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: March 2022
/in What We're Reading /by waterstaffWATER Recommends: March 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.
Allen, Lisa. A Womanist Theology of Worship: Liturgy, Justice, and Communal Righteousness. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2021 (231 pages, $28).
Womanist theology is incarnate in Black Churches in liturgy and ritual, preaching and teaching. This accessibly written volume offers an overview of Black Liturgy, its highlights and challenges. With the advent of womanist thinking and ministry there is a renaissance in progress. Alleluia.
Cooper, Thia. Queer and Indecent: An Introduction to Marcella Althaus-Reid. London: SCM Press, 2021 (165 pages, $35).
Marcella Althaus-Reid was a unique and creative theologian whose work began in Latin America with liberation theology, included feminist work, and concluded by being foundational for queer theology around the world. This brief summary whets the appetite for reading the original sources for which there is simply no substitute.
Davis, Murphy. Surely Goodness and Mercy: A Journey into Illness and Solidarity. Baltimore, MD: Open Door Community (P.O. Box 10980 Baltimore, MD 21234-0980), 2020 (174 pages, $ 15/donation ).
A lifelong social justice activist dealt with a life-threatening, eventually life-ending illness. She gave it the same careful, reflective solidarity with which she lived her inspiring life for others. She calls out the U.S. healthcare system as woefully inadequate for dignified living and dying. Her legacy on this front is as rich as her contribution to providing housing, dignity, and community for so many people.
Herbert, Clare. Towards a Theology of Same-Sex Marriage: Squaring the Circle. London: Jessica Kingley Publishers, 2021 (174 pages, $28).
The option of civil partnership in England for same-sex couples occasions a renewed reflection on the sacramentality of marriage. This thoughtful exploration reveals some good issues to ponder and adds another convincing study to the literature.
Ganley, Rosemary. Gleanings: Columns from the Peterborough Examiner 2018-2021. Peterborough, Ontario, Canada: Yellow Dragonfly Press (www.yellowdragonflypress.ca), 2021 (274 pages, $15).
These columns cover international relations, a local canoe museum, the Parliament of the World’s Religions, the G7 in Quebec, the family Zoom call, pandemic reflections, and myriad other themes. They are all subject to Rosemary Ganley’s strong moral compass set on true north. They are written in her signature style—650 words of wisdom, humor, kindness, and insight. Any wonder she is a WATER favorite author?
McAvan, Emily. Jeanette Winterson and Religion. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2020 (212 pages, $45).
Novelist Jeanette Winterson includes many religious and ethical themes in her writing. She has a unique angle on the evangelical scene of her childhood and an enduring interest in the human spirit in all of its complexity. This analysis opens some doors to understanding sexuality, technology, and making sense or non-sense of the Divine.
Pierce, Yolanda, In My Grandmother’s House: Black Women, Faith, and the Stories We Inherit. Minneapolis, MN: Broadleaf Press, 2021 (178 pages, $22.99).
This is womanist theology written elegantly for all to read and understand. It is a labor of love for the author’s grandmother, her descendants, and those in the wider world who need the deep faith and savvy insights so many ancestors share. The touch is light; the impact deep. A smart and compelling read.
Spitzer, Toba. God is Here: Reimagining the Divine. New York: St. Martin’s Essentials, 2022 (290 pages, $28.99).
Praise from WATER: Toba Spitzer is a trustworthy spiritual companion, a rabbi’s rabbi. Her teaching spans disciplines and time. She makes spiritual practices concrete and doable even for amateurs at prayer! Her insights into Hebrew Bible texts stir the souls of believers and non-believers alike. Use this book for personal reflection and expect to be refreshed, renewed, recommitted to a better, more divine here and now.
Thistlethwaite, Susan Brooks. What She Will Become. Eugene, Oregon: Resource Publications, 2021 (247 pages, $28).
Susan Thistlethwaite’s fourth mystery novel leaves the reader reeling, breathless, and aching for more. Heroine Alex Bell is tougher than J. Edgar Hoover’s agents, smarter than seasoned D.C. operatives, and as principled as ministers and journalists who step up to moral challenges. Scapegoating women, queer people, and people of color has deep and intertwined roots in American society that the author explores with panache. Delve into this complex read about the ancestors of the dark web and the violent Right to see contemporary social dynamics in sharp relief.
