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How long have you been writing fiction? And/or What was the first fiction you remember writing?
Kendra: I come from a family of storytellers and my earliest memories are of us gathered around the table or snuggled in bed at night hearing stories of my Dad’s family farm in southern Virginia, or my mom eating Maryland blue crab as a girl in Baltimore. I have even wondered if some of my earliest memories are truly my memories or things constructed from the stories I have been told. I have always been an avid reader but my own writing has followed in my family tradition of non-fiction (which might occasionally bend toward fiction). Writing “Welcome to Triumph” was a beautiful invitation to write about a place, people, and events that felt true even though it was all completely fictional.
Brittany: Since I could write in complete sentences, I’ve been writing fiction stories inspired by real-life so that I could better understand and explore experiences. The first fiction I remember sharing publicly with others was a short play I wrote in high school. It centered on a college freshman’s fish-out-of-water experience her first few days at college as people from her past reappear. My high school staged it, and besides an enormous amount of nerves at sharing it, I mostly remember the sense of community it brought: others connected to my fictional characters and their situations. It’s that same hope for unity that keeps me writing fiction today.
What’s the biggest challenge of writing fiction?
Brittany: The biggest challenge is sharing my characters’ mistakes and flaws with the audience. Just as it’s hard to be honest and vulnerable with others in our own lives, it’s extremely hard to share the faults of beloved characters. I want to present each character in the best way possible; when they go through a hardship or make a rash decision, there’s a risk the reader will reject the character. And yet, how realistic is it to have a character who always behaves as expected, never messes up, and doesn’t struggle in their life? To be honest to the heart of fiction, which is the making sense of our own realities, is to have full and flawed characters.
Kendra: I really wrestled with the limitedness of writing. You are showing people, these characters, in these snapshot moments of time but in our minds the complexity of these characters felt so much bigger and beautiful. I felt a responsibility to do them justice in the ways that their lives were tapestries of so much more than what a reader might see in a scene. I also took really seriously that we were writing fiction about clergy women, a population that is not often reflected in the genre and I wanted to do my colleagues and peers justice in writing characters and their experiences.
What was your biggest surprise writing Welcome to Triumph?
Kendra: Honestly, that we did it. When we agreed to write this book I was just a couple of months postpartum and had been asked to interview for a position across the country. Life felt so full and a little wild. It turned out to be the perfect time to write. I’d be up feeding the baby at night and an idea for a character would pop into my head. As I celebrated this new life in our lives, the lives of these characters also came in beautiful spontaneity and in daily diligence. I am eternally grateful for Brittany, our beautiful creativity, our love of Google Docs, and the slightly manic schedule that we were able to keep with one another. I was worried we would regret this project by the end and I’d never want to talk to her again but she has been an amazing partner full stop. We lifted one another up, held each other accountable, and I know she brought out the best in my writing.
Brittany: How much of the book and its events are pure fiction! I worried that we would end up writing our lives and experiences too much into the book. Kendra and I have both lived in pastor circles for over ten years. We know the community and the experiences. It was easy to bring that perspective into everyday life in a smaller town. The ease of writing with another author was also quite surprising. We joked that this would either go well or it’d be the worst group project ever. I think the way we divvied up the story and then still had the other person go over what we’d written really helped maintain continuity.
Which character did you most enjoy writing for?
Kendra: Picking a favorite character would be like picking a favorite kid, you might have favorite moments with each, but it is constantly shifting with moments and time. I loved writing Birdie’s character, her grounded steady way, her appreciation of a good cup of coffee and a morning on the porch. Birdie felt like writing my best-self pastor. But, I loved feeling the truth in all the women’s stories. Writing about Ara Grace’s grandmother’s garden, or the struggles of seemingly impossible demands of family, ministry, self in Nel.
Brittany: Johnny Tae was really fun to write, as he embodies existential angst. Who doesn’t have that? I thought I’d most relate to writing Ara Grace’s life, the new pastor in town who happens to be Lutheran, like me. However, I found myself drawn to Nel’s relentless insistence that everything is fine despite her family life crumbling. To be clear: my personal family life is healthy, fine, and stable. But I have chaos-- how can there not be when kids are involved? And I found myself relating to Nel’s instinct to diminish or cover up problems. The root of Nel’s instinct comes from her sole identity as a pastor: she wants to present the Gospel in such a flawless way that the message of God’s love and grace isn’t obscured by her reality. I found myself doing the opposite, though: God’s love and grace are made most evident in the messy chaos of life with kids.
What do you hope readers will take away from Welcome to Triumph?
Brittany: My hope is that readers realize pastors are people, too. I hope there is an embracing of our shared flawed humanity, with an equal reliance on God’s divine love. All the characters are doing their best with what they have-- the teens, the pastors. And ultimately, they realize the way forward is only through the community they choose to create and participate in. I think that’s true for all of us.
Kendra: I want folks to see the beauty and struggle that these women face in ministry. I want folks to see the ways this is universal for all clergy and the ways it is beautifully specific. Other than The Vicar of Dibley, which I loved watching in high school, there are not a lot of portrayals of women and ministry. I wanted to show the diversity of that experience: the humor, the anxiety, the struggle, the earnestness, the joy. The ways these women might feel true to the reader’s life.
]]>The five-year grant, which Lilly Endowment made through its Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative, will support the creation of a teaching network, new curriculum resources, and academic research.
The initiative is the next step of Chalice’s bestselling Faithful Families series by author Rev. Traci Smith. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Rev. Smith will serve as the new program’s director. Research will be led by Rev. Dr. David Csinos of Atlantic School of Theology.
"We know that faith formation begins at home and that forming good habits starts well before kindergarten,” Rev. Smith says. “It is a joy to have the opportunity to focus full-time on helping ministry leaders empower parents to help their children practice their faith through simple, daily practice. This initiative is a dream come true, and I am so grateful to Chalice Press and the Lilly Endowment, Inc. for making it possible.”
The program’s primary emphasis will work in depth with a core group of congregations that will receive financial support, expert coaching, and a new workbook, subsidized in part by the grant. The workbook will be available for purchase in 2025.
Family Faith Every Day has a strong research component undergirded by Dr. Csinos, Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and founder of Faith Forward. Through the Family Faith Every Day program, he will conduct research focused on identifying the effectiveness of particular faith practices in families with children from birth to age five.
“As a researcher of children’s spirituality and as a parent, I know what a difference that an early foundation in faith practices can make in the lives of families,” Csinos said. “I’m overjoyed to partner with Chalice Media Group and with Rev. Smith on this program.”
Smith and Csinos bring real-life experience to the project. Smith and her husband, Elias Cabarcas, are the parents of three young children. Csinos and his wife, Lydia Hood, are the parents of two young children with a third arriving soon.
Family Faith Every Day is an extension of Chalice Media’s mission to create a world in which families can grow in their faith and their love through daily faith practices and experiences across generations.
Initially published by Chalice Press in 2014 under a different title, the expanded edition of Faithful Families: Creating Sacred Moments at Home was published in 2017. Two additional books, Faithful Families for Advent and Christmas and Faithful Families for Lent, Easter, and Resurrection, have been added to the line. The original book was created in partnership with Young Clergy Women International.
Chalice Media Group is one of 125 organizations that have received grants through the Christian Parenting initiative. Reflecting the diversity of Christianity in the United States, the organizations are affiliated with mainline Protestant, evangelical, Catholic, Orthodox Christian and Pentecostal faith communities. Many of the organizations are rooted in Black church, Hispanic and Asian Christian traditions.
“We’ve heard from many parents who are seeking to nurture the spiritual lives of their children, especially in their daily activities, and looking to churches and other faith-based organizations for support,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion.
“These thoughtful, creative and collaborative organizations embrace the important role that families have in shaping the religious development of children and are launching programs to assist parents and caregivers with this task.”
Lilly Endowment launched the Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative in 2022 because of its interest in supporting efforts to help individuals and families from diverse Christian communities draw more fully on the wisdom of Christian practices to live out their faith fully and well passing on a vibrant faith to a new generation.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.
About Chalice Media Group
A St. Louis, Missouri-based ministry incorporated in 1911, Chalice is the publishing house of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Our legal name is the Christian Board of Publication, Chalice creates print and digital resources that support a faith community that is vibrant and energizing, a worldwide force for justice, peace, love, and multifaith cooperation. Chalice is supported by income generated by the sales of our books, summer camp curriculum, and congregational resources; a sliver of our income is provided by small donations from our website customers or individual donors. Chalice receives virtually no denominational funding. Learn more about our work at ChaliceMedia.org.
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This is your first book that intertwines a character and Christian faith. How did you go about developing the faith lives of these historical characters?
I have previously written characters who were pagan and Spiritualist, but this is the first one where my characters are Christian. Regardless of their beliefs, my process was the same: learn as much about the faith and how it was practiced in the book’s time period as possible. Then I read accounts from those who practiced that faith to try to get a real-life feel for it beyond the theoretical because very few people practice their faith even close to perfectly. For Catherine, this was easy because I’ve been Catholic my whole life and used to want to become a nun. That meant what I really needed to learn was about the Irish Penal Laws and how they affected the lives of 19th century Irish Catholics. I also had to try to put myself into that period, which meant trying to clear my mind of modern ideas like anything post-Vatican II, and really try to think from a perspective where lay people, especially women, were not viewed well at all by the Church.
Without giving too much away, where in Catherine’s Mercy does the fact end and the fiction begin?
A detailed answer to that question is in the Author’s Notes at the end of the book. Short answer: I tried to stick as close to the truth regarding Catherine as it is known using biographies, Catherine’s extant letters, and lore that is preserved by the Sisters of Mercy. Of course, there are things we can never know, such as the wording of conversations or exactly what really took place during a given event, which is partly where the fiction comes in. I also tried to use real people in Catherine’s life for characters. Daniel O’Connell, William and Catherine Callaghan, Anna Maria Doyle, Elizabeth Harley and many of the Sisters and priests were real people. Margaret and her situation are based on a real domestic servant who came to Catherine for help, but we don’t have any details, so I had to make those up. Grace, Lord Montague and most of the secondary characters are fictional, but the history surrounding them is real.
