrative. The most compelling and intriguing aspects of the author’s story are: •The “behind-the-scenes” accounts within church ministry, from the pre-Vatican II schooling to his faith-related struggles within the structures of the church. Some readers can attain a deeper appreciation of their role in the church and the author hopes that his story might serve as a teaching vehicle for clergy and laity. •His approaches in parish and health-care ministries, as well as his visionary personal charism in developing a “Spirituality in Travel” and a “Ministry to Tourism”. Most evident, is his belief that the sacred is all around, making our leisure time matter in a spiritual way. The reader will be especially impressed in a final chapter presenting the richness of his travels and how life-changing they were because of his organization and determination. Fr. Kleiter has written a voluminous Memoir, enhanced with over one-hundred and twenty colour photographs in a pleasing volume of classic design. The work is a worthwhile read, because it describes a priest with a mission during the challenging years of reading the “signs of the times”. By understanding the past, we can move into the future.

This book is an interdisciplinary study of the relationship between prophecy and politics in South African Pentecostalism. The role and the power of prophecy in enhancing the presence of politicians in the church square are unpacked through historical examples, as well as case studies of contemporary prophets. Solomon Kgatle argues that the influence of prophecy in politics has the potential to weaken the prophetic voice of the church in general and the Pentecostal movement in particular. He proposes a Pentecostal political theology of prophecy. This theology is developed by taking into cognizance the theoretical and theological frameworks of prophetic imagination and pneumatological imagination. In addition, this theology seeks a balance between prophecy and power and prophecy and sovereignty.

Wendell Berry thinks of himself as a storyteller. It's somewhat ironic then that he is better known as an essayist, a poet, and an advocate for small farmers. The essays in this collection consider the many facets of Berry's life and work, but they focus on his efforts as a novelist and story writer. Indeed, Berry had already published three novels before his seminal work of cultural criticism, The Unsettling of America, established him as an ardent defender of local communities and sustainable agriculture. And over the past fifty years, he has published eight novels and more than forty-eight short stories set in the imagined community of Port William. His exquisite rendering of this small Kentucky town challenges us to see the beauty of our own places and communities and to tend their health, threatened though it inevitably is. The twelve contributors to this collection approach Berry's fiction from a variety of perspectives--literary studies, journalism, theology, history, songwriting--to shed light on its remarkable ability to make a good life imaginable and compelling. The first collection devoted to Berry's fiction, this volume insists that any consideration of Berry's work must begin with his stories.

Critically surveying various approaches to Christian ecological ethics alongside the vexing moral ambiguities of the Anthropocene, Ecology of Vocation offers an integrative approach to responsible living vis à vis one of Protestantism’s key theological resources— the doctrine of vocation. Drawing on H. Richard Niebuhr’s germinal ethical framework with a decidedly ecofeminist perspective, Kiara A. Jorgenson demonstrates how vocation’s emphasis on right relationship practically speaks to the embodied realities of planetary interrelatedness. By excavating the ecological promise of the early Reformers’ democratized renderings of calling and linking their concerns to the contemporary context, she argues that vocation cannot be reduced to the particular aim of monetized work, nor to an elitist escape from it. Rather, vocation must be recast as the dynamic and vibrant space among the myriad roles any of us inhabits at any given time in a particular place. When understood in this light, vocation signals much more than a job, a passion, or a quest for self-discovery. An alternative understanding of vocation’s very ecology can extend Christian conceptions of the neighbor beyond the human and lead the church to more faithfully pursue lives characterized by humility, restraint, wisdom, justice, and love.