Whitney, Ruth. Six Stages on the Spiritual Path: A Way to Transform Ourselves and Our World. Eugene, OR: Resource Publications, 2021 (333 pages, $35).
A scholar activist, Ruth Whitney turns her attention to spiritual life with erudition and commitment. This is a useful companion for those who want to know how various world religions have explored and incarnated the life of the spirit.
WATER Recommends: January 2022
/in What We're Reading /by waterstaffWATER Recommends: January 2022
Davison, Lisa Williams. MORE THAN A WOMB: CHILDLESS WOMEN IN THE HEBREW BIBLE AS AGENTS OF THE HOLY. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2021 (132 pages, $20)
Sad to think that such a book needs to be written in the 21st century. But contemporary culture is still shaped by many biblical images that ground arguments about women’s subordination and women’s primary role as walking wombs. This is a useful contribution for people who seek to change such ideas.
Denton-Borhaug, Kelly. AND THEN YOUR SOUL IS GONE: MORAL INJURY AND U.S. WAR CULTURE. Bristol, CT: Equinox Press, 2021 (301 pages, $32).
The intermingling of sexism, war, abuse, dishonor, and so many other complicated dynamics make and exacerbate moral injury. This is a must-read for all who are inclined to understand these dynamics especially in veterans, in order to banish them from societies now so replete with bellicose ways that there often appears no way out. The author shows some creative solutions and a deep reverence for the lives in the balance.
Florer-Bixler, Melissa. HOW TO HAVE AN ENEMY: RIGHTEOUS ANGER AND THE WORK OF PEACE. Harrisonburg, VA: Herald Press, July 2021 (250 pages, $16.99).
In a climate focused on the consequences of polarization, Florer-Bixler flips the conversation with an intentional acknowledgement of who the enemies are: the oppressors, the ones standing in the way of peace. By including the acceptance of anger as a part of reconciliation, the author challenges the notion of a passive peace and embraces a very active and fiery justice.
Scannell, Alice Updike. BUILDING RESILIENCE: WHEN THERE’S NO GOING BACK TO THE WAY THINGS WERE. New York, NY: Morehouse Publishing, 2020 (176 pages, $15.99).
An apt read for a world suffering a global pandemic. When the varying degrees of normalcy are always shifting, resilience is a muscle often over-stretched. Scannell’s guide, while pulling mostly from her work in gerontology, applies to many audiences. She advises how to build a solid set of skills in order to grow and maintain resilience as it is tested over time.
Morrison, Melanie S. LETTERS FROM OLD SCREAMER MOUNTAN. Durham, NC: RCWMS, 2021 (100 pages, $25).
Anti-racism work done through travel and memory, the author’s and her mother’s lack of it, make this a poignant and compelling read. The daughter visits her mother’s old summer camp to appreciate the directors’ commitment to anti-racism work that inspired her mother and encouraged her own longtime endeavors toward racial justice.
Segura, Olga M. BIRTH OF A MOVEMENT: BLACK LIVES MATTER AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2021 (139 pages, $20).
An interdisciplinary approach to the signal importance of Black Lives and the systemic white racism that infects the Roman Catholic Church. It is a wonder any Black people, especially Black women, are part such of an institution. Even some of the most progressive moments that critique the institution share the same racial, economic, sexual, and social structures and behaviors. This is a clarion call to change all of that with suggestions for how to do it.
Sutera, Judith, OSB. ST. BENEDICT’S RULE: AN INCLUSIVE TRANSLATION AND DAILY COMMENTARY. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2021 (312 pages, $24.95). Sutera, Judith, OSB. ST. BENEDICT’S RULE: AN INCLUSIVE TRANSLATION. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2021 (120 pages, $14.95).
Future generations of Benedictines and their friends will not be distracted by exclusive language thanks to Judith Sutera’s translation. Available in two convenient forms, with and without Daily Commentary, this is a very accessible, welcome resource.
Talvacchia, Kathleen T. EMBRACING DISRUPTIVE COHERENCE: COMING OUT AS EROTIC ETHICAL PRACTICE. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2019 (142 pages, $19).
Truth-telling never goes out of fashion, nor does it cease to be necessary given the realities of racial ethnic, class, ability, age, etc. as contextualizing aspects of LGBTIQ lives. A racially marked (white) postmodern question about whether coming out matters gets a resounding yes from a respected theologian who knows from personal experience how complex it is.