What do you hope readers will take away from Catherine’s Mercy?
Beyond being entertained and hopefully learning something, I hope that readers will see that anyone with faith and determination can do good in the world. That is certainly a hallmark of Catherine’s life, and I made it part of Grace, Anna Maria and Margaret’s lives as well. I also hope that readers understand that although Catherine is on the path to sainthood in the Catholic Church, she was not perfect; she had flaws, doubts and uncertainty just like the rest of us. Yet look at how much she changed the world for the better!
How did you learn about Catherine McAuley? What inspired you to think of her as a subject for a historical fiction novel?
I’ve been working for a Mercy health care organization for the last 20 years, so I know Catherine’s story very well. It is one every co-worker learns because our mission and heritage are very important to our work. However, as a person in internal communications who has our Mission Department as a client, I had to learn the history of our organization in much more detail than most (and I have enjoyed every minute of it). I was blessed to be selected to go to Dublin, Ireland, and stay at the first House of Mercy and walk in Catherine’s footsteps about 10 years ago for a fundraising project, so I got just about the most in-depth research I could ever ask for even though at the time I had no idea I would ever write her story.
The idea for the novel—or rather short story, because that is how it began its life—came to me in late 2019 when a friend and I discussed plans to develop an anthology of short stories featuring women who overcame abuse to benefit survivors of domestic violence. I knew immediately the story I wanted to tell; it was one that always haunted me. I wanted to play with the question of why a woman such as Catherine—renown for her compassion and generosity—would turn down someone in need. I seriously got the chills when I realized how perfectly that story fit the project.
The anthology never came to be because we couldn’t secure enough writers, but by the time we realized that I had already written Consequences (which is pretty much still intact in the second part of the novel). I self-published it as a short story in June 2021, but it was only available for a short time because my agent wanted me to expand it into a full novel. At first I didn’t want to—I felt like I had said all I wanted to in the short story—but the more I thought about it, the more I warmed to the idea. Before I knew it, I could hear Catherine’s voice in my head (that happens with all my books), Chalice offered me a contract, and I was off writing a full book.
Which character did you most enjoy writing for?
That is a tough one! I really love writing villains, so Lord Montague was fun, but I also have a soft spot for Grace. I think her redemption arc was my favorite.
What’s the biggest challenge of writing fiction? Of writing historical fiction?
I write a specific type of historical fiction called biographical historical fiction. That means that I write about real people and try to tell their life story in a relatively honest fashion while still telling an entertaining story. Finding the balance between fact and fiction is tough and it varies from book to book, based on the needs of the tale. History gives me the bones of the story, but it is up to me to use fiction to give it tissue and bring it to life.
What was your biggest surprise writing Catherine’s Mercy?
Learning about the real-life Wrens of the Curragh, on whom Grace’s “doves” are based. I had never heard of these independent women before and I really enjoyed writing the character of Cressida/Wren, who got her nickname from these women.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently on a bit of a brain break because I just finished writing and publishing five books over the last two years, along with a full time job and many major life changes, including moving out of state and getting married next October. Once my brain settles a bit I’m going to work on proposals for a biography of a nearly-forgotten women’s suffrage leader (my second biography) as well as a dark academia work of historical fiction based in Oxford that also has a non-fiction book tie-in. If Catherine’s Mercy does well, you may just see more about the Sisters of Mercy, too.
Where can readers find out more about you and your books?
My website, nicoleevelina.com, is the best place. I am also on social media as Nicole Evelina Author on Facebook, Threads, Tiktok and Instagram, and as Nicole Evelina on Pinterest, Goodreads, and Bookbub. I LOVE email from readers, so if you want to talk about anything related to my books, feel free to email me.
Catherine's Mercy is available now from ChalicePress.com or wherever you buy books.
]]>One of the first things we learn in literature is that fiction is made up. The libraries that fed our curiosity and creativity were initially divided into fiction and non-fiction. Hopefully you went to both sides of the library!
Catherine’s Mercy, a novel by USA Today bestselling author Nicole Evelina. Based on a true story, Catherine’s Mercy brings to life Irish reformer and Sisters of Mercy founder Catherine McAuley. Set two centuries ago, McAuley, a Catholic spinster of 44, unexpecedtly inherits a fortune. Instead of using her new-found wealth to climb the social ladder or snare a husband; she instead fulfills a lifelong dream of building a refuge for the poor and sick of Dublin, Ireland. Catherine defies opposition from the church, society, and the nefarious Lord Montague as she protects women victimized by society — and shows mercy when mercy isn’t required.
That’s a lesson we can all use in times like these, right? In its best moments, stories can teach us more effectively than any facts-based lecture. That’s one reason the parables of Jesus are so dear to hearts and our souls. Stories can help us understand our own lives better.
Catherine’s Mercy is the first of our new Chalice Stories imprint. You’ll hear more about Chalice Stories in the coming months. In the meantime, we encourage you to travel to Dublin in 1824, to meet the first Sisters of Mercy, and to explore where you can show compassion and mercy in your own life.
Gratefully,
Brad Lyons
President & Publisher
But Catherine didn’t care. Her top priority was helping young women—usually servants who were in danger from sexual and physical violence at the hands of their masters—as well as widows and their children, orphans, and others in need by teaching them a trade, basic education (how to read, write and do basic math) and giving them food and shelter until they could get safe employment. While other charitable organizations existed across Dublin, this was the first time a group of lay women dared to do such a thing without being under the control of the male leadership of the Catholic, Protestant, Quaker Churches.
Needless to say, this did not go over well. My book, Catherine’s Mercy, (publishing November 7 but available for preorder now) attempts to paint a picture of what led up to this historic moment and, even more important, what else these trailblazing women—led by Catherine McAuley—did that would change the world. Catherine and Anna, despite their intentions to remain lay women—went on to found the Sisters of Mercy religious order. Today over 6,000 Sisters, 3,100 lay volunteers (or Mercy Associates) and 1,100 volunteers carry on Catherine’s mission in 160 health care, education, social work and other organizations in North, Central and South America; the Caribbean; Guam and the Philippines.
I am proud to have been one of these people for the last 20 years (as of November 17 of this year) and was fortunate enough to visit the House of Mercy several years ago, along with many other key places in Catherine’s life. I had no idea then that I would even be a published author, much less that I would someday write a book about Catherine and the Sisters. But I can’t help believe this is one of the reasons I’ve worked there for so long. I’m a person of faith and I feel like God and Catherine (who is on the path to sainthood in the Catholic Church) had a plan all along. It was just up to me to get there. I can’t wait for you to read this book when it comes out in November. Happy Mercy Day to all!
Nicole Evelina is a USA Today bestselling novelist, biographer and poet, who lives in South Bend, Indiana. She writes historical fiction, non-fiction, and women’s fiction and her books have won more than 50 awards, including four Book of the Year designations.
The Disciples: A Struggle for Reformation by noted Disciples historian D. Duane Cummins debuted at July’s General Assembly in Louisville. Updating the book first published in 2009, the second edition includes the initial term of General Minister and President Teresa Hord Owens, and how congregations tackled the brutal challenge of 21st century COVID.
The Disciples is published by Chalice Press, the denominational publisher for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Though a mere 14 years passed between editions, Cummins observed a change within the denomination: A new sense of confidence he attributes to the COVID pandemic.
“Disciples clearly saw the reality of a challenge and addressed it with creative imagination and hope—and found they were clearly able to reconfigure the familiar into new patterns. They could boldly transcend the existing world,” Cummins says. “When I compare the many interviews conducted for the 2009 edition, I recall a sense of fear about the survival of the church, lamentation about dwindling resources and declining membership. But at the Louisville Assembly in 2023, I did not hear a single person mention the word ‘survival.’ The tone and mood of people in the several conversations of which I was a participant was a sense of confidence, determination, and hopefulness about our church.”
Other significant changes Cummins noted are the “rich gift” of growing ethnic diversity within the Disciples’ membership and leadership and the technological transformation across the church. He also acknowledges a discouraging statistic: The denomination lost over 300,000 total members between 2009 and 2023—half of the total membership.
Cummins embodies the overlap of denominational knowledge and academic expertise. He has been a professor of history at Johns Hopkins University since 2002. In addition to serving as Moderator, he has also led Disciples institutions Bethany College and the Division of Higher Education (now Higher Education and Leadership Ministries), and served as interim president of both Brite Divinity School at TCU and the Disciples of Christ History Society.
It may be easy to think history only matters to the historians, but Cummins believes that being a faithful leader requires an understanding of a movement’s history.
“Possessing an accurate and current history of our church is an absolute essential to effectively engage our generational responsibility of refining, renewing and enriching the mission and ministry of Disciples in our time,” Cummins says. “That responsibility requires turning to Disciples history. An old mentor of mine, historian Daniel Boorstin, said it plainly: ‘Planning for the future without a sense of history is like planting cut flowers.’”
“History gives a sense of continuity to Disciples, a consciousness of generational unity. It delivers us from the provinciality of the present—expanding our view of the church. One generation alone is rarely enough to achieve significant change. Each generation is equipped with a new language, a new perspective, new insights to sharpen, reaffirm and reinforce the mission and ministry of the church.
Beyond the knowledge needed to lead, understanding a denomination’s history creates a shared identity linking the different parts of the church — laity and clergy, congregations and regional and general ministries, and higher education institutions.
“Disciples’ history teaches us that our mission and ministry is built through a generational partnership, a generational pooling of learning,” Cummins continues. “Disciples are a community of memory, and it is the debate between past and future that forms and guides our life as a church. Understanding our history is critical to that debate.”
