Tap into what we’re reading at WATER with the following resources.
All of the books we recommend are available for the borrowing from the Carol Murdock Scinto Library in the WATER office. Check out librarything.com for our complete collection. We are grateful to the many publishers who send us review copies to promote to the WATER community.
WATER Recommends: February 2025
/in What We're Reading /by waterstaffWATER Recommends: February 2025
Cutter, Elissa and Allison Murray, Editors. WOMEN AND PUBLIC THEOLOGY: EMERGING VOICES. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2024 (188 pages, $29.95).
Successive generations of women take on theological tasks with diverse starting points and varied conclusions. The group “Women in Theology” labors in the vineyards, tending the plantings of their ancestors in feminist studies in religion and harvesting the fruits of their own generation’s efforts. This volume showcases some of those fruits and the possibilities they present. Useful for classes and study groups seeking examples of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox women’s contemporary theological concerns.
Day, Dorothy. DOROTHY DAY: SPIRITUAL WRITINGS. Edited by Robert Ellsberg, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2024 (264 pages, $21.51).
Forty-five years after her death. Dorothy Day’s writing remains as vibrant and necessary as ever. This compendium includes some of her classic topics. Words like “delight” and “joy” surface when then, as now, we need them. The name “Dorothy Day” has come to be synonymous with social justice, radical love, and the courage to bring it about. Inspiration is in short supply these days, but she is a font of it.
DeWolf, Rebecca. GENDERED CITIZENSHIP. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2021 (350 pages, $87.29).
DeWolf examines the long struggles over the Equal Rights Amendment and why it took decades filled with protests and efforts to ratify the 19th Amendment. She points out how limited constitutional equality for men and women continues to sustain women’s disadvantaged position. Cultural changes related to sex and gender will further challenge the understanding of gender justice and gender equality in the law. As the ERA languishes, this is instructive.
H, Lamya. HIJAB BUTCH BLUES: A MEMOIR. New York: The Dial Press, 2024 (336 pages, $20.00).
A groundbreaking perspective on Islamic scripture. In this page-turner, Lamya H, writing under a pseudonym to protect her identity, introduces the reader to her feminist and queer interpretations of Islamic scriptures. She shines a completely different light on important historical figures. She writes about her struggles with Islamophobia and Xenophobia in the US and elsewhere and takes the reader on a journey to self-discovery and acceptance. A powerful read.
Koester, Nancy. WE WILL BE FREE: THE LIFE AND FAITH OF SOJOURNER TRUTH. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2023 (270 pages, $29.99).
Alicia K. Jackson in her foreword to Nancy Koester’s informative book about Sojourner Truth writes: “… Truth’s witness to the horrors of America’s chattel slavery mirrors the legacy of how trauma has motivated Black women toward social and political action” (p. x). Faith played a role as Jackson observes when Truth “issued a direct challenge to the white Christian community by highlighting the contradictions of the Christian message and white Christian support for American chattel slavery and the undermining of the humanity of the enslaved“ (p. xi). A book to read and absorb.
Kownacki, Mary Lou. EVERYDAY SACRED, EVERYWHERE BEAUTY: READINGS FROM AN OLD MONK’S JOURNAL. New York, NY: Orbis Books, 2024 (207 pages, $19.50).
An instant spiritual classic, this collection of Mary Lou Kownacki’s writings is a must-read for generations to come. Such insights, self-awareness, such community-focused love are rare but urgently needed. This welcome volume is to be socialized and discussed, prayed with, and cherished. Thanks to Mary Lou and the editors who carry on her spirit in Erie, PA.
Quarles, Melanie Jones. UP AGAINST A CROOKED GOSPEL: BLACK WOMEN’S BODIES AND THE POLITICS OF REDEMPTION. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2024 (207 pages, $22.50).
Black women’s bodies bear the brunt of racist, sexist, ableist oppression. This biblical and theological approach to womanist studies in religion is a successful attempt of a scholar to build on the solid foundation in both fields to reflect on the history and trajectory of her family and community.
Sylvester, Nancy. JOURNEY-FAITH IN AN ENTANGLED WORLD. Columbia, SC: Institute for Communal Contemplation and Dialogue, 2024 (179 pages, $18.95).
Mary Hunt’s book blurb: “Imagine a world in which contemplation, deep immersion into the whole of Being, were a regular practice. Nancy Sylvester offers simple techniques and inviting themes for personal and communal reflection. Dialogue that emerges from holding lightly the woes and wonders of the world is a real help and a great hope for cultivating oneness. Just imagine and try it with this guide book.”
Thistlethwaite, Susan. SURFACING: A KRISTIN GINELLI MYSTERY. Eugene, OR: RESOURCE Publications, 2024 (186 pages, $20).
Mary Hunt’ book blurb: “Murders make headlines, but discussion of free speech is a more subdued, often obscured topic. The two go hand in hand in this suspenseful novel. A man is found dead and, as is now quite common, disruptive threats are considered protected speech. Detective/Professor Kristen Ginelli and colleagues figure out the murder and push university reform. Policy changes can save lives.”