Tsomo, Karma Lekshe, Editor. BUDDHIST FEMINISMS AND FEMININITIES. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2019 (343 pages, $33.95).
The issues across religions are similar but not exactly the same. This focused look at Buddhism through the eyes of a wide range of competent writers makes an excellent text for feminist studies in religion. There is a certain genius in juxtaposing the topics ‘feminisms’ and ‘femininities’ that scholars in other religious traditions might explore. The differences are stark and instructive.
WATER Recommends: October 2021
/in What We're Reading /by waterstaffWATER Recommends: October 2021
Gale A. Yee, Towards An Asian American Biblical Hermeneutics: An Intersectional Anthology. Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books. 2021 (226 pages, $27).
Gale Yee takes the reader on two journeys. One is the journey through her rich life as an Asian American feminist scholar with Catholic roots and ecumenical reach. The other is through selected biblical texts seen through the eyes of one whose intersectionally integrated life produces a unique read that opens the words to new and exciting interpretations. Kwok Pui-lan calls it “a groundbreaking volume” and we agree.
WATER Recommends: April 2021
/in What We're Reading /by waterstaffWATER Recommends: April 2021
Atwood, Margaret. DEARLY: NEW POEMS. New York, NY: Ecco, 2020. (144 pages, $19.23).
Incisive, insightful, delicate, determined words fill these pages. Start at the end with “Blackberries:” “Some berries occur in sun, but they are smaller. It’s as I always told you: the best ones grow in shade.” Choose your favorite in this collection for prayer, meditation, or just plain lovely poetry.
Boursier, Helen T. THE ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD HANDBOOK OF WOMEN’S STUDIES IN RELIGION. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, June 2021. (390 pages, $140.00).
Seasoned scholars and new colleagues alike illuminate diverse themes and perspectives from a range of social and religious starting points. The combination of theoretical analysis and applied wisdom demonstrates how feminist studies in religion can contribute to a more just, safe, and equitable world. Choose this as a text for a challenging and fruitful course or colloquium.
Farley, Wendy. BEGUILED BY BEAUTY: CULTIVATING A LIFE OF CONTEMPLATION & COMPASSION. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2020. (212 pages, $30.00).
Many meditate; Wendy Farley sketches out the why’s and how’s of contemplative practice. This is a helpful resource for both those who are beginning the path, and those who, though well along the way, will welcome a refresher about what it’s all about. Hopefully, this book will encourage people to take up both spiritual and activist paths which are, after all, one.
Hovey, Gail. SHE SAID GOD BLESSED US: A LIFE MARKED BY CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE IN THE CHURCH. Jefferson, NC: Exposit, 2020. (268 pages, $19.99).
A Christian Education minister sexually abused a teenager. Gail Hovey’s riveting, beautifully written memoir is an excruciatingly honest account of her complex and committed life after abuse. She lives and breathes complexity—marriage, work, friends, lovers, family, a child, sex and gender, the injustices of the world. She finds ways to put the abuse by an older woman in a position of responsibility into perspective: she never forgets nor forgives, but she does not repeat the behavior with others. Instead, she finds healthy, fulfilling love. Not a “happily ever after” story, this is a compelling story of hard work at the job of life.
Kamionkowski, S. Tamar. WISDOM COMMENTARY: LEVITICUS. Collegeville, MI: Liturgical Press, 2018. (402 pages, $39.95).
This commentator displays an admirable humility before a complicated text, one that has been read variously depending on translation. She points out that many assumptions on things like bodies, land ownership, even issues of “impurity” with which Leviticus is often associated can be reread through contemporary eyes. Not easygoing, this work is helpful to the preacher and teacher, indeed to the believer who seeks to understand what a text that has had so much negative influence might mean positively.
Litle, Marcy. ILLUSIONS OF INNOCENCE. Durham, NC: RCWMS, 2021 (162 pages, $25).
This is “white people doing their anti-racism work” with grace and grit. It is not easy to look systemic racism in the eye and see oneself staring right back. But it is the work required of white people to undue generations of privilege and embrace future generations of justice. Readers and reading groups will take a well-written lesson from this book.
Matthews, Shelly, and Barbara E. Reid, OP. WISDOM COMMENTARY: LUKE 1-9. Collegeville, MI: Liturgical Press, 2021. (408 pages, $39.95).