Disciples aren’t alone in facing challenges as the first quarter of the 21st century concludes. Christian denominations of all stripes face declining participation and contracting resources. But Cummins finds hope for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the defining tenets of Disciples theology: unity and covenant.
“I believe Disciples have the right mission and the right message at exactly the right time. In this era of unrestrained polarization and tribalism, the plea heard round the globe is bring us together. It is a call for unity. Christian ‘unity’ is Disciples middle name! It is the cause most distinctive about Disciples, our reason for existing.
“Complimenting this identity statement of unity, Disciples are also a people living together in covenant to form the church, binding ourselves to each other in truth and love. Covenant is rooted in awareness, because covenant makes people look beyond themselves, setting aside their self-awareness—enabling them to encompass an awareness of others. With our long heritage of the ideal of unity and with our commitment to living together in covenant, Disciples have a powerful message for the world—a message to be demonstrated, a message to be shared.
“Coupling the newly empowered sense of confidence and our heritage of the noble ideal of unity, made visible by our life in covenant— this gives me solid hope for the Disciples among the world’s humanity.
The second edition of The Disciples: A Struggle for Reformation is available on ChalicePress.com or wherever you order books. When you order directly from Chalice, you provide twice as much support for the ministry your denominational publishing home.
https://chalicepress.com/products/the-disciples-second-edition-a-struggle-for-reformation-paperback
]]>“Some of the most important life lessons never seem to be talked about in church. Speak up for the less fortunate. Recognize and dismantle bias. Look at the person rather than the gender or race. Support women. Learn to rest. Endless important truths seem to be neglected from the pulpit,” Nadell says. “Despite growing up in the church, I learned these lessons in newsrooms, becoming an industry leader who wants to share those life lessons while exploring why such basic truths are rarely taught in the one place we should expect to hear them.”
Nadell is an experienced media professional known for her exceptional leadership and profound impact on the industry. Widely recognized for her achievements, she was honored as one of Georgia's 100 most influential people in 2022. In addition to her dynamic career, Suzanne is a passionate advocate for empowering working women of faith. Through her speaking engagements and thought-provoking weekly blog, she shares invaluable insights, inspiring women to reach their full potential in their personal and professional worlds.
As news director of WSB-TV, the station not only dominated local ratings but also outshone all top ten market television stations nationwide. The station's outstanding performance led to numerous accolades, including multiple Southeast-Regional Emmy awards, including the prestigious News Excellence recognition in 2021 and 2022.
Beginning her career as a production assistant in Johnson City, Tennessee, Nadell led KOKI in Tulsa, Oklahoma to first place total key demographic viewership within a mere three years. She also served as news director at WPXI in Pittsburgh, where she led the station to ratings success. In both Tulsa and Pittsburgh, newsrooms collected a combined seven regional Edward R. Murrow Awards and 20 regional Emmy Awards. She also served at television stations in Tampa, Orlando, and Fort Myers, Florida.
Beyond her career, Suzanne finds fulfillment in her role as a devoted mother to her 12-year-old son, Price. Together with her husband, Michael, she actively contributes to the Atlanta Christian Church community. A two-time cancer survivor, you can find Suzanne enjoying time with her family at their home in Brookhaven, Georgia.
Chalice Press is an imprint of Chalice Media Group, which works to grow and equip a community that is vibrant and energizing, a worldwide force for justice, peace, inclusion, and multi-faith cooperation.
Suzanne Nadell on Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suznadell/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suznadell/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/suznadell
Website: https://suzannenadell.com
July 24, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Brad Lyons, Chalice Press
314.231.8500
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Their short-sighted loss will be somebody else's gain. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), which has ordained women for decades, is the denominational home of Chalice Press. The two most recent general minister and presidents are women, as are a significant portion of the congregational ministers. The Disciples are stronger for their visionary leadership.
Many of Chalice's authors are ordained women from a variety of denominations. One of them, Rev. Dr. Dawn Darwin Weaks, author of Breakthrough: Trusting God for Big Change in Your Church, is a former Baptist who's now a Disciple. In Breakthrough, she shares her own story of breaking free from the Baptist constraints and shares a hilarious story of how the church she serves now let its pastor know they wouldn't be constrained, either.
The following is an excerpt from the introduction to Breakthrough:
We thank God for Patty, for Marita, for the people of First Christian Church in Odessa, and for everybody who has encouraged women to explore their calls to lead and who have supported them in their ministries.
]]>As LGBTQIA+ inclusion continues to make inroads in American culture, skirmishes still flare up, especially as June approaches. June is Pride Month, the annual opportunity for the LGBTQIA+ communities and their allies to recognize the community and its successes, as well as acknowledging their ongoing challenges.
There are plenty of challenges to go around. The Human Rights Campaign reports that this year alone, more than 520 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in state legislatures, and more than 220 bills specifically target transgender and non-binary people. Both were records. At least 119 of these bills ban gender-affirming healthcare for trans and non-binary youth. This places more than 54,000 trans youth receiving life-saving medical care at risk. A record 70 anti-LGBTQ laws have been enacted so far this year. In addition to the healthcare legislation, other bills required or allowed misgendering of transgender students, banned drag performances, and empowered book bans.
The culture wars continue in venues besides state capitols. Target, Anheuser-Busch, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are among the major American corporations that have given into conservatives’ demands to retreat on LGBTQIA+ promotions.
If those examples have emboldened you to think about pressuring Chalice to back off our support of the LGBTQIA+ community, don’t waste your time. Chalice stands resolutely with the LGBTQIA+ community. Everybody needs to know God loves them, as they were created, no exceptions.
Our library contains half a dozen books that help Christians align a faith that welcomes all with the recognition and celebration of the divine diversity God created in our world. Chalice will continue producing resources that support diversity in all its forms. This unlimited, universal welcome is at the core of who we are.
Brad Lyons
President & Publisher, Chalice Media Group
May 8, 2023
General Minister and President Rev. Teresa “Terri” Hord Owens with Rev. LaMarco Cable, President of Division of Overseas Ministries, and Rev. Chis Dorsey, President of Disciples Home Missions, join their voices with other leaders across the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to denounce the rising violence against LGBTQIA persons, the communities that hold them dear, and any legislation that causes harm to trans youth and LGBTQIA persons across the United States.
There have been 461 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in state legislatures this year. 119 of these bills ban gender-affirming healthcare for trans and non-binary youth. This places more than 54,000 trans youth receiving life-saving medical care at risk. Upon the release of this pastoral letter, that number continues to grow. This is not entirely new: at the 2019 General Assembly, GA-1929 noted the increase in legislation aiming to “devalue, punish, and erase transgender and gender-diverse identities in the recent past.” The current climate confirms those concerns. We have witnessed an increase in violent rhetoric and actions aimed at trans youth, their families, and the communities that support them, including many congregations across the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States.
The work of GA-1929 is not new but an extension of GA-1327, which celebrates its 10th Anniversary this year. At the 2013 General Assembly, GA-1327 called “upon the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to recognize itself as striving to become a people of grace and welcome to all God’s children though differing in race, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, ethnicity, marital status, physical or mental ability, political stance or theological perspective.”
Violence in any form – physical, rhetorical, legislative – is antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ, which calls us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. There is no exception or caveat, no room to cultivate hatred or distrust of the neighbor. Prejudice has no place in the kindom of God. Trans youth and their families deserve the human dignity to seek medical care and build lives of joy and thriving.
The 2019 General Assembly, by adopting GA-1929, called on all expressions of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) “to grow in the embodiment of God’s generous welcome for transgender and gender-diverse people and their families through education, shifts in institutional language and practice, and the cultivation of trusting relationships with transgender and gender-diverse people and their families.” The invitation to educate, shift and cultivate trust is a call to recognize the beloved status of all of God’s creation, continue to allow our faith to be informed by science, as well as imagine a path towards greater understanding and full inclusion. As followers of Jesus Christ and as part of the one body of Christ we welcome all to the Lord’s table as God has welcomed us.
As leaders across the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) we encourage the church not only to take increased steps towards education, welcome and cultivating trust but to consider the ways in which the church can be a force for wholeness in communities across the United States, decrying violence and encouraging the full inclusivity and thriving of all of God’s beloved children.
Signed,
Rev. Teresa “Terri” Hord Owens, General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada
Rev. Chris B. Dorsey, President and CEO, Disciples Home Missions
Rev. LaMarco Cable, Co-Executive Global Ministries, President, Division of Overseas Ministries
Rev. Dr. Todd Adams, President, CEO, Pension Fund of the Christian Church
Mark D. Anderson, President and CEO, National Benevolent Association
Joel Brown, Ph.D., President, Disciples of Christ Historical Society
Gary W. Kidwell, President, Christian Church Foundation
Rev. Chung Seong Kim, Executive Pastor, North American Pacific/Asian Disciples Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Brad Lyons, President and Publisher, Chalice Media Group
Rev. Angéle Saunders Johnson, Executive Director, Disciples Women’s Ministries
Tamara Rodenberg, President, Higher Education & Leadership Ministries
Rev. Paul S. Tché, President, Christian Unity and Interfaith Ministry
Valerie Melvin, Regional Minister, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in North Carolina
Rev. Dr. Teresa Dulyea-Parker, Regional Minister and President Illinois/Wisconsin and Michigan
Rev. Bill Robey, Interim Regional Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Northern Lights Region
Rev. Dr. Rick Spleth, Regional Minister, Region of Indiana
Rev. Joan Bell-Haynes, Executive Regional Minister, Central Rocky Mountain Region
Rev. Ken Marston, Co-Regional Minister, Christian Church in Kansas
Rev. Tom Stanley, Co-Regional Minister, Christian Church in Kansas
Rev. Dean Phelps, Interim Regional Minister, Christian Church Capital Area
Rev. Bill Spangler-Dunning, Regional Minister for the Christian Church in Virginia
Rev. Dr. Jay R. Hartley, Regional Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Arizona
Rev. Dr. Christal L. Williams, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Tennessee
Rev. Christopher B. Morton, Regional Minister, Christian Church in Nebraska
Rev. Allen V. Harris, Regional Pastor & President, Christian Church in Ohio
Rev. Sandy Messick, Regional Minister, Florida Disciples Regional Church
Rev. Dr. Andy Mangum, Regional Minister, Christian Church in the Southwest
Rev. Joshua J. Patty, Regional Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Upper Midwest
Rev. Dale Braxton, Interim Regional Minister, Christian Church in Alabama and North Florida
]]>An excerpt from When Kids Ask Hard Questions: Faith-filled Responses for Tough Topics, edited by Bromleigh McCleneghan and Karen Ware Jackson (Chalice Press, 2019)
“Mommy, will bad guys come to my school?”