Tsuria, Ruth. KEEPING WOMEN IN THEIR DIGITAL PLACE: THE MAINTENANCE OF JEWISH GENDER NORMS ONLINE. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2024 (190 pages, $109.95, Kindle $87.99).
Technology and Social Media provide a democratic space to negotiate and redefine social practices and feminism. Or do they? Ruth Tsuria examines how parts of the Jewish community negotiate societal norms and open discourse for religious and taboo matters. Contrary to popular belief, she explains how phenomena like peer regulation and ‘othering’ maintain hierarchical and traditional approaches. Instead of shifting societal norms, Social Media tends to keep women in their traditional places.
WATER Recommends: Fall 2024
/in What We're Reading /by waterstaffWATER Recommends: Fall 2024
Bird, Jennifer G. MARRIAGE IN THE BIBLE. London, UK: Rowman & Littlefield, 2023 (260 pages, $20.10).
If feminist scholarship is socialized and made available to a wide public there is real hope that minds will change. Jennifer Bird does just this kind of promotion of ideas that many seasoned feminists take for granted but that most biblically-based Christians have missed entirely.
Carbine, Rosemary P. NEVERTHELESS, WE PERSIST: A FEMINIST PUBLIC THEOLOGY. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2023 (259 pages, $35).
Feminist public theology has many roots and connections. Rosemary Carbine offers the foundations in civil rights, non-violence, farm worker justice, non-violence, political work, among others. Out of the “ekklesia of women” emerge new, effective, persistent efforts to create a just world.
Clooney, Francis Xavier. HINDU AND CATHOLIC, PRIEST AND SCHOLAR: A LOVE STORY. London, UK: T&T Clark, 2024 (195 pages, $22.45).
A love story indeed of a man who had a mystical experience as a teenager that set him on a religious journey told in modest but epic terms. Francis Clooney is a brilliant, insightful, learned, and deeply spiritual person whose deep dives into two faith traditions and deep commitments to two ways of being in the world make provocative reading.
Federer, Julia. INCARNATING GRACE: A THEOLOGY OF HEALING FROM SEXUAL TRAUMA. New York, NY: Fordham University Press, 2023 (237 pages, $30).
Victim-survivors of sexual violence will thank Julia Federer for collecting some of the best insights in the field and developing a strong theological analysis. She dispenses with the unhelpful tropes about redemptive suffering and focuses instead on the healing work that religions can do. Feminist scholar-activists and Teresa of Avila alike can be enlisted in this urgently needed work.
Gafney, Wilda C. A WOMEN’S LECTIONARY FOR THE WHOLE CHURCH. New York, NY: Church Publishing, 2021 (360 pages, $26.10).
This volume delivers on its title. The regular readings of the church year are the usual fare in many denominations. A lectionary that reflects the womanist, feminist, post-colonial thinking of biblical scholars and theologians will make sermon preparation a new endeavor.
Kenny, Amy. MY BODY IS NOT A PRAYER REQUEST: DISABILITY JUSTICE IN THE CHURCH. Ada, MI: Baker Publishing Group, 2022 (194 pages, $19.99).
A bracing, straight-up read about how Christianity misses the mark on disability. Damaging preaching and barriers of every kind abound in churches. This no-nonsense, popularly written, insightful treatment of these issues is a recipe for change.
Khan, Daisy. 30 RIGHTS OF MUSLIM WOMEN: A TRUSTED GUIDE. Rhinebeck, NY: Monkfish Book Publishing Company, 2024 (350 pages, $22.49).
Whether for students of Islam or Muslims who want to know more about their faith, this useful compendium of Islamic teachings and practices is invaluable in a religiously pluralistic society. Thanks to Daisy Khan for leading the way and for making the scholarship of Muslim women accessible to a broad audience.
Pui-Lan, Kwok. THE ANGLICAN TRADITION FROM A POSTCOLONIAL PERSPECTIVE. New York, NY: Seabury Books, 2023 (256 pages, $24.98).
Comprehensive, insightful, pushing the large business-sized envelope, Kwok Pui-Lan lays out the contours of a religious tradition in search of its integrity. Everyone wins as she clarifies a complicated history and points ways forward without erasing the past. A model for adherents in other religious communities to follow as they seek their own integrity.
Rich, Bryce E. GENDER ESSENTIALISM AND ORTHODOXY: BEYOND MALE AND FEMALE. New York, NY: Fordham University Press, 2023 (258 pages, $34.99).
Moving beyond the binaries in Orthodoxy is a heavy lift. Bryce Rich does so with erudition and candor. Those who oppose his views on women’s ordination and LGBTIQ+, for example, do not realize that he is doing orthodox traditions a huge intellectual and moral favor, perhaps even saving them from their own demise.
Vesely-Flad, Rima. BLACK BUDDHISTS AND THE BLACK RADICAL TRADITION: THE PRACTICE OF STILLNESS IN THE MOVEMENT FOR LIBERATION. New York, NY: New York University Press, 2022 (331 pages, $32).
