Dorothy C. Bass

a way of life for a searching people

Practicing our faith

Christian practices for opening the gift of time

Receiving the day

"Bass and Dykstra have written extensively and collaboratively on Christian Practices, arguing that the what Christians have done faithfully over time constitutes a life-giving way of life, and that this living of Christianity is more primary to what it means to be Christian than doctrinal confession, that our confessions spring from faithful living rather than the other way around. This book contains numerous essays that take up the question of Christian Practices and ministry--the preparation of ministers, theological education, etc. in a post-Enlightenment understanding of the relationship of practice and head knowledge. Because the book is the result of a community conversation, it doesn't have a clear thesis, but it models its conviction that reflection on theology arises from community conversation around our life in discipleship together. An extremely helpful beginning to a conversation about ministry, practices of faith, clergy preparation, etc., as the time has come to integrate the kind of learning that comes in the classroom with the kind that only comes from living the faith with others"--Amazon.com.

Practical Theology, Theological Education, and Christian Ministry

For Life Abundant

Mark R Schwen

A fully revised, updated, and expanded second edition with new key questions and a large number of new selections. Leading Lives That Matter compiles a wide range of texts--from ancient and contemporary literature, social commentary, and philosophy --related to questions of vital interest for those who are trying to decide what to do with their lives and what kind of human beings they hope to become. This book draws upon both religious and secular wisdom, bringing these sources into conversation with one another. Mark Schwehn and Dorothy Bass identify four vocabularies typically used in discussions of the meaning of life choices: authenticity, virtue, exemplarity, and vocation. Six guiding questions shape the chapters that contain the majority of the texts. Each chapter's texts provide a variety of insights and approaches to be considered in addressing the question, arranged and introduced in ways that prompt deeper reflection. Leading Lives That Matter invites readers into arguments that have persisted for generations about what we human beings should do and who we should be. Table of Contents Introduction PROLOGUE William James, "What Makes A Life Significant?" Vincent Harding, "I Hear Them . . . Calling" PART I VOCABULARIES AUTHENTICITY Charles Taylor, from The Ethics of Authenticity Parker Palmer, from A Hidden Wholeness Elizabeth Cady Stanton, "Solitude of Self" Thanissari Bhikku, "No-Self or Not-Self?" Ajahn Karunadhammo, "This Is Who I Am" VIRTUE Aristotle, from Nicomachean Ethics Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, from Glittering Vices Josef Pieper, from Faith, Hope, Love Natalia Ginzburg, from The Little Virtues David Brooks, "The Moral Bucket List" Mencius, from The Sayings of Mencius Hsun Tzu, from Improving Yourself Edith Jones, "Patience" EXEMPLARITY Linda Zagzebski, from Exemplarist Moral Theory Dorothy Day, from Therese Gordon Marino, "The Greatest" Madeline Miller, "False Counsellor" VOCATION Denise Levertov, "Annunciation" Lee Hardy, from The Fabric of this World Gary Badcock, from The Way of Life C.S. Lewis, from "Learning in War-Time" Dietrich Bonhoeffer, from Ethics Frederick Buechner, from Wishful Thinking Will Campbell, from "Vocation as Grace" ChungTzu, from Mastering Life PART II QUESTIONS 1. Must my job be the primary source of my identity? Russell Muirhead, from Just Work Dorothy L. Sayers, "Why Work?" Gilbert Meilaender, from Friendship Toni Morrison, "The Work You Do, the Person You Are" Robert Frost, "Two Tramps in Mud Time" Marge Piercy, "To be of use" Stephen Dunn, "The Last Hours" Carl Dennis, "A Roofer" Kazuo Ishiguro, from The Remains of the Day 2. To whom and to what should I listen as I decide what work to do? Will Weaver, "The Undeclared Major" Amy Tan, "Two Kinds," from The Joy Luck Club Lois Lowry, from The Giver Willa Cather, "The Ancient Ones," from The Song of the Lark Albert Schweitzer, "I Resolve to Become a Jungle Doctor" Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, from the screenplay of Good Will Hunting James Baldwin, "Sonny's Blues" 3. With whom and for whom shall I live? Alasdair MacIntyre, from Dependent Rational Animals Kate Daniels, "Prayer for My Children Malcolm Gladwell, "The Roseto Mystery" The Book of Ruth Jhumpa Lahiri, "My Two Lives" Toni Morrison, "Recitatif" Sullivan Ballou, a letter to his wife, 1861 Samuel Wells, "Rethinking Service" Martin Luther King Jr., from "The World House" 4. Is a balanced life possible and preferable to a life focused primarily on work? Abigail Zuger, "Defining a Doctor" Karen S. Sibert, "Don't Quit this Day Job" Jane Addams, "Filial Relations," from Democracy and Social Ethics William Butler Yeats, "The Choice" Homer, from The Iliad Martha Nussbaum, interviewed by Bill Moyers for "A World of Ideas" Hannah Boushey, from Home Economics Matt Bloom, "The Illusive Search for Balance" Wendell Berry, "Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front" Abraham Joshua Heschel, from The Sabbath 5. What are my obligations to future human and other life? Larry Rasmussen, "A Love Letter from the Holocene to the Anthropocene" Rachel Carson, "A Fable for Tomorrow" Scott Russell Sanders, "Sanctuary" Camille Dungy, "Writing Home" Paul Laurence Dunbar, "The Haunted Oak" Wanda Coleman, "Requiem for a Nest" Anthony Walton, "Carrion" Natasha Trethewey, "Carpenter Bee" Winona LaDuke, from "Our Home on Earth" Wangari Maathai, from "Nobel Peace Prize Lecture" Pope Francis, from Laudato Si' On Care for our Common Home Genesis 1-3 NRSV Ursula K. LeGuin, "She Unnames Them" Acoma Creation Myth Denise Levertov, "Beginners" 6. How shall I tell the story of my life? Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken" Mary Catherine Bateson, from Composing a Life Julia Alvarez, from Something to Declare Wendell Berry, from Jayber Crow Alice Walker, from In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens Dan McAdams, "An American Life Story" Michael T. Kaufman, "Robert McG. Thomas, 60, Chronicler of Unsung Lives" EPILOGUE Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilych

What We Should Do and Who We Should Be

Leading Lives That Matter

Embrace time as a gift--not an obstacle Receiving the Day invites us to open the gift of time, to dwell in the freedom to rest and worship that God intends for us and for all creatures. In this book, Dorothy C. Bass shows how Christian practices for rest and worship continually welcome us into a way of life attuned to the love of God, neighbor, earth, and self. Bass does not aim to provide clear instructions for creating a schedule that solves all our puzzles about how to live in time. Rather, convinced that Christian faith bears great wisdom about time, Bass offers an account of the weekly practice of keeping sabbath, along with other practices by which Christians have sought to live faithfully in time. These practices have been lived by diverse communities of faith across centuries and cultures. Through them, we can learn to dwell more graciously, attentively, and faithfully within the hours and days we have. We can also learn to share the gift of time gladly and gratefully with others, in and for this world God loves.

Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time

Receiving the Day

Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore

Kathleen A. Cahalan

James R. Nieman

Christian B. Scharen

In this richly collaborative work, five distinguished scholars examine the oft-neglected embodied practical wisdom that is essential for true theological understanding and faithful Christian living. After first showing what Christian practical wisdom is and does in several real-life situations, the authors tell why such practical wisdom matters and how it operates, exploring reasons behind its decline in both the academy and the church and setting forth constructive cases for its renewal.

What It Is, Why It Matters

Christian Practical Wisdom

Miroslav Volf

In a time when academic theology often neglects the lived practices of the Christian community, this volume seeks to bring balance to the situation by showing the dynamic link between the task of theology and the practices of the Christian life. The work of thirteen first-rate theologians from several cultural and Christian perspectives, these informed and informative essays explore the relationship between Christian theology and practice in the daily lives of believers, in the ministry of Christian communities, and as a needed focus within Christian education. Contributors: Dorothy C. Bass Nancy Bedford Gilbert Bond Sarah Coakley Craig Dykstra Reinhard Hütter L. Gregory Jones Serene Jones Amy Plantinga Pauw Christine Pohl Kathryn Tanner Miroslav Volf Tammy Williams