This was the question that my son asked me repeatedly the summer before he began kindergarten. As parents, my husband and I don’t shy away from difficult subjects. We talk with our children about violence and injustices often, including the all too frequent school shootings.However, hearing his innocent yet concerned five-year-old voice ask if it would happen to him caught me completely off guard.
“Mommy, will bad guys come to my school?” These were my son’s words, but what I heard him say sounded more like the words of another son. “Mommy, am I the lamb to be sacrificed?”
In the Genesis story of the binding of Isaac (Gen. 22:1–14), Abraham follows God’s directive, trudging up the mountain beside his son tothe site of the pending sacrifice. I imagine Isaac being just as concerned as my own child. The weight of the wood on his shoulders notunlike the weight of an oversized backpack carried by a five year old. Isaac looks around as he climbs higher and higher with his father and doesn’t see a sheep anywhere. If Isaac is old enough to carry the wood, he is old enough to understand what is happening. Finally he asks,“Father, the fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb?” His question must have brought Abraham to tears; Abraham can barely answer hisson. He simply says, “The Lord will provide the lamb.”
Modern readers of this Genesis narrative are often appalled by what seems like Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his child. As much as weare disturbed by it, the truth is that our country routinely decides there are causes worth sacrificing our children. Children are collateral damage inour country’s engagement of drone warfare.(1) And then there are the staggering numbers of children sacrificed so that American adults cancontinue embracing their constitutional right to bear arms. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence reports that twenty-one children are injured or killed, sacrificed on the altar of the gun, every single day in our country.(2) Approximately 18,500 children are shot and eitherinjured or killed each year in the United States.(3) Most of the mass shootings and some of the deadly episodes of domestic violence make thenews. We don’t hear about the suicides until it’s a child we know. Whether these deaths are murders sparked by white supremacy, misogyny, orhomophobia, or are accidental— in which an improperly stored or misused gun found in the home results in injury or death—thousands uponthousands of children are affected each year. Responsible gun owners may have perfectly reasonable justifications for owning guns, but even the most mundane of those must be weighed against the incredible, shocking, sinful volume of gun injuries and deaths.
Like Abraham trudging up Mount Moriah, we look to God to protect our children and save us from this unimaginable sacrifice. We offer our thoughts and prayers, and yet we continue to give almost unfettered access to these weapons so they can be used as “protection.” Our actions are at cross purposes with our prayers, because the more people who have guns, the more children die.(4)
School shootings in particular can overwhelm parents with a fear leading to silent despair. We don’t want to talk with our children about thereality of gun violence because it may feel like it’s becoming our own reality. We want to keep them tucked away inside an innocent protective nook.But we can’t. In the era of lockdown drills, gun violence already is our children’s reality, whether we discuss it with them or not. We don’t want tocreate anxiety or fear, but it’s critical we talk with our children about school shootings and other forms of gun violence because they need us toanswer questions and shape the narrative of the story. We can provide our kids with a sense of normalcy and security and give them resources to address fears that arise.
We have this conversation in our family every time a major mass shooting occurs, starting with the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting when our eldest was only three-and-a-half years old. Here’s how we do it: Make time to talk. When our kids were younger, I only needed a few minutes. Now that they are in elementary school, I carve out bits of time on several consecutive days. Every time a question arises, or I notice an atypical behavior (crying, clinging to me, change in appetite or sleeping patterns), I stop what I’m doing so we can talk. I begin with the reminderthat as their parent, I will do everything in my power to keep them safe.
My daughter is far more sensitive and reactive, so when I talk to her, I emphasize ways we keep our home and school safe. I offer concrete examples such as keeping doors locked, showing identification when we enter her school, and the importance of taking lockdown drillsseriously. I encourage her to tell her teacher if she ever feels unsafe or threatened or if she hears a classmate talk about hurting other students.
In middle school and high school, I expect our kids will express their own opinions about what causes people to be violent and will suggestways to address it. We’ve seen how powerful teenage voices are in the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida, shootings. I hope to validate theirsuggestions and encourage them to work for cultural change.
The best resource and response is simply being present for our children. As parents, we don’t have to fix the tragedy or shield our children from future danger. We do need to acknowledge the pain in the world and the fear in their hearts by meeting our children where they are. Through our own grief and discomfort we can talk to them about gun violence and school shootings.
Talking with our children about gun violence is a subject we can no longer ignore, praying it won’t touch our children’s lives. It already has. My children experience lockdown drills so frequently in elementary school that they no longer think anything of them. The possibility of gunviolence has been normalized as part of their educational experience. We need to shape the narrative, and they must know we are available forconversation and questions.
We also need to do all we can to keep our children safe now: One thing I have done for the past six years to help me feel a bit more control over my children’s safety is to ask about unlocked guns before my children visit another home. I ask before playdates, birthday parties, visits with out-of- town family members, and church dinner parties. No one is excluded from this lifesaving question.
My children are old enough to know they should not touch a gun if they find one. However, I’m old enough to know that my children don’t follow directions 100% of the time.(5) I will happily endure 15 seconds of an awkward conversation if it keeps my child alive. I usually ask through text or email, depending on how the invitation is offered. I reply back with these words: “Thank you so much for inviting us over fordinner. We don’t have any food allergies to worry about, but two of us are vegetarians. Also, one thing we always ask before visiting a home for the first time is if you have any unlocked guns. No judgment, we ask everyone! We look forward to seeing you soon.”
I am not willing to sacrifice my children on the altar of the gun.
God’s question was not whether Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his child, but rather for what Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his child. Surely that is the question of us today. What are we willing to sacrifice in order to continue in this relationship with God? What are we willing to sacrifice to continue in relationship with all the other gods in our life?
The story of the binding of Isaac teaches us that God does not demand the blood of children. God tells us not to sacrifice our children. Not now,not ever. When the voice of the Lord, the God of justice and compassion, cries out, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him,” Abraham responds in obedience and faithfulness. We, too, must respond faithfully to God and also to our children by refusing to sacrifice themto the gods to whom everyone else is sacrificing their children. We are called to choose—to choose between a God of violence and a God who comes to us embodied in a child, ready to take on life’s most difficult conversations.
Additional resources you might find helpful for talking with children about gun violence:
Children’s Books about Nonviolent Conflict Resolution:
The Rev. Allison Sandlin Liles is wife, mother, peacemaker, and priest learning to navigate life in the suburban wilds of Dallas. After working asEpiscopal Peace Fellowship’s executive director for six years, Allison reentered parish ministry in the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth in 2018.She currently serves as the priest-in-charge of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Hurst, Texas.
1. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/7xmadd/trump-escalating-americas-drone-war
2. www.Bradyunited.org/key-statistics
3. https://everytownresearch.org/impact-gun-violence-american-children-teens/
4. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/358/6368/1324
5. Most people’s kids don’t. https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/hidden-camera experiment-children-drawn-guns-found-classroom-22258370
]]>By Kendra Weddle and Melanie Springer Mock
If Eve Only Knew offers a fresh perspective on gender and the Bible, destroying trumped-up, captive-creating messages with the freeing proclamation grounded in Jesus’ ministry and found everywhere in scripture: that we are all created in God’s image, and by relying on our gifts and skills — rather than on gender-designed roles — we become all God means for us to be.
Made to Lead: Empowering Women for Ministry
By Nicole Massie Martin
Women were made to lead. Even in church. Jesus affirmed women as leaders—many contend Mary Magdalene was the first female minister. Yet women in ministry face challenges and obstacles, both from churches and from their own self-doubts. Both men and women miss out when women don’t lead. Made to Lead empowers you to live out your calling boldly and confidently. Draw closer to God with relevant biblical examples and heartfelt prayers. Break down stereotypes of women in leadership. And create your own successful reality in which you are a key part of God’s holy community.
Bless Her Heart: Life As A Young Clergy Woman
By Ashley-Anne Masters and Stacy Smith
With stores ranging from humorous to humiliating, the life experiences of young women clergy comprise this book in a reflection on the everyday realities of pastoral ministry for the young, female professional. Presenting real-life, first-person scenarios from young, female pastors in a variety of denominations, church sizes and ministries, this book is intended for young women in ministry, as well as those considering a ministerial calling. "It’s all in there," wrote one reviewer, "shoes, sex, dating, the sexist remarks with which every clergywoman is all too familiar, and the struggle with ‘The Collar.’”
Birthing the Sermon: Women Preachers on the Creative Process
Edited by Jana Childers
Where do preachers get their ideas for sermons, and how do they turn those ideas into great sermons week after week? Sharing their experiences, these dynamic women preachers take us through their process from conception, through development, to the actual delivery of the sermon and beyond. Each chapter includes a sermon that illustrates the results of that preacher's labor of love.
Making Paper Cranes: Toward an Asian American Feminist Theology
By Mihee Kim-Kort
Drawing on memories of making paper cranes with her mother at the kitchen table, Mihee Kim-Kort begins with one of her favorite stories from childhood about the tradition of making a thousand cranes. Intrigued by the symbol of the crane, she explores the migrations and movements of the community of Asian American women. What results is a theological endeavor that engages the social histories, literary texts, and narratives of Asian American women as well as the constructive theologies of feminist and liberation theologians. But, it is ultimately one young woman's embrace of living into this community and identity, and articulating a particular theology that is hopefully accessible to all who have experienced powerlessness and marginalization.
The Women in the Gospel of John: The Divine Feminine
By Judith Kaye Jones
The role of women in Jesus' life and in the early church is often overlooked. Many of us grew up with only a sketchy acquaintance with the many women whose stories march through the pages of the Old and New Testaments. Their stories were not told, and their heroism was unsung. Today, however, more and more scholars are turning their attention to the stories of those women of valor. Nowhere are they as prominent and as central as in the Gospel of John. Judith Kaye Jones contends that the Gospel of John does not just include stories about women, it is structured around stories of women. In this unique testament, women and their encounters with Jesus provide the framework for the central message of Jesus.
A Feminist Introduction to Paul
By Sandra Hack Polaski
Sandra Hack Polaski introduces readers to the letters and world of Paul, encouraging a critical appreciation of Paul and his writings that does not require a choice between commitment to the scriptures and integrity as a modern feminist. In conversation with the leading interpreters of Paul and considering possible responses to Paul — conformist, resistant, rejectionist, and transformational — Polaski forges her own theory of how to interpret Paul. She reads, emphasizes, and reinterprets overlooked, neglected, misintegrated, or differently interpreted Pauline texts, making visible the invisible and challenging the accepted readings. Polaski uncovers both the ideologies behind the text and the ideologies the text seeks to suppress.
By Natalie Turri and Christopher D. Rodkey
Esther, Sarah, Noadiah, Mary—names you've known your whole life, and names you'll encounter for the first time. In Coloring Women of the Bible, meet the diverse and remarkable women of the Old and New Testaments, called by God into lives of service. As you color the dozens of evocative illustrations by artist Natalie Turri, rejoice in the stories of these strong women who shaped the lives of generations to come. Rebekah, Priscilla, Bithiah, Achsah, Hagar, Salome. Begin coloring the women of the bible and discover your own divine reflection in their beautiful images!
Florence Nightingale: The Making of a Radical Theologian
By Val Webb
Author Val Webb brilliantly reveals the full and fascinating life of this radical reformer, activist, theologian, and servant of God. "When very many years ago I planned a future," Nightingale said, "my one idea was not organizing a hospital but organizing a religion." This carefully crafted study of Florence Nightingale's religious works, her letters, and diaries reveals some surprising and little known aspects of the 19th Century pioneer, providing a look into her complex personality, brilliant mind, and deeply religious motivations.
Postcolonial Feminist Interpretation of the Bible
By Musa W. Dube
Noting that the ways of interpreting the Bible now practiced in the West are patriarchal and oppressive of those in other parts of the world, Dube offers an alternative interpretation that attends to and respects needs of women in the two-thirds world. In a provocative and insightful reading of the book of Matthew, she shows us how to read the Bible as decolonizing rather than imperialist literature.
These and more social justice resources can be found at ChalicePress.com and wherever you buy books. Thank you for supporting these authors, lifting up their voices, and joining us in working for equality in all its forms.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay]]>
“The Christian Board of Publication was chartered in March 1911. R. A. Long had purchased the Christian Publishing Company from J. H. Garrison in December 1909 bringing the Christian-Evangelist into the “brotherhood publishing house.” For the first time Disciples had a publishing house and a national journal that belonged to Disciples rather than to a private publisher. Long was named president of the self-perpetuating board and J. H. Garrison remained as editor of the Christian-Evangelist. CBP, as it was called, began producing curriculum materials for the congregations in 1920 and was the major source of book publishing for Disciples throughout the twentieth century. It would become known as Bethany Press and ultimately as Chalice Press.”
—The Disciples: A Struggle for Reformation, Second Edition by D. Duane Cummins, to be published in 2023.
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On March 8, 1911, 112 years ago today as I write this, R.A. Long filed the paperwork with the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, Missouri, that legally created the Christian Board of Publication. Chalice has many names, but our original name, and indeed our legal name, is the Christian Board of Publication.
Discipliana, the journal of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society, identifies R.A. Long as the president and owner of the Long-Bell Lumber Company in Kansas City. The journal connects Long to many denominational causes, including National City Christian Church in Washington, D.C. and a men’s ministry. Two years before our incorporation, Christian Men magazine was launched. Between that publication and the Christian-Evangelist, our publishing house was born.
Over the years, we’ve produced print resources such as hymnals, curriculum, confirmation materials, magazines, music, church camp curriculum. But publication doesn’t begin to capture everything CBP has sold over the years. A 215-page catalog from 1952 includes:
I bet that if you had this catalog and keys to every closet in your church building, eventually you would find a match.
Like church itself, CBP has changed a lot over the years. CBP is more commonly known as Chalice Press these days, and over the last year we’re simplifying, using simply Chalice. What Mr. Long knew as the Christian Brotherhood has in part evolved into the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the denomination with whom we’re still connected to this day.
Chalice doesn’t sell anything with a choice of velour or mohair. One thing that has remains constant is that we provide resources for Disciples laypeople, pastors, congregations and educators, creating a connection between the 3,600+ congregations, our 350,000 members, and our dozens of institutions that serve the church.
These days, we sell ideas that have been translated into a shareable format, mostly ink on paper but also electrons on a screen. We share ideas that change the world, one word at a time, from authors whose experiences, insights, and inspiration welcome everybody in God’s creation to find our common ground.
Someday I’ll get to meet Mr. Long, and I hope he’ll be proud of what CBP has accomplished and our impact on the world and our faith. And when the heavenly version of March 8 rolls around, we’ll celebrate our Charter Day with our favorite CBP or Chalice publication.
Brad Lyons has served as president and publisher at CBP/Chalice since 2011.
The photo at the top of the page is the cover of the 1952-53 General Catalog of the Christian Board of Publication. If you have any idea who is in this photo, what church is pictured (it may be in the St. Louis area), or who "Birch" might be, let us know!
]]>"We must never forget that Black History is American History."
—Yvette D. Clarke, U.S. House of Representatives
Celebration must begin with education, and we are thankful for the opportunity to partner with many Black authors to share a story of resilience, inspiration, and deep faith — a story still being written today.
Something in the Water:
21st Century Civil Rights Odyssey
by Michael W. Waters
Award-winning author, pastor, and civil rights leader Michael W. Waters takes us on an epic journey to the sacred places and spaces he visited as part of a cross-country trek in 2019-2020 through America’s racial history—and the haunting legacy it requires us to face today. Through poems and prayers to sermons and eulogies, from rally cries to political and historical commentary, Something in the Water illuminates not just our present struggles, but also the hope and belief in a better day to come. Ultimately, Waters challenges us to consider our role, collectively and individually, in the troubled waters of racism, and what we are willing to do to create a more just and equitable world for all.
How do we heal our grief and loss to become the leaders the world needs today? In this unique collection love letters to her fellow activists and faith leaders, Jennifer Bailey offers comfort, wisdom, encouragement, support, and hope for young activists and emerging faith leaders aspiring to build a better world amidst its violence, trauma, and loss—and who may wonder if they’re up to the task or unsure if they’ll ever see the change they seek. Considering three central questions—what is dying, what wants to emerge, and what is already blooming beautifully—Bailey’s poignant letters inspire us to imagine how our grief and despair can be composted into new life filled with courage, hope, and purpose for our shared future.
Anti-Racism 4REALS:
Real Talk with Real Strategies in Real Time for Real Change
by Sheila M. Beckford and E. Michelle Ledder
Using the concept of “racial positionality” as the entry point for engaging anti-racist work, this groundbreaking book offers concrete tools to confront racism and bring about REAL change in REAL time. Written by two ordained women—one Black Latina, one white—this straight-talk, practical workbook provides 137 ways to be truly anti-racist, including scripts and other practices for interrupting and dismantling racism. A forthcoming video discussion guide and Leaders Workbook will help facilitate small group discussion and ACTION-NOW Learning Engagements.
Faith after Ferguson:
Resilient Leadership in Pursuit of Racial Justice
by Leah Gunning Francis
Gunning Francis (Ferguson and Faith, 2015) revisits the clergy and activists from the front lines of the Ferguson (Missouri) Black Lives Matter protests, to hear what they’ve learned in the struggle for justice and healing five years later. Weaving the personal accounts of more than a dozen activists and clergy with her own experiences, Francis offers profound new insights on faith-filled living in response to social injustice as well as lessons for organizing and mobilizing people to effect real change. Learn from the courageous and resilient leaders on the front lines for justice and discover new ways of leading in the movement for racial justice.
These and more social justice resources can be found at Chalice Press here. Thank you for supporting these authors, lifting up their voices, and joining us in anti-racism and pro-reconciliation work.
All too often our culture teaches us to ostracize the different, to fear that which we can’t understand, to alienate our siblings for no reason other than they’re different. For those who endure being cast out, that’s bad enough, but the injury magnifies when those values are couched in our faith structure.
One regrettable legacy of Christianity from the last 50 years will be the intentional expulsion of the LGBTQIA+ community. Fortunately, pockets of resistance have provided welcome, inclusion, and compassion. Those pockets are diverse, numerous, and growing. It’s a source of hope for progressive Christians and for Chalice.
I had the sacred opportunity to be immersed in one of those pockets at the Colors of Hope retreat in late October. About three dozen faith-filled LGBTQ+ people and allies gathered at the Christmount retreat center near Asheville, North Carolina, for four days of fellowship, connection, and faith. Earlier this year Chalice Press published Colors of Hope: A Devotional Journal from LGBTQ+ Christians, the book that inspired the retreat, and we are proud co-sponsors of the event organized by Disciples AllianceQ. We were encouraged to wonder at the world around us, resist the pressure to conform, to stretch ourselves, to share our faith and hopes for our world, and to hope for each other and our faith.