Buddhism as a resource for liberation is a welcome theme. Even more welcome is the focus on Black experiences in Buddhism that showcases the power of silence, suffering, and intergenerational trauma. This is an important book, a font of insight.
WATER Recommends: July 2024
/in What We're Reading /by waterstaffWATER Recommends: July 2024
Ensign, Diana J. FAITH, HOPE, ACTION: USHERING IN A NEW EARTH ERA, TOGETHER. Indianapolis: SpiritHawk Life Publications, 2024 (244 pages, $19.84).
The climate crisis is so overwhelming that it stops most people from doing anything. Diana J. Ensign (who was a winner in WATER’s 2023 Rosemary Ganley Essay Contest) breaks it down into doable chunks, something for everyone to try. Whether building a house with recycled materials, probing one’s faith tradition for inspiration, and/or eating healthily grown food, the options are endless, the needs now. This book, with its concrete examples, helps and challenges.
Frohlich, Mary. THE HEART AT THE HEART OF THE WORLD: RE-VISIONING THE SACRED HEART FOR THE ECOZOIC ERA. Orbis Books, 2024 (256 pages, $21.59).
This volume is a refreshing surprise—a realistic, contemporary look at the Sacred Heart. In a gently written, accessible text, scholar Mary Frolich, in the role of spirit-guide writes: “The Heart at the heart of the world resounds in every creature and in the intricate web of all creatures, seeking to communicate Wisdom to us…” (p. 154). She explores chaos, the queer kindom, Gaia, ecology, Jesus, and more issues in useful questions for reflection and practice. Who knew the Sacred Heart held such richness for our era?
Hoffman, Merle. CHOICES: A POST-ROE ABORTION RIGHTS MANIFESTO. Skyhorse Publishing, 2023 (240 pages, $22.12).
The history of abortion in the U.S. is a story of courage against vicious forces that would keep pregnant people from making their own choices. Merle Hoffman, a leader in the provision of abortion services, provides an inside look at how things played out post-Roe. Now, post-Dobbs, they are destined to devolve without bold actions. It is a chilling tale but an important read if future generations are to have basic human rights.
Nittle, Nadra. BELL HOOKS’ SPIRITUAL VISION: BUDDHIST, CHRISTIAN, AND FEMINIST. Augsburg Fortress Press, 2023 (147 pages, $21.49).
Gone too soon, bell hooks had a complicated relationship with spirituality. Whether Buddhist or Christian, neopagan or other, she brought the same discerning eye and heart to religions that she brought to everything else.. This study opens some of that search to a wide audience that can only benefit from her forays into the unknowable.
O’Dell, Darlene. THE STORY OF THE PHILADELHIA ELEVEN: REVISED AND EXPANDED 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION. Church Publishing, 2024 (320 pages, $28.95).
Darlene O’Dell’s revised and expanded 50th anniversary edition of the definitive history of Episcopal women’s successful struggle for valid and licit ordination is a must read. Now that the popular movie is out (“THE PHILADELPHIA ELEVEN,” Director, Margo Guernsey, 2023, https://www.philadelphiaelevenfilm.com/), there is new interest in what these courageous and committed women teach for the ages: exclusion never holds where and when justice is proclaimed.
Oredein, Oluwatomisin Olayinka. THE THEOLOGY OF MERCY AMBA ODUYOYE: ECUMENISM, FEMINISM, AND COMMUNAL PRACTICE. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2023 (244 pages, $53.95).
The life and work of the great Ghanaian theologian Mercy Amba Oduyoye comes into clear focus in Professor Oredein’s book. Readers find how one African woman paved the way for future generations including the author, through her study, ecumenical involvement, community-based organizing, and especially the creation of the Concerned Circle of African Women Theologians. This book is a gateway to globally important work.
Peace, Jennifer and Elinor Pierce. PILGRIMAGE, PLACE, AND PLURALISM: ESSAYS IN CONVERSATION WITH DIANA ECK. Red Elixir, 2024 (276 pages, $31.66).
Complex religious pluralism is the stuff of deep relationships, shared commitments, honest disagreements, and shared hopes. It is a signal achievement of the last fifty years in American religion with Diana Eck in the lead. This volume of reflections by her academic colleagues, appreciative students, and professionals in interreligious work, her friends and admirers offers both kudos to Diana and an overview of the field. These ties that create a livable world are more necessary and precious than ever in today’s morass.
Rutten, Mara D. CALLED TO ACTION: NETWORK’S 50 YEARS OF POLITICAL MINISTRY. NETWORK Advocates for Catholic Social Justice, Washington, D.C., 2023 (158 pages, $14.99).
Fifty years after the creation of one of post-modern Catholicism’s most consequential women’s groups, Mara D. Rutten offers a welcome history. From the founding sisters to today’s young strategists, NETWORK’s mission of making social justice integral to American legislation and structures continues with style.
Walker-Smith, Angélique Keturah. AHEAD OF HER TIME: PAN-AFRICAN WOMEN OF FAITH AND THE VISION OF CHRISTIAN UNITY, MISSION, AND JUSTICE. World Council of Churches, 2023 (132 pages, $18.95).