Many commentators have lifted up the Lukan narratives and themes as evidence that women’s experiences are taken seriously in scripture. These authors do not dispute that, but they suggest that there are more questions than answers here, more ambiguity and variety than often acknowledged in these commonly used texts. It is a refreshing reality check.
McPhillips, Kathleen, and Naomi Goldenberg. THE END OF RELIGION: FEMINIST REAPPRAISALS OF THE STATE. London, UK: Routledge, November 2020. (232 pages, $128).
All of the feminist deconstructions of religions are for naught if the fundamental meaning of religion is not interrogated. This volume offers new insights into the whole enterprise, inviting foundational changes to the field if scholars are courageous enough to be sufficiently critical.
Park, Song-Mi Suzie. WISDOM COMMENTARY: 2 KINGS. Collegeville, MI: Liturgical Press, 2019. (408 pages, $39.95).
2 Kings is an especially fraught book of the Bible. The overwhelming masculinity of YHWH is traced throughout the text. But the concluding chapters make clear that such imagery is tenuous at best, inviting the reader/scholar to reimagine other influences that shape the narrative and thus might reshape concepts of the divine.
Timmel, Sally J. YOU CAN NEVER GO BACK: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE CO-FOUNDER OF THE GRAIL CONFERENCE AND RETREAT CENTRE, AND TRAINING FOR TRANSFORMATION. London, UK: Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd, 2021. (176 pages, $17.99).
Savor this autobiography by an activist of the first order whose spirituality is doing. Sally Timmel, longtime member of the Grail and co-creator with her partner, the late Anne Hope, of the Training for Transformation Handbooks, has wisdom aplenty to share. Written in a brisk, clear, unambiguous style, Sally offers a life story worth reading: a life lived to the max through global community and personal responsibility.
Tokaji, Diana. SIX WOMEN IN A CELL: A STORY OF SISTERHOOD AND SURVIVAL AFTER POLICE ASSAULT. Silver Spring, MD: Root to Rise Production, 2020. (246 pages, $16.99).
Diana Tokaji unwraps in powerful prose and poetry her brutal, unjust arrest. Police brutality, moral injury, assault, sexism, white supremacy, and insanity bred of injustice all bubble in the stories of six women thrown together randomly that one night she spent in a holding cell. Their microcosm foreshadowed the locked-down, out of work, out of school, out of kilter society that is the culmination of such social disintegration in a pandemic. Diana’s remedies—kindness, silence, yoga, peer counseling, social justice, humane and equal treatment of all—make this book both a work of art and a manual for change.
WATER Recommends: January 2021
/in What We're Reading /by waterstaffWATER Recommends: January 2021
Adams, Carol J. THE PORNOGRAPHY OF MEAT. New and Updated Edition. NY: Bloomsbury Academic, 2020 (416 pages, $29.95).
The original edition caused a stir, and this one is sure to generate brave conversations about the reality of sexism and meat. The images are many and relentless. They make the case that the text spells out: “the pornography of meat exploits the asymmetrical relationship of gender to normalize animal oppression, simultaneously naturalizing the gender binary and a consumer vision in which farmed animals are imputed to desire their own death and consumption” (p. 17). Read and heed.
Ganley, Rosemary. POSITIVE COMMUNITY: COLUMNS FROM THE PETERBOROUGH EXAMINER 2015-2018. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018 (246 pages, $14.95)
Regular newspaper columnist Rosemary Ganley is a renaissance woman—writer, speaker, activist, spiritual sage, bicycle rider, intellectual. It is hard to read about her loss of a child and edifying to glimpse her mother. It is challenging to see the Camino de Santiago through her eyes and comforting to know Canada is a stalwart neighbor despite US recalcitrance. WATER awaits the next volume, 2019-2021, as Peterborough continues to get its regular reading treat.
Hartung, Colleen. CLAIMING NOTABILITY FOR WOMEN ACTIVISTS IN RELIGION. Chicago, IL: Atla Open Press, 2020 (246 pages, available for free as an Open Access Title here or $35 in paperback).
The interstructured forces of sexism, racism, and the like conspire to keep women from being added to the roles of religious figures accessible through Wikipedia and related platforms. Colleen Hartung and colleagues propose to put 1000 Women in Religion into the mix by generating biographies. This first volume includes the lives of Yvonne Delk, Beatriz Melano Couch, and others without whom the field would never have flourished.