We were encouraged to be comfortable in our own skins.
For four days in the Appalachians, amid a blanket of autumn colors and splendid weather, all was right with the world.
Melissa Guthrie is the executive director of Disciples AllianceQ, Colors of Hope’s editor and a contributor, and the retreat organizer. Several other contributors led workshops, and everybody had a part to play in building the kind of community we imagine in our most optimistic moments. Together, we were hoping in color — Kodachrome, technicolor, use-all-the-filters color.
The most life-changing moments of the Colors of Hope retreat are also the hardest to detect. My hunch is that each of us came down from the mountaintop changed in ways we couldn’t quite explain but could certainly sense deep in our souls. It could simply have been a look into a different way of life, or it could have been a sense of acceptance by a new family that will sustain them the rest of their life.
Christianity is slowly repenting for the sins of exclusion, returning to the community Jesus inspired in his ministry. Events like Colors of Hope ground us, guide us, and send us with God’s grace toward a better day.
Brad Lyons has served as president and publisher at CBP/Chalice since 2011.
You can get a glimpse of that better day for yourself or give it as a gift. Order your copy of Colors of Hope now.
(Photo: Contributors to Color of Hope at the closing worship (L-R): Rev. Allen V. Harris (he/him), William DeShay Jackson (they/them), Rev. Tyler Heston (he/him), Rev. Melissa Guthrie (she/her), Rev. Marian Edmonds-Allen (she/they), Rev. Brendan Y. Boone (he/him), Nadia Tavera (she/they/elle)).
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(ST LOUIS, MO) Chalice Press is honored to announce the acquisition of Allisa Charles-Findley’s memoir AFTER BOTHAM: Healing From My Brother’s Murder by a White Police Officer. Penned with award-winning writer Claudia Love Mair, the book chronicles Charles-Findley’s close relationship with her brother, learning that he had been shot and killed in his own home by a police officer, and the ensuing aftermath of fighting for justice and battling to keep her lifelong faith.
One of only three memoirs penned by family members of slain victims of police violence, AFTER BOTHAM delves beyond the thousands of headlines spurred by his death and into the vast community of friends and family impacted by his murder.
His close relationship with Allisa reminds readers that he is not a character in a story about the worst parts of the United States law enforcement system. Bo was a human.
Lying on his own couch.
Watching a game.
Just like any American on a Friday night.
About the Authors:
Allisa Charles-Findley is the sister of Botham Jean and president of the Botham Jean Foundation, which promotes Christian intervention for social change. She is also president of Sisters of the Movement, a coalition of sisters of police brutality victims working in unity. She holds a Master’s in Healthcare Management and, prior to her current social justice work, spent 15 years in health insurance.
]]>When the three children headed off to eastern Europe to smuggle Bibles with their parents in the early 1970s, they had no idea their father was fleeing America because of a felony warrant for his arrest. Upon their return to the States, they faced third-culture questions of home and identity. They also dealt with sexual situations and abuse, while settling into an evangelical bubble with their parents who pastored a fast-growing church.
And then… their pastor father ran off with an eighteen-year-old girl in the church.
In American Leftovers, Heidi, Eric, and Shaun reconcile their own spiritual fervor with the lies and dysfunction so close to home. In doing so, they serve as a voice for millions of others who grew up in evangelical zeal and are now wrestling through to a different kind of faith.
The book is slated for release in hardcover format March 21, 2023.
About the Authors:
Heidi Wilson Messner holds a bachelor’s degree from Life Pacific University, and a Master's in counseling psychology from Northwest University. Heidi lives in Eureka, CA.
Shaun Wilson has a certificate in pastoral care and counseling and has earned a mastery in TOEFL from University of Arizona. Shaun currently resides in Port Ludlow, WA.
Eric Wilson is a New York Times bestselling author whose books have sold over 600,000 copies. Eric lives in Nashville, TN.
(ST LOUIS, MO) Teenage nihilism. Drug use. A marriage on the rocks. Professional women questioning their own competence and calling. Offended parishioners. Steel bonds of friendship forged in the fire of service.
If you thought a story featuring three clergy women, written by actual clergy women, would be a tepid trek through surface-level life, Welcome to Triumph will blow your preconceived notions to smithereens.
Revs. Kendra Miller and Brittany Kooi came aboard as writers when Chalice put out the call for clergy women who could craft a series set in a small town. As they built out the idea for Triumph County, Wyoming, and the clergy women who serve it, the two writers returned again and again to a guiding force: Be real.
This is the first novel in the planned Seasons of Triumph series. Book two, a holiday-focused story, is slated for release in November 2023.
About the Authors:
The Rev. Brittany Kooi is a rostered minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) currently serving as a congregational pastor in the Denver metro area. A summa cum laude graduate of Bethel University, she taught high school English literature and writing composition in Minneapolis before beginning seminary studies. She graduated cum laude from North Park Theological Seminary and was ordained in 2019. Pastor Brittany enjoys a good walk, dogs of all kinds, and interdenominational work with her husband, a pastor in the Reformed Church in America.
The Rev. Kendra Joyner Miller currently serves at the First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn, just outside of Chicago. The daughter of a minister, Kendra grew up all over the United States. She is a graduate of Catawba College and Yale Divinity School. She makes her home in Wheaton, Ill. with her ELCA pastor husband Dan, their two girls and beloved black lab. She is also a contributing writer for the Young Clergy Women International magazine, Fidelia.
CHALICE MEDIA GROUP SIGNS USA TODAY BESTSELLER NICOLE EVELINA'S CATHERINE'S MERCY INTO NEW "CHALICE STORIES" FICTION LINE
(ST LOUIS, MO) Chalice Media Group is honored to announce the acquisition of Catherine’s Mercy: A Novel by USA Today bestselling writer Nicole Evelina. Based on a true story, Catherine’s Mercy brings to life Irish reformer and Sisters of Mercy founder Catherine McAuley.
In 1824, Catherine, a Catholic spinster of 44, unexpectedly inherits millions. However, she doesn’t use it to climb the social ladder or snare a husband; she uses it to fulfill a lifelong dream of building a refuge for the poor and sick of Dublin, Ireland. That an unmarried woman would dare propose such a thing is so scandalous, even her own brother calls it “Kitty’s Folly.” Society turns against her. The Church tries to take over. Catherine must defend her choices or lose not only her inheritance, but her reputation and life’s calling.
One of the first women who seeks Catherine’s help is Margaret, a maid in the house of Lord Montague, the loudest of Catherine’s detractors. Daring to protect herself from his advances and rebel against his maxim of total obedience, Margaret is forced to flee for her life. She desperately approaches Catherine for help, setting off a series of events that haunt Catherine all her days and prompt a rule that holds today, in the real-life Sisters of Mercy.
The book is the second in the newly-launched “Chalice Stories” line from Chalice Media Group.
About the Author: Nicole Evelina is a USA Today bestselling writer whose work has received more than 40 awards, including four Book of the Year designations. She was named Missouri’s Top Independent Author by Library Journal and Biblioboard as the winner of the Missouri Indie Author Project in 2018. She has also received the North Street Book Prize and the Sarton Women’s Book Award. She has presented at international, national, and regional writing conferences including the Historical Novel Society North American Conference, Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and Missouri Conference on History.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 12, 2022
Rebeca Seitz (she/her)
rseitz@chalicepress.com; (615) 308-1198
(ST LOUIS, MO) Chalice Media Group is thrilled to announce the formation of a new fiction imprint, Chalice Stories.
The Chalice Stories line of novels and novellas will feature characters who are living out experiences that authentically exemplify the social justice minded, progressive Christian life:
Questioning.
Doubting.
Loving.
Accepting.
Thriving.
Penned by writers from a variety of backgrounds, featuring diverse characters and storylines that speak to the universal human experience, these stories are an extension of Chalice's unwavering mission to usher good change into the world.
Three initial titles are slated for release in May, June, and November 2023.
The fiction line is being managed by longtime writer and producer Rebeca Seitz, Executive Director of Marketing and Content Development.
“The power of stories to shift hearts, reach souls, and illustrate meaning is well-known and long-documented,” says Associate Publisher David Woodard. “The addition of Rebeca Seitz to the Chalice executive team provides veteran leadership and vision for our fiction initiative. Under Rebeca’s guidance, Chalice Stories will offer titles that authentically reflect life with God and each other.”
Chalice Media Group is a division of The Christian Board of Publication, which was founded in 1911 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Group also includes Chalice Press, which publishes nonfiction titles including In Defense of Kindness by Bruce Reyes-Chow and True Inclusion by popular Tik Tokker Brandan Robertson.
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]]>Christian Board of Publication/Chalice Press offers its deepest sympathies to the friends and family of the Rev. Dr. James Suggs, who died July 6, 2022, at the age of 89.
Suggs served as President and Publisher 1989-1997 before retiring after a long and faithful career in ministry including service to the ecumenical church in Texas, Director of Communications for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and as Regional Minister of the Christian Church in the Southwest. During his tenure at Christian Board, Suggs gave leadership to the creation of the Chalice Hymnal and created the Chalice Press imprint.
Chris Wilson, Chair of the Chalice Press Board says, “Dr. Suggs was passionate about resourcing ministers, congregations, people of the faith to be deeply informed and inspired to further the work of the Gospel. His physical presence will be missed, but his legacy lives on in those he ministered to and in the efforts continued through Chalice Press. His long shadow of faithfulness will remain for a long time."
“Dr. Suggs was a highly respected leader whose work still impacts the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to this day," says Brad Lyons, current President and Publisher of CBP/Chalice Press. "His passion was for telling the story of the Disciples through books and publications and congregational resources still used by Disciples congregations and leaders.”
Chalice Press Development Consultant Chuck Blaisdell says, “Jim was a key influence on my decision to go into ministry and a caring and thoughtful support during a challenging time of my life. His signature is on my ordination certificate and I never fail to look at it without a deep sense of gratitude.”