Beliefs and Practices in Christian Life

Practicing Theology

Every year hundreds of thousands of American women become stepmothers. Committing to partners who are already parents, we gain relationships with young people who may--or may not--be pleased by our presence. When Dorothy Bass married a man with a four-year-old daughter, she was hesitant to embrace the title "stepmother," with its many negative cultural associations, and she soon realized she had very little sense of what this new role required of her. In Stepmother, Bass explores the complex emotional, material, and spiritual terrain we share with our stepchildren, and with their other parents. Bringing together insights from sociology, history, clinical studies, and literature, she unpacks practical questions to help readers explore the deeper issues: What is my definition of home? How does this relationship affect all the other relationships in this family? And how do I deal with the emotional triangles of stepfamily life? Bass centers us on the work to be done in our own hearts, where spiritual strength can grow and love can be intentionally built, bringing peace and hope instead of scarcity and competition. By being honest about our own pain and the pain of others, we open ourselves to the love and mercy often born from unexpected relationships. It is here that we make way for constructive family dynamics.

Redeeming a Disdained Vocation

Stepmother

Mark R. Schwehn

"Leading Lives That Matter" draws together a wide range of texts -- including fiction, autobiography, and philosophy -- offering challenge and insight to those who are thinking about what to do with their lives. Instead of giving prescriptive advice, Mark Schwehn and Dorothy Bass approach the subject of vocation as an ongoing conversation. They include in this conversation some of the Western tradition's best writings on human life -- its meaning, purpose, and significance -- ranging from ancient Greek poetry to contemporary fiction. Including Leo Tolstoy's novella "The Death of Ivan Ilych" as an extended epilogue, this volume will help readers clarify and deepen how they think about their own lives.

What We Should Do and who We Should be

Leading Lives that Matter

Twelve time-honored Christian practices that will help us, and the world, to flourish Practicing Our Faith offers help to Christians who are asking how our faith can help us discern what we might do and who we might become. How can we live faithfully and with integrity in a world where the pace of existence is so fast and life's patterns are changing all around us? Can we conduct our daily lives in ways that help us not just get by but flourish--as individuals, as communities, and as a society in concert with creation and in communion with God? These questions are on the hearts and minds of many seekers who are exploring spirituality today. They are also at the heart of Practicing Our Faith. Practices are those shared activities that address fundamental needs of humankind and creation and that, woven together, form a way of life. The twelve practices explored in this book are practices that human beings simply cannot do without, particularly at this time in history. This book will stimulate your imagination. It will encourage you to reflect. It initiates a conversation that will spread into many contexts, each of which presents unique opportunities for noticing, discussing, and living the practices of faith.

A Way of Life for a Searching People

Practicing Our Faith

Leading Lives That Matter compiles a wide range of texts—from ancient and contemporary literature, social commentary, and philosophy—related to questions of vital interest for those who are trying to decide what to do with their lives and what kind of human beings they hope to become. This book draws upon both religious and secular wisdom, bringing these sources into conversation with one another. Mark Schwehn and Dorothy Bass identify four vocabularies typically used in discussions of the meaning of life choices: authenticity, virtue, exemplarity, and vocation. Six guiding questions shape the chapters that contain the majority of the texts. Each chapter’s texts provide a variety of insights and approaches to be considered in addressing the question, arranged and introduced in ways that prompt deeper reflection. Leading Lives That Matter invites readers into arguments that have persisted for generations about what we human beings should do and who we should be. This second edition includes forty-seven new readings from a diverse array of writers, including Toni Morrison, Kazuo Ishiguro, Denise Levertov, Malcolm Gladwell, Julia Alvarez, Alice Walker, Martin Luther King Jr., Pope Francis, and Chung Tzu. Three new guiding questions have also been added: To whom and what should I listen as I decide what work to do? With whom and for whom shall I live? What are my obligations to future human life and other life?

What We Should Do and Who We Should Be, 2nd ed.

Don C. Richter

Through teen-friendly language and relevant examples, provides concrete ways young people can practice Christianity in everyday life, discussing such topics as forgiveness, work, play, "stuff," prayer, food, and time as ways to nourish a more meaningful life offered by Jesus Christ. Original.

Christian Practices for Teens

Way to Live

Mark R. Schwen

Compiles a wide range of texts-from fiction, social science, philosophy, and ancient poetry-related to questions that arise for those who are trying to decide what to do with their lives

Dorothy C. Bass

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