Rev. Dr. Angélique Keturah Walker-Smith has written a springboard book, one that will propel other writers to explore the many Pan-African women who have shaped contemporary ecumenical work. Included in the panoply are such luminaries as Rena Karefa-Smart, Brigalia Bam, Mercy Amba Oduyoye, Ruth Nita Barrow, and many others. Their pioneering efforts against great odds paved the way for women in ecumenical movements. Pictures, references, and data to give other scholars a running start on chronicling these women and their successors.
WATER Recommends: January 2024
/in What We're Reading /by waterstaffWATER Recommends: January 2024
Belser, Julia Watts. LOVING OUR OWN BONES: DISABILITY WISDOM AND THE SPRITUAL SUBERVERSIVENESS OF KNOWING OURSELVES WHOLE. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2023 (276 pages, $29.95).
Five star alert: Read this book that is so captivating in its creativity, so tough in its analysis, and so fluidly written that, like a good novel, this reader did not want it to end. Julia Watts Besler does not simply want the deaf to hear nor the lame to walk, as so many scripture passages would have it. Rather, she wants the Divine to sign and the rest of us to get with the program in terms of inclusive architecture and design. This is theology, disability activism, queer theory, feminism, and Hebrew Bible all put to the service of structural and personal change.
Coady, Mary Frances. CARYLL HOUSELANDER: A BIOGRAPHY. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2023 (166 pages, $28).
A singular figure in Catholic history, Caryll Houselander was both artist and theologian, both community-attracted and solitary, both creative and tradition-bound. This study of her life offers insights into her complexity and helps readers make sense of her work. Still, she is an enigma which makes her all the more intriguing.
Common, Kate. UNDOING CONQUEST: ANCIENT ISRAEL, THE BIBLE, AND THE FUTURE OF CHRISTIANITY. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2024 (208 pages, $28.00).
Kate Common’s book arrives at a propitious moment when an intractable conflict with scriptural roots cries out for new thinking. The Highland Settlement material is a “liberative origins narrative,” a “countermemory…that can help prompt radical imagination and social change.” This is Feminist Practical Theology at its best and just in the nick of time.
Eulinberg, Jerrolyn S. A LYNCHED BLACK WALL STREET: A WOMANIST PERSPECTIVE ON TERRORISM, RELIGION, AND BLACK RESILENCE IN THE 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2021 (248 pages, $18.00).
This terrible tale bears telling and retelling since it has been purposely obscured from most accounts of 20th century racist America. Lucidly written, the author brings a critical womanist eye and a keen justice agenda to this scandalous chapter which illustrates the deep and pernicious white racism that continues to plague the US.
Garling, Wendy. THE WOMAN WHO RAISED THE BUDDHA: THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF MAHAPRAJAPATI. Boulder, CO: Shambala Publications, 2021 (256 pages, $18.95).
The Buddha had two mothers, his birth mother and his sister who raised him. This book about the latter is a delightfully written volume that adds a dimension oft en missing in Buddhist teaching. The mother nurtured the little boy as well as the early cadres of Buddhist women who laid the foundation for one of today’s major religious traditions. An important read to appreciate Buddhism in its fullness.
Moon, Hellena. LIBERALISM AND COLONIAL VIOLENCE: CHARTING A NEW GENEALOGY OF SPIRITUAL CARE. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications of Wipf and Stock, 2023 (260 pages, $32.55).
Decolonializing pastoral care and related issues is a radical project. Hellena Moo n handles it with scholarly precision and ministerial depth. New emerging paradigms can only make religion more useful in the service of global justice and freedom.
Moultrie, Monique. HIDDEN HISTORIES: FAITH AND BLACK LESBIAN LEADERSHIP. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2023 (240 pages, $25.95).
The stories of these 18 women prove that those who are most marginalized often utilize amazing creativity “to do the work their souls must have” as the late Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon taught. Monique Moultrie is a trusted researcher whose skill and care shine through this illuminating volume of LGBTIQ+ history.
Parker, Julie Faith. EVE ISN’T EVIL: FEMINIST READINGS OF THE BIBLE TO UPEND OUR ASSUMPTIONS. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2023 (224 pages, $19.19).
Julie Parker brings a scholar’s eye and a pastor’s heart to the complex questions of feminist biblical interpretation. Using solid academic foundations, she reconfigures mistaken assumptions about the Bible into insightful, accessible texts for prayer and action. Ministers who preach will benefit enormously.
Ruether, Rosemary Radford. VISIONARY WOMEN: THREE MEDIEVAL MYSTICS. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2002, 2023 (79 pages, $11.35).
Taken from Rosemary Ruether’s Women and Redemption A Theological History (2002) this handy compendium of three mystics is a perfect introduction, refresher, or companion on a retreat. Hildegard, Mechthild, and Julian, like Ruether herself, were major contributors to refreshing worldviews and women’s ways of being fully human.
WATER Recommends: September 2023
/in What We're Reading /by waterstaffWATER Recommends: September 2023
Ali, Tazeen M. THE WOMEN’S MOSQUE OF AMERICA: AUTHORITY & COMMUNITY IN US ISLAM. NY, NY: New York University Press, 2022 (274 pages, $30.00).
While progressive Christian groups in the United States have made their presence known to society, progressive Islamic groups have suffered racist and sexist Islamophobia in this regard. Tazeen Ali’s deep dive into the Women’s Mosque of America highlights the difficulties of that unique interracial community’s fight for existence. Read this to get up to speed on aspects of Islam that need public attention.
Altaras, Cameron and Carol Penner, Editors. RESISTANCE: CONFRONTING VIOLENCE, POWER, AND ABUSE WITHIN PEACE CHURCHES. Elkhart, IN: Institute of Mennonite Studies, 2022 (480 pages, $48.00).
Even Peace Churches are not immune from the many forms of violence that religious groups can exacerbate through silence and complicity. Whether marginalizing women, excluding and demeaning 2SLGBTQIA+ people, or abusing through clerical and leadership privilege, these stories are all too familiar from other traditions and at the same time very particular to the denominations involved. This is brave and necessary work, well worth reading and heeding.
Baker, Dori Grinenko. GIRL/FRIEND THEOLOGY: GOD-TALK WITH YOUNG PEOPLE. Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press, 2023 (302 pages, $39.95).
Faith-sharing in a world of gender fluidity, racism, and climate change is beyond challenging. Fortunately, the author highlights many fonts of womanist, feminist, and indigenous wisdom that new storytellers can access as they shape their new faiths.
Glenn, William D. I CAME HERE SEEKING A PERSON: A VITAL STORY OF GRACE. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2022 (229 pages, $29.95).
A contemporary autobiography of a thoughtful, committed, spiritual person. Bill Glenn’s story tracing his life from conventional Midwestern good Catholic boy to deeply differentiated West Coast therapist has a bright red thread throughout: the combination of spiritual search with concrete acts of compassion and care. The Catholic Church’s loss was the world’s gain.
Murray, Michele WISDOM COMMENTARY: TOBIT, Vol. 15. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2023 (268 pages, $44.99).
Tobit is a little-used book, but this author proclaims it ripe for the feminist plucking both for its content and its place in the history of Jewish storytelling. This volume will astonish and enrich both experts and casual users of biblical resources by its many and varied themes. A recounting of the author’s scholarly progression from an arid, academic approach to an involved reading of the texts offers a good model of feminist work.
Oredein, Oluwatomisin Olayinka. THE THEOLOGY OF MERCY AMBA ODUYOYE: ECUMENISM, FEMINISM, AND COMMUNAL PRACTICE. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2023 (244 pages, $38.99).
Mercy Oduyoye is the source and root of so much of African and African American womanist/feminist theologies. This study of her life, writings, and activism offers a running start to those who wish to understand and build on the firm foundation she laid. Thanks to Dr. Oredin for this contribution to the literature.
Todd Peters, Rebecca and Margaret D. Kamitsuka. T&T CLARK READER IN ABORTION AND RELIGION: JEWISH CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM PERSPECTIVES. London, GB: T&T Clark, 2023 (452 pages, $42.95).
Rebecca Todd Peters and Margaret D. Kamitsuka do a service to the field of religion with this comprehensive reader on abortion in three major faith traditions. This is an indispensable resource for social, historical, religious, and political insights. It is a valuable resource for those looking at the complex matters of reproductive ethics and practice.
Wilcox, Ashley M. THE WOMEN’S LECTIONARY: PREACHING THE WOMEN OF THE BIBLE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2021 (258 pages, $28.49).
Lectionaries are useful tools for understanding scriptures from many perspectives. Wilcox’s version allows people to expand and enhance their readings of the Bible to include the under-explored role of women. Whether you are writing sermons, or learning about female involvement in the texts, this is an enlightening resource.
Zagano, Phyllis. JUST CHURCH: CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING, SYNODALITY, AND WOMEN. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2023 (122 pages, $17.95).
What would a just Catholic Church look like, and why is it imperative that one emerge? Read Phyllis Zagano’s primer on the topic. She is best known for her tireless efforts to get Roman Catholic women ordained to the diaconate. This book shows that her commitment is set in scholarship, realism, and strategizing.
WATER Recommends: July 2023
/in What We're Reading /by waterstaffWATER Recommends: July 2023
Akers, Daneen and Gillian Gamble. DEAR MAMA GOD. Oceanside, CA: Watchfire Media, 2023 (32 pages, $25.00).
Beautiful illustrations guide you through a simple prayer to Mama God. This lovely book is a wonderful and simple opportunity for children and adults to connect with God as a mother to us all.
Apffel-Marglin, Frédérique and Randy Chung Gonzales. INITIATED BY THE SPIRITS: HEALING THE ILLS OF MODERNITY THROUGH SHAMANISM, PSYCHEDELICS AND THE POWER OF THE SACRED. Housatonic, MA: Green Fire Press, 2022 (264 pages, $18.95).
Professor Apffel-Marglin makes a case for healing plants pushing well beyond the bounds of Western medicine. Randy Chung Gonzales describes his journey into shamanism in vivid detail. Most scholars of religion know precious little about shamanism. That knowledge is augmented by this unusual volume which is equal parts scholarship and story, challenge and mystery.
Apostolos-Cappadonna, Diane. MARY MAGDALENE: A VISUAL HISTORY. London, UK: T&T Clark, 2023 (143 pages, $22.28).
Mary Magdalene has always been a contentious figure in Christian history, saddled with the projections of a patriarchal world view. This lovely work features many of her titles, including Witness, Anointer, Preacher, and even Feminist Icon, in the form of classic and priceless works of art over two thousand years. It is made for those who wish to experience a wonderful immersion into the power of art to portray a person in all of their complexity.
Cooper-White, Pamela. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM: WHY PEOPLE ARE DRAWN IN AND HOW TO TALK ACROSS THE DIVIDE. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2022 (137 pages, $18.99).
In the aftermath of January 6, 2021, Pamela Cooper-White offers a comprehensive look at Christian nationalism and its psychology. She deals with the definition of Christian nationalism, the psychological mechanisms of participating in such movements, and ways of communicating across the divides that exist in a polarized country. She acknowledges the need to listen in order to be heard. A useful read to ponder how the events on January 6th took shape and how their dynamics endure.
Esser, Annette. THE HILDEGARD OF BINGEN PILGRIMAGE BOOK. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022 (311 pages, $29.95).
Lace up your hiking books for an inspiring walk through the land of Hildegard of Bingen. Medieval saint and doctor of the church, a healer with herbs and a medical doctor, Hildegard’s eco-spirituality is increasingly attractive to contemporary readers. This amazing volume outlines a pilgrimage of key places in her life and ministry. It is complete with maps and pictures, readings and reflection questions. Tuck this in your backpack as you go, or enjoy it from the comfort of your easy chair.
Hays, Carolyn. A GIRLHOOD: A LETTER TO MY TRANSGENDER DAUGHTER. Durham, NC: Blair/Carolina Wren Press, 2022 (274 pages, $26.92).
Listening to stories about trans people is fundamental to reaching social acceptance. No one can better teach us this than the mother of a trans child living in the South. The author describes her family’s experience coming to understand what transgenderism is and the cruel hatred that comes from those who refuse to try to do so. Lots to learn from this book written with love and care for all types of people.
Heyward, Carter. THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF WHITE CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM: A CALL TO ACTION (RELIGION IN THE MODERN WORLD). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2022 (290 pages, $34.00).
White Christian Nationalism plays a large role in contemporary U.S. social disorder. Carter Heyward brings a feminist liberation theologian’s lens to the issues with a strong justice bent. Use this as a springboard for community conversations among people of Christian faith who will find their values operationalized for action.
Ibrahim, Celene. WOMEN AND GENDER IN THE QUR’AN. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2020 (232 pages, $29.95).
Over a billion people claim Islam as their religious tradition, yet billions more know little or nothing about it, and even less about women in Islam. This scholarly yet accessible book provides a helpful overview of gender matters with abundant resources for future study. A serious volume for enrichment and collaboration across religious traditions.
Ladin, Joy. THE SOUL OF THE STRANGER: READING GOD AND TORAH FROM A TRANSGENDER PERSPECTIVE. Waltham, MA: Brandeis University Press, 2019 (147 pages, $29.95).
Transgender is a many-splendored thing, in this instance living in a non-binary way. Torah and trans experience, God and stranger are read, reread, and interwoven. It becomes abundantly clear that one usefully informs the other. Breathtakingly new and challenging ideas are expressed in lovely, accessible prose. Treat yourself to this gem.
Mapp Frett, Latanya. THE EVERYDAY FEMINIST: THE KEY TO SUSTAINABLE SOCIAL IMPACT – DRIVING MOVEMENTS WE NEED NOW MORE THAN EVER. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2023 (183 pages, $18.99).
The President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women invites funders and friends to recognize and support local feminists who labor in the vineyards to change the world. This is a primer for people in the foundation world on how grassroots groups function. It is a reminder to individual donors to support women’s daily work in communities because it adds up to social change.
Ripatrazone, Nick. THE HABIT OF POETRY: THE LITERARY LIVES OF NUNS IN MID-CENTURY AMERICA. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2023 (125 pages, $28.99).
The impact women religious have made in literature has long been under-acknowledged. This book helps to change that by focusing on the lives and works of Madeleva Wolff, Jessica Powers, Mary Bernetta Quinn, Madeline DeFrees, Maura Eichner and Mary Francis. Their poetry deserves critical attention and careful reading. Read this for insights into their work and imagine their impact if sexism were not the barrier it remains today.
Townes, Emilie, Stacey Floyd-Thomas, Alison P. Gise Johnson, and Angela D. Sims, Editors. WALKING THROUGH THE VALLEY: WOMANIST EXPLORATIONS IN THE SPIRIT OF KATIE GENEVA CANNON. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2022 (163 pages, $27.00).
Womanist colleagues celebrate the life and work of Katie Geneva Cannon. A dozen colleagues explore her insights and impact on the study of religion. This is predicted to be the first of many such volumes about this key thinker and consummate professor. A must-read to appreciate the respect Dr. Cannon enjoyed and the brilliant work of her colleagues to take womanism to new heights.
WATER Recommends: March 2023
/in What We're Reading /by waterstaffWATER Recommends: March 2023
Douglas, Kelly Brown. RESURRECTION HOPE: A FUTURE WHERE BLACK LIVES MATTER. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2021 (224 pages, $26).
In the face of white Christian nationalism and other forms of racism, Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas’ realistic yet hopeful analysis opens eyes and hearts. From Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC to the Nave of the Washington National Cathedral, her voice rings “loud as the rolling sea” for all to pay attention.
Haen, Jan. HEAVENLY HOMOS, ETC. : QUEER ICONS FROM LGBTQ LIFE, RELIGION, AND HISTORY. Hannacroix, NY: Apocryphile Press, 2022 (103 PAGES, $24.50).
Who knew how many we are? The author writes: “In this graphic book, you will find sketches of persons who—rightly or wrongly—were presumed to be homosexual, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or asexual. I believe that heteros and homos etc. long to be respected and loved in equal measure.” Ok, Ruth and Naomi, Joan of Arc, Walatta Petros, Juana Ines de la Cruz, Mary Daly, Virginia Woolf, and good company.
Koosed, Jennifer L. and Robert Paul Seesengood. WISDOM COMMENTARY: JUDITH VOLUME 16. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022 (272 pages, $49.59).
Judith saved her city from Assyrian invaders and lopped off the head of the general who led the charge, or so the story goes. This sophisticated commentary illuminates the textual issues, clarifies the historical from the literary, and ends on the grace note of Martha Graham dancing “Judith.” Not your grandmother’s commentary, and suitable for readers who want their worlds widened.
Maloney, Linda M. with Ivoni Richter Reimer. WISDOM COMMENTARY: ACTS OF THE APOSTLES VOLUME 45. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022 (452 pages, $49.59).
As complicated a book as the Christian scriptures contain, Acts of the Apostles is unpacked in this volume with scholarly skill and practice wisdom. Linda Maloney dissects with precision and writes with verve. Her “preferred method of analysis is a form of reader-response criticism that I might call fact-based imaginative empathy.” (p. lxi). It is an effective approach as the various writers in this commentary bring their own insights and commitments to the text. It is bracing, refreshing, effective feminist work.
Slee, Nicola. FRAGMENTS FOR FRACTURED TIMES: WHAT FEMINIST PRACTICAL THEOLOGY BRINGS TO THE TABLE. London, UK: SCM Press, 2020 (352 pages, £25).
Feminist practical theology is a worthy antidote to a shattered world order. Nicola Slee demonstrates that theology is useful insofar as it employs multiple disciplines, vivid imagination, and a willingness to incorporate new insights with old.
Stokes, Jeanette. MAKING THE ROAD AS WE GO. Durham, NC: RCWMS Press, 2022 (243 pages, $30).
Read this memoir to know who Jeanette is—born into white, Presbyterian, privilege in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she studied at Smith College and Duke Divinity School. Her life’s work to date has focused on the wonderful Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South, a feminist non-profit that includes religion, the arts, social justice, and much more. Stay tuned as her creative, beauty-seeking, peacemaking life unfolds.
Williams, Shannen Dee. SUBVERSIVE HABITS: BLACK CATHOLIC NUNS IN THE LONG AFRICAN AMERICAN FREEDOM STRUGGLE. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2022 (424 pages, $29.95).
The painful and inexcusable story of white racism in the context of religious orders is just beginning to be written. This volume is a welcome contribution. It serves as a cautionary tale for the whole Roman Catholic Church. White racists now have no excuse for perpetrating the injustice for another generation.
Yugar, Theresa, Sarah Robinson, Lilian Dube, Teresia Mbari Hinga, editors. VALUING LIVES, HEALING EARTH: RELIGION, GENDER, AND LIFE ON EARTH. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters Publishers, 2021 (298 pages, 55 euro).
This signal volume, including voices from all over the world, is a fitting unfolding of the trajectory Rosemary Radford Ruether set decades ago in her pioneering effort to value each living creature, human and otherwise, and to heal Earth of the wounds inflicted by a ruthless human(un)kind. Essays focused on Knowledge, Ritual, Activism, and Food provide a partial roadmap for moving forward as a global community. What a legacy, what a challenge!
Strahm, Doris, Silvia Strahm Bernet. MÄCHTIG STOLZ: 40 JAHRE FEMINISTISCHE THEOLOGIE UND FRAUEN-KIRCHE-BEWEGUNG IN DER SCHWEIZ. Wettingen, Switzerland: efef publisher, 2022 (300 pages, CHF 38.00).