Hopkins, Denise Domkowski. WISDOM COMMENTARY: PSALMS, BOOK 2-3. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2020 (458 PAGES, $39.95); deClaissé-Walford, Nancy L. WISDOM COMMENTARY: PSALMS, BOOKS 4-5. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2020 (400 pages, $39.95)
These are good models of biblical scholarship with various new ways of imagining the texts proposed in Books 2-3 and the wisdom of South African commentators in Books 4-5. Those who preach regularly or use the Psalms for their own prayer will want to consult these volumes. Insights and angles on the texts that challenge and confirm the power of the ancient form show why the Psalms retain their place in Jewish and Christian worship.
Neumark, Heidi B. SANCTUARY: BEING CHRISTIAN IN THE WAKE OF TRUMP. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2020 (240 pages, $24.99)
Excellent pastors only got busier with Covid, which is hard to imagine given all that Lutheran minister Heidi Neumark was already doing at Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City. This insightful reflection on four decades of ministry reveals the skill of an organizer, the heart of a pastor, and the politics of a progressive, globally connected citizen. Fortunate are the seminary interns who learn at her side and the many, diverse people who call Trinity Lutheran home.
Session, Irie Lynne, Kamilah Hall Sharp, and Jann Aldredge-Clanton. THE GATHERING, A WOMANIST CHURCH: ORIGINS, STORIES, SERMONS, AND LITANIES. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2020 (159 pages, $23).
How exciting to see womanist ministers and theologians creating communities in which to live out their rich insights and commitments. This volume offers the practical aspects like preaching, the challenges of developing groups, and the fruits of this new, emerging approach to church. Hats off to them!
Surdovel, Grace, IHM, Editor. LOVE TENDERLY: SACRED STORIES OF LESBIAN AND QUEER RELIGIOUS. Mount Rainier, MD: New Ways Ministry, 2020 (202 pages, $19.95).
Lesbian and queer sisters in religious communities give voice to their experiences in rich tones. This collection includes nuns from a variety of communities (4 from the Sisters of Mercy, for example) who tell stories of pain and exclusion, but more so, of welcome, support, and real community both within their orders, among sisters from various groups, and with people who are not part of canonical religious life. This book shows progress and promise.
Walker-Barnes, Chanequa. I BRING THE VOICES OF MY PEOPLE: A WOMANIST VISION FOR RACIAL RECONCILIATION. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2019 (280 pages, $24.99).
This is an important read for people working to overcome racism and white supremacy. Dr. Walker-Barnes makes clear in chapters entitled “Racism is Not about Feelings or Friendship” and “Racism in not a Stand-Alone Issue” that racism is a matter of power which needs to be dismantled. This analysis is not intended to make white people feel the least bit comfortable. Rather, it is direct call to forget “cheap grace” reconciliation and warm, fuzzy feelings and get on with the business of making substantive structural changes. Amen.
Wheeler, Rachel. DESERT DAUGHTERS, DESERT SONS: RETHINKING THE CHRISTIAN DESERT TRADITION. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2020 (178 pages, $19.95)
Historical sources looked at through new eyes result in new insights. In this case, the category of desert fathers (mostly) and mothers gives way to siblings whose real-life engagement in the social order grounds their spirituality. Women emerge far more prominently than in the older readings. A sensible approach worth considering.
WATER Recommends: November 2020
/in What We're Reading /by waterstaffWATER Recommends: November 2020
Arjana, Sophia Rose, with Kim Fox. VEILED SUPERHEROES: ISLAM, FEMINISM, AND POPULAR CULTURE. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2018 (147 pages, $36.99).
This is a welcome look into the powerful and creative lives of Muslim women as depicted in a variety of media. “Female Muslim superheroes are often strongly political characters, challenging patriarchy on numerous fronts…the Muslimah superhero provides a way to counter both Islamic and Western misogyny” (p. xv).
Cooper-White, Pamela. GENDER, VIOLENCE, AND JUSTICE: COLLECTED ESSAYS ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN. Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2019 (281 pages, $35).
Value added to the content of this book is the chronological sequence. Readers can see how the field emerged, what this well-respected author had to say along the way, and why it is that sexual and domestic violence remain such a huge issue today.
Chittister, Joan. ON WOMEN: FROM THE WRITINGS OF JOAN CHITTISTER. