Togetherness

Move among us, Stir us in our midst
reside in the between of us
to renew our faith in you,
in each other, and in ourselves.
        from My Heart in My Mouth by Ted Loder

As children, we played a game that comes to mind whenever I think of getting together. One team would link arms and push forward while the other team tried to push them backwards and break the line. The closer we stayed together, the stronger our line was to advance over the goal. Small groups work similarly. While we may have a rich prayer life by ourselves, there is power and an energy in praying and seeking God together.

THE CONNECTING CHURCH by Randy Frazee. Zondervan Publishing House, 2001. 250 pages, hardcover $16.99.

DYING CHURCH, LIVING GOD: A CALL TO BEGIN AGAIN by Chuck Meyer. Northstone Publishing, 2000. 160 pages, paper $16.95.

This book may disturb our readers, but I believe we must consider the premise Chuck Meyer presents if only to "take our pulse," so to speak. The "description of the dying church and the resurrection of a new form by Living God is both the premise and the promise of the book." Meyer writes with a great deal of hope, despite some dire conclusions. He believes most firmly in a Living God at work in all our racing cultures and technologies, and asks that we, individually and as church members, examine closely the differences between our organizations and a "living, significant God."

THE MYSTIC HEART; DISCOVERING A UNIVERSAL SPIRITUALITY IN THE WORLD by Wayne Teasdale. New World Library, 2001. 308 pages, hardcover $14.95.

Brother Wayne Teasdale writes from a deeply interreligious spirituality. In loving and gentle insistence he helps us examine the mystic spirituality of many ancient traditions and finds nine elements that unite all religions; elements that when recognized and practiced are a powerful influence on our own spirituality and on the realization of our common nature as mystics at heart.

LEADING LADIES: TRANSFORMING BIBLICAL IMAGES FOR WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP by Jeanne Porter PH.D. Innisfree Press, 2000. 160 pages, paper $13.95.

Don't be mislead by this title. There is as much for men's leadership as for women and a good deal about our theme of "Getting Together." By looking at the leadership styles of some biblical archetypes as well as contemporary women, Dr Porter presents a model for leaders, male and female, that can transform the way we lead churches, communities and businesses. She knows what she is talking about from her experience as a popular consultant on leadership development and communications.

SIX MONTHS TO LIVE: LEARNING FROM A YOUNG MAN WITH CANCER by Daniel Hallock. Plough Publishing, 2000. 200 pages, paper $10.00.

A month before his wedding, Matt Gauger was diagnosed with lymphoma, six months later he was dead. Not an unusual story. What is unusual is the circumstances of his dying. As part of the Brudehof, a closely knit Christian community, Matt's dying is a model for how getting together can and should transform the distancing and "medicalizing" of death. Surrounded by loving support, much as the hospice movement advocates, the story of Matt's dying emphasizes the importance of community and may help in changing our current impersonal approach.

AT HOME IN THE COSMOS by David Toolan. Orbis Books, 2001. 250 pages, hardcover $25.00.

David Toolan does as good a job as any I've read in analyzing the problems of our global and cosmic ecological crises and outlining some possible solutions. Beginning from a very positive Christ-centered outlook on creation and a healthy historical look at how we got where we are, he examines the new physics and argues that it is time for a new cosmology that encompasses the eschatological thinking of the Bible. The last part of the book is a ringing call for a "new social contract with nature." We must work together if we are to have any future together. Practical suggestions give power to his thesis.

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