Discover 40 courageous years of feminist theology and women’s church movement in Switzerland. Be part of a journey through essential interfaith facilities, networks, personalities, and initiatives. This work offers a detailed introduction to how feminist theology unfolded in Switzerland and similarly in other parts of Europe. A great model for other national women’s groups to follow.
Zinsstag, Evelyne, Dolores Zoé Bertschinger, AUFBRUCH IST EINES, UND WEITERGEHEN IST ETWAS ANDERES: FRAUENRÄUME: VON DER SAFFA 58 ÜBER DAS TAGUNGSZENTRUM BOLDERN ZUM FRAUEN*ZENTRUM ZÜRICH. Wettingen, Switzerland: efef publisher, 2020 (212 pages, CHF 29.00).
The second Swiss exhibition of women’s work (SAFFA) enabled the establishment of the ecumenical women’s movement. However, the beginning is one step, but continuing is the next difficulty, and requires intergenerational exchange. This work was written by the next generation of Swiss feminist theologians to remember their successful predecessors and describe the challenges of continuing their legacy.
WATER Recommends: September 2022
/in What We're Reading /by waterstaffWATER Recommends: September 2022
Tap into what we’re reading at the WATER office with the following resources.
All of the books we recommend are available for the borrowing from the Carol Murdock Scinto Library in the WATER office. Check out librarything.com for our complete collection. We are grateful to the many publishers who send us review copies to promote to the WATER community.
Butler, Anthea. WHITE EVANGELICAL RACISM: THE POLITICS OF MORALITY IN AMERICA. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2021 (164 pages, $25).
A crucial read to understand and eradicate the racist foundations of white evangelical Christianity. Dr. Butler lays bare the hypocrisy of a movement that has white supremacy at its heart. In retrospect, so much of the history makes ‘perfect’ sense when read through an anti-racist lens. In present struggles, the contours are even clearer. Read and heed.
Cannon, Katie Geneva. KATIE’S CANON: WOMANISM AND THE SOUL OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2021 (248 pages, $29).
Wonderful new 25th anniversary edition of this classic with Foreword by Emilie M. Townes. If only Dr. Cannon were still with us to reflect on her writing and add to them. That is now our work. Her spirit lives in this volume. Alleluia!
Cassidy, Laurie and M. Shawn Copeland, editors. DESIRE, DARKNESS, AND HOPE: THEOLOGY IN A TIME OF IMPASSE: ENGAGING THE THOUGHT OF CONSTANCE FITZGERALD, OCD. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2021 (480 pages, $44.95)
Mary E. Hunt wrote in a review: “Theological page turners are rare; anthologies that hold the reader’s interest throughout are even rarer. DESIRE, DARKNESS, AND HOPE is a happy exception, a welcome read that incorporates classic Christian spirituality with contemporary theological reflection. Constance FitzGerald, OCD, is an insightful spiritual writer whose work deserves a broad audience. This book is a giant step in that direction.”
Falk, Marcia. NIGHT OF BEGINNINGS: A PASSOVER HAGGADAH. Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 2022 (232 pages, $19.95).
A Haggadah that is as beautiful as it is innovative, as poetic as it is theological, as inspiring as it is empowering. The author’s drawings and design add life and breath to the text and tradition. A must-have for people of many faiths and no faith who can appreciate the sacred anew through this pearl.
Kim, Grace Ji-Sun. INVISIBLE: THEOLOGY AND THE EXPERIENCE OF ASIAN AMERICAN WOMEN. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2021 (177 pages, $28).
Current anti-Asian violence is a continuation of so many generations of oppression and injustice to immigrants. The voices of Asian American women in theology echo the themes and offer insightful, incisive, practical theories and actions to put them to rest. A broad audience will benefit from this volume.
Pak, Su Yon and Mychal B. Springer, editors. SISTERS IN MOURNING: DAUGHTERS REFLECTING ON CARE, LOSS, AND MEANING. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2021 (148 pages, $20).
From the Foreword by Mary Gordon to the final story of a mother’s death, the often fraught and usually loving relationships between mothers and daughters come into poignant focus. Seven writers from different backgrounds and life circumstances flesh out the complexities and offer queries for others to ponder.
Scholz, Susanne, editor. THE OXFORD HANDBOOK OF FEMINIST APPROACHES TO THE HEBREW BIBLE. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2021 (696 pages, $150).
A reference book for all libraries and serious scholars of the Hebrew Bible. This collection is a veritable who’s who in biblical scholarship—Adele Reinhartz, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Esther Fuchs, Carol Meyers, to name just a few. Eco-feminist poet Anne Elvey pushes the disciplinary horizons with her expansive essay. Kudos to the editor for this valuable volume.
Tsomo, Karma Lekshe. WOMEN IN BUDDHIST TRADITIONS. New York, NY: New York University Press, 2020 (223 pages, hardcover $89, paperback $22).
Buddhist women are active all over the world in changing their tradition to make it more inclusive, therefore more useful. Karma Lekshe Tsomo is a noted authority who not only chronicles the progress but has been instrumental in it. An excellent book for classes, discussion groups, and/or research.