The Hope in Challenge

And there are hopeful books too! Here is a rather eclectic group of suggestions that can challenge us to think beyond the problems to the promises of a new age. They are very different from one another, but together they issue challenges to grow, to change, to go deeper, to expand our outlook and viewpoint, to feel the hope that is ready to "...flame out, like shining shook foil."

Finding Serenity in an Age of Anxiety by Robert Gerzon. Bantam Books, 1998. 335 pages, paper $12.95.

Soren Kierkegaard said that "through anxiety the individual is educated into faith." Scott Peck has told us that life is difficult and when we acknowledge that, we can finally begin to live fully. Gerzon, in this book, divides anxiety into three kinds: toxic anxiety, natural anxiety and sacred anxiety. Each is thoroughly discussed using examples, little self-grading quizzes and suggestions for overcoming. We need to be anxious about the right things in order to find serenity and a love of life, he tells us. That is, welcoming the sacred anxiety of meaning and purpose in our lives.

It might take awhile to get acquainted with this book and its quirky approach but there is plenty to reward that time and effort. There is a gigantic sea-wave – a tsunami threatening to engulf the Christian church as it faces the new century. But Sweet believes there is unprecedented potential also and identifies ten "life-rings" – cultural changes – that both threaten and challenge the church. The life rings include such things as the impact of modern technology, the evidence of a longing for spirituality, and global renaissance. There is even a list of churches that are tackling these challenges, complete with e-mail addresses and a brief description of their unique programs – programs that Sweet believes can give the church the power to shape tomorrow, not fall victim to it.

The Church of the Savior in Washington D.C. is not a new church in terms of time, but I am constantly surprised by people who have not heard about this way of "doing church". If anyone is tired of the "same old same old," here is a book to challenge us to consider seriously building a church with the concepts this magazine is trying to hold up. It especially resonates with our 1999 theme: questioning our culture and looking to deeper things; responding to God's call with body, mind and spirit; wrestling with inclusion, diversity and non-hieractical models; and living more fully in relationship with God, ourselves, others and the earth. This collection of sermons not only traces the story of the Church of the Savior, but reminds us how much we need to grapple with the demands of living an authentic Christian life.

The Great Commandment: a Theology of Resistance And Transformation, by Eleanor H. Haney. Pilgrim Press, 1998. 144 pages, paper $12.95.

Haney argues gently, clearly and cogently for Christian commitment to justice as Jesus modeled it in his life. What this means, concretely, is that today should be determined collaboratively with others, recognizing that one's "ecosocial" position in life influences one's deeply held beliefs. She envisions an exciting church where this collaboration takes place and God is worshiped.

As a white, middle-class woman, Haney is aware of unearned privilege. I found this the most timely and challenging book I have read in a great while. Haney offers a serious theological framework for taking courageous action against injustice in the company of other Christians, with other "allies", and with God, "who makes all things new.

Ruth Butler is a retired teacher, children's literature specialist and Episcopalian from Topsfield MA.