Dr. Suggs is survived by his wife Gail, children Laura and Dale, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A Celebration of Life Memorial Service will take place at Shepherd of the Hills Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, July 31 at 2:00 p.m. Tributes and messages for the family can be posted at www.crawfordacrim.com/obituaries/James-Suggs-7/#!/TributeWall
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]]>My joy at first seeing you is hard to express in words. In an instant, my entire world changed. My reasons for living had expanded and deepened. You were here, dependent upon your mother and me. We entered the hospital as a family of two and left as a family of three. I recall strolling by the nurses’ station as we departed and waiting for them to stop us from leaving. Part of me could not believe we got to take you home. The other part of me could not believe they trusted us to keep you alive! But we quickly got over the imposter syndrome and on with the business of parenting. We left with a profound sense of purpose caused by your newfound presence among us.
As a pastor, one of my annual roles is preaching a sermon on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I stand up before a bunch of Christians to address what the shepherds call “this thing that has happened” (Luke 6:15 NIV). Some preachers live for this moment, but frankly I find it daunting. My task is to say something captivating and meaningful about a story the congregation knows almost by heart. They may conflate the different versions in Matthew and Luke, but they’re familiar with how the events unfolded.
Except that they do not really understand it at all. None of us do. The story seems familiar on the surface, but when you dive a little deeper, the whole thing becomes unfathomable. The main claim is that God became like us in Jesus Christ. We call this the “Incarnation.” Christians believe that, in the Incarnation, God came to be with us, but that idea is so exotic that our words are not as coherent as they sound. The most appropriate response we can offer to this astounding thing God has done is awe. On many occasions, I have been tempted to stand silently in the pulpit and just stare at the nativity scene with my mouth agape. My gawking would nicely convey the message. “Here is God!” announce the angels. Other than stunned surprise, is there any response that is appropriate?
Rather than preaching that stirring message in such a silent fashion, my words—and I presume that of many other pastors—usually dwell not on the metaphysics of God’s arrival but on the implications that arrival or advent has for our lives. God is here! Now, what do we do? The obvious answer is take notice, change your ways accordingly, and experience the abundant life being offered.
To be clear, I would never liken you to the Christ child. You may be my perfect son but none of us is a perfect human. Plus, I want to keep your ego in check for all the discussions we are destined to have down the proverbial road. Still, there’s an analogy between the birth of Jesus and welcoming a baby of your own. Your priorities have to change dramatically. Being a parent calls you to a new way of denying yourself and living for someone else.
To be your dad has required significant sacrifices. There are books left unread, ball games that went unwatched, and a lot of money spent on things I never would have bought for myself. Those costs are real but I have no regret about them. Love and joy motivated every expense and sacrifice.
The comparison to the Christian life runs even deeper. For too many people, the biggest obstacle to following Jesus is what they perceive having to give up. As G.K. Chesterton, the philosopher and theologian, once wrote: “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” Those intrigued by Christian faith realize their lives will have to change. The costs appear quite high, so some people decide to forego the adventure. This emphasis on the burdens of being a disciple fails to account for any of the benefits. The sacrifice may be significant but the sheer blessing that comes with the experience is incalculable.
Julian of Norwich, the mystical writer from the Middle Ages, claimed that “the fullness of joy is to behold God in everything.”[1] Her exhortation reverses, yet compliments, scripture’s promise that we are filled with joy when we enter the presence of God (Psalm 16:11). There is a Christmas sermon here that I have not yet preached about finding joy in the manger and then seeing Christ everywhere else.
What I have realized is how joy overcame me in receiving you as a gift. To hold you was to feel as if I was in the presence of God. Your entrance into our lives was not an accomplishment on our end but a creative act of the Divine, whereby something wonderful was shared with us not because we deserved it but because there is a love underlying the world that surpasses our understanding...
[1]Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, trans. Barry Windeatt (London: Oxford University Press, 2015).
]]>Honoring our history is a tricky thing. At times, our insistence to celebrate the good outweighs the necessity of revealing anything that contradicts an inspirational or heart-warming narrative. Especially in times of danger or despair, we seek heroes and the stories of heroes in the people, organizations, even nations with which we identify. If “they” can do that which seems impossible or contradicts the status quo, then we, too, can have hope for ourselves and our world. Yet, it is rare when the heroic stands in isolation from the evil that surrounds it. It is rare, yet we continue to seek it, write it, and applaud it.
In 2022, we stand in a heap of danger and despair. A virus-driven pandemic going into its third year. Racialized terror revealing realities protected by political backing and publicized by prolific digital documentation. Debates about control over guns and women’s bodies allowed to provide cover for white supremacy, misogyny, and anti-Blackness. Lawmakers more interested in sound-bites and fundraising than using the largest amount of institutional power and capital in the nation to create REAL change. Law enforcement more interested in “spin” than protecting people. Day-to-day living, let alone celebrating, becomes more difficult and to the search for heroes we more desperately cling.
Currently, Memorial Day, is a day set-apart for honoring heroes – specifically those who have sacrificed their lives during service within the United States military. These humans who have given their lives for purposes greater than their own self-preservation or “in-group” should be lauded and celebrated and honored. In a time when sacrifice is often sacrificed for “individual freedoms” or “taking care of one’s own,” amplifying the courage and dignity of those who would stand up on behalf of others is a healing balm of its own. The military personnel we celebrate today, on Memorial Day, represent and reveal a legacy of what it means to be truly human – the spark of the sacred within each of us created with the bravery to do battle against evil for the purpose of creating good. And for this, we celebrate.
Whether we honor a family member we have lost to war or a fallen soldier who reminds us of our capability toward courage, we are most faithful to the legacy of those who have died when we tell the full truth. It is impossible to honor the sacrifices of soldiers who have died for the ideals of freedom and justice when we cover up that which obstructs it.
Memorial Day began on May 1, 1865. “The Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, with the Union victorious over its Confederate foes. In order to celebrate the victory and honor the dead, on May 1 of that year around 10,000 freed Black men and women gathered in historic Hampton Park. The group placed flowers on the graves of unknown soldiers, a practice held often in times of war.” [1]
Subsequently it was the families of the Black fallen soldiers who were often denied G.I. benefits such as home and business loans, tuition assistance, job placement and decent healthcare that was given to their white counterparts.
We do not honor those who have sacrificed their lives during military service when we cover up the inequities within military protocols and policies. We do not honor those who have sacrificed their lives during military service when we cover up the injustices perpetrated by the very same institutions and individuals in whose names they fought. We do not honor those who have sacrificed their lives during military service when we cover-up the internal wars instigated by the inequities perpetrated within to satisfy unmitigated economic greed. We do not honor those who have sacrificed their lives during military service to battle evil to create the good when we do not name evil outright. We do not honor those who have sacrificed their lives during military service when we lie to protect the shiny image of a country “united.” It is impossible to honor the sacrifices of soldiers who have died for the ideals of freedom and justice when we cover up that which obstructs it.
So, how then shall we honorably honor those who have fought and died during military service, this Memorial Day? We shall honor them with honesty: honestly grieving, honestly truth-telling, honestly fighting injustice, and honestly creating legacies which no longer demand the sacrifice of heroes – military or otherwise.
[1] Memorial Day First Recognized by Blacks in Charleston, SC | Black America Web, May 27, 2022
]]>When the proposal for Parenting for a Better World arrived last year, it immediately captured our imagination. Combining two topics, social justice and parenting, that Chalice has been addressing for years, Dr. Ellen Ott Marshall and Rev. Dr. Susanna Snyder curated a collection of creative, inspiring essays. The result is a treasure trove of new ways to help kids craft socially responsible, compassionate lives even in today’s media-saturated atmosphere.
Each contributor offered one answer to the question: How can we parent in this world as people of Christian faith committed to social and ecological transformation? Their responses formed a story collection of caregiving and activism interwoven with scripture and theology. Their writing reminds readers that God is present in the middle of all we do – including parenting.
“We suggest,” the introduction offers, “that meditation, growing vegetables, making collages, singing, giving, eating together, praying, waiting on others, being angry, listening, cultivating kindness along with intimacy and solidarity, joining street protests, and engaging in community organizing can all contribute to social justice and the flourishing of the earth—and can all be done while parenting.”
Parenting for a Better World isn’t prescriptive; not every practice may be suitable for you and your kids. But nurturing a child doesn’t require an earth-shaking cataclysm. Teaching your kids can begin with conversation as you plant tomatoes or potatoes or asparagus, sing songs that evolve from silly to significant in the twist of a lyric, prepare for your child’s first public protest, or simply perform little acts of generosity and kindness.
Over the last several years, systemic injustices rooted in discrimination and the ominous mood changes in American society have made us more antagonistic and less civil to each other. We do not believe this is a reflection of Christ in us. With books like Parenting for a Better World, Chalice Press equips parents and caregivers to raise compassionate children who will shape a more loving, grace-filled world for generations to come.
Gratefully,
Brad Lyons
President and Publisher
Parenting for a Better World
Editors: Ellen Ott Marshall and Susanna Snyder
Additional contributors: Chine McDonald, Ingrid C. Arneson Rasmussen, HyeRan Kim-Cragg, Carlton Mackey and Isaiah Mackey, Luke Larner, Brian Brock, Anton Flores-Maisonet, Leah Gunning Francis, Melissa Pagán, Katherine Marshall, Keith Hebden, Martha Hebden, and Don E. Saliers
Photo: Shutterstock
]]>By Rev. Jamie Lynn Haskins
I’m Christian.
I’m clergy.
I’m pro-choice.
There are people who would tell you these three statements are contradictory, that you can’t be both Christian and support a woman’s right to choose, that religious leaders cannot stand with women as they make their own reproductive choices. I believe these people are wrong.
In the days ahead, as the United States navigates the almost certain reversal of Roe v. Wade, it will become increasingly important for pro-choice Christians to use their voices and faithfully speak up and speak out for a woman’s right to choose.
Often, it is evangelicals who dominate media and online presences claiming to have the "Christian" voice - but loud does not always mean right or representative of Jesus. As progressive Christians, our job is to counter that narrative and stand with women and their fundamental right to make their own healthcare decisions.
Christians follow a savior who calls us to stand with the poor and the marginalized. As the Dean of Episcopal Divinity School at Union, Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas noted on Twitter, “Overturning Roe v. Wade is an attack on women’s freedom and right to choose. Poor women – and especially poor women of color – would once again shoulder the burden of this decision, and they would have their choices limited and freedoms taken away.”
Just as Jesus stands with the poor time and time again in the New Testament, we are called to stand with women who do not have the resources to cross state lines for a medical procedure. We are called to stand with women who aren’t in the financial position to have children. We are called to stand with women whom the world attempts to strip of their rights and their agency. This is the faithful Christian response.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us I came that they may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10b). Rev. Jes Kast of the United Church of Christ noted in her 2019 interview with The Atlantic, “The Greek word that’s used there for “life abundance” is this word zoe, which means not just that you’re living and breathing, but that God’s plan for our lives is to actually have a meaningful life with loving contentment and satisfaction.”
As Christians, it is our job to make sure as many people as possible have access to this abundant life. When we strip people of their choices and of their agency over their bodies, we prohibit them from determining what they need to thrive, to achieve this contentment and satisfaction God wants for us. Demanding that every person has the ability to make choices that allow them to thrive is the faithful Christian response.
In the days to come there will be loud voices claiming to speak for God, claiming to hold the only Christian response to abortion. My hope is that we progressive Christians will also be loud and use our voices to speak for justice and demand the flourishing of all people. This is the way of our God and the way of our faith. May we be brave enough and bold enough to offer a faithful response in the days to come.
Rev. Jamie Lynn Haskins is a college chaplain in Richmond, Virginia, and is ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She co-edited Acting on Faith: Stories of Courage, Activism, and Hope across Religions (2020).
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Nearly 20 percent of high school students seriously considered attempting suicide last year. Almost 10 percent acted on those thoughts and attempted suicide.
These statistics, reported in April by the Center for Disease Control, became part of the life experience of Rev. Dr. Sarah Griffith Lund when her 16-year-old niece died by suicide in 2020—and compelled her to act so other families would not endure the same pain and loss.
In the years I’ve had the gift of working with Sarah, I’ve found a gentle soul, supportive and nurturing, understanding and compassionate when talking about this very, very difficult subject. I deeply admire Sarah's ability to share her own stories and to craft the stories of others in ways that become relatable and enlightening.
Dr. Lund's 2014 debut book, Blessed are the Crazy, remains a landmark book for Chalice Press and all who recognize the roles faith and religion can play in helping us address mental illness in ourselves, our families, and our communities.
Her second book, Blessed Union, looked at marriage and mental health. It was published last year at a time when the pandemic exacted a merciless toll on mental health and relationships in ways we never imagined when we said “I do.”
Now, the release of Blessed Youth and Blessed Youth Survival Guide provide a deep dive and frank discussion about the growing mental health challenges our youth face. In Blessed Youth, Sarah addresses what really needs to be considered an emergency — the first wave of a mental illness tsumani sparked by the pandemic, massive cultural change and unrest, and unprecedented social media engagement. We have a lot of work ahead of us.
Sadly, the Blessed Youth books were born of the pandemic’s effects on Sarah’s niece: Sydney was 16 when she died by suicide in November 2020. Sarah wrote the Blessed Youth books so youth and parents could find help before another tragedy occurred. Blessed Youth emerged in the weeks after Sydney’s death. Blessed Youth Survival Guide came later, a pocket-sized book for teens to have in an emergency. It includes some mental health basics, emergency contacts, and tools to equip a teen to respond in a crisis until professional help arrives.
The human mind is a miraculous thing, a combination of chemical reactions and electricity and really-truly-only-God-knows-what that gives us the ability to think, to imagine, to love. Sometimes the chemistry and electricity are a little out of balance. This leads to the additional miracle of medication that, when accompanied by the God-given gift of empathy, professionals use to help us figure out how we can rebalance our brain activity. It can be hard to admit you need to talk to somebody or may need to take medication, but books like Dr. Lund's Blessed series help us recognize that need in ourselves or those we love and then take action.
Our prayer is that Blessed Youth will prove to all who care about our teens and that Blessed Youth Survival Guide will be a godsend for teens in those crisis moments.
Gratefully,
Brad Lyons
President and Publisher
I’ll say it again because it can’t be said too much: Everybody needs to know God loves them, as they were created, no exceptions.
Colors of Hope: A Devotional Journal from LGBTQ+ Christians can be that devotional to guide you on the journey.
Last fall I contacted Rev. Melissa Guthrie (she/her), the Executive Director and Minister of Disciples LGBTQ+ Alliance, the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), to ask what kind of resource we could create to best serve the Christian LGBTQ+ community. Melissa immediately toppled my expectations: rather than making Christian LGBTQ+ folks the audience of the product, make them the authors. If we’re going to build an inclusive community, create a devotional guide from LBGTQ+ Christians for all kinds of Christians.
Serendipitously, AllianceQ had already crafted a podcast built around the colors of the original Pride flag and its themes — sexuality, life, healing, sunlight, nature, art and magic, harmony and serenity, and spirit—with a final reflection on the Pride Rainbow. Then, we would stretch those reflections with questions to last a full week. Each day has its own theme: Wonder, Resist, Embody, Create, Hope, Stretch and Share. Seven times nine equals sixty-three entries…. we had ourselves a nine-week daily devotional!
Melissa looped in some of the podcast contributors to adapt their podcasts for the page and craft daily questions. Additional voices spanned the wider church and added supplemental content. Melissa gives us an Invocation and Benediction that make the book flow almost like a worship service, calling us together and sending us out: to hope in color. Contributors include Tyler Heston (he/him), Alysha Laperche (they/them), Sandhya Jha (she/they), Nadia Tavera (she/they), Andrew Deeb (he/him), William DeShay C. Jackson (they/them), Renair Amin (she/they), Brendan Y. Boone (he/him), Allen V. Harris (he/him), and Marian Edmonds-Allen (she/they). Within just a few months, Colors of Hope transformed into what the authors, AllianceQ, and Chalice Press believe will be a cornerstone book.
Colors of Hope releases in April so we have time to lead up to June’s Pride Month, the annual recognition and celebration of the impact the LGBTQ+ community has made upon the world. While the community’s contributions deserve year-round recognition, our culture is most receptive to LBGTQ+ conversations during June than other times of the year, and progressive Christian congregations are more likely to engage in LGBTQ+ advocacy during the early summer. We hope that you’ll be completing your first read of Colors of Hope by June so you’ll be ready to share the book and your experience with other like-minded Christians.
Odds are you won’t find a copy of Colors of Hope in a typical Christian bookstore. Their audience has been trained to avoid anything bearing even a hint of a rainbow. Human connection flourishes, though, when we understand the experiences of others. By offering Colors of Hope, we have made space for the sacred opportunity to chase wisdom and broaden the spectrum of your faith life. We're prayerful that well-meaning Christians who may have been taught to shy away from God's symbol of promise and covenant might instead pick up Colors of Hope and discover a new, abundant, colorful way to live.
Gratefully,
Brad Lyons (he/him)
President and Publisher
P.S.—Everybody.
]]>We are not perfect dads. We do not claim to be. Nor is this book intended as a guide to being a dad. While we hope to raise our sons well, we are not putting ourselves forward as exemplars. We know there’s more than one way to be a father and to raise a son. We know that family circumstances are unique, and that life unfolds differently for every parent and child.
That introduction from Jonathan Hall and Beau Underwood is as clear-eyed as I’ve seen in a Chalice Press book, and it reflects the earnest, honest, unflinching approach throughout the book.
That trio of boys are the eventual readers of the letters that compose Dear Son, written by their dads as paternal encouragement to open their sons’ eyes to the dangers of toxic masculinity, faith-inspired misogyny, and just plain bad approaches to being a good parent or husband. But the book is meant for fathers, especially new fathers who are discovering faith for the first time or reexamining their faith at the advent of a new phase of life.
Those of you who are parents or step-parents or foster parents or doting aunts and uncles know each child brings a fascinatingly unique set of blessings and challenges. No child is the same as their sibling or classmate, and no parenting arrangement is identical . Sharing a cup of coffee with other parents or having an honest conversation with a Parents as Teachers counselor provides a friendly reminder that perfection is impossible. It’s impossible to recommend a so-called perfect method to raise children, and you’re wise to ignore anyone who tries to tell you otherwise. Still, it’s easy to worry you somehow missed the parenting class that should have followed the birthing class at your hospital.
Dispelling that fear is the primary goal of Dear Son, but when you look at our culture there is more at stake. Far too many times I’ve cringed at Homer Simpson’s borderline negligence or the paternal buffoon portrayed on formulaic Disney shows. At least those are played for laughs. Far more damaging are the misogynistic portrayals of toxic masculinity that show up in so-called entertainment or marketing or even labeled as a parenting resource. When misbehavior is tacitly approved by the media we assume thinks like we do, we have a problem. Just click on your news website to see how toxic masculinity manifests itself in violence, crime, prejudice, and systemic injustice.
Beau and Jon reject toxic masculinity and all its poisons. They honor their spouses as gifted, brilliant mothers (as they should!), as example of how they hope their sons will treat women. That respect and appreciation for the gifts God gives us expands beyond people to other aspects of faith life, including everything from personal finances to relating with people of other races .
How do we undo the damage done by this toxic masculinity? By doing our best to help our children recognize the dangers posed — and by weeding it out of our own behaviors. Dear Son is a first step in helping course-correct our culture. Let’s hope it’s not too late.
Gratefully,
Brad Lyons
President and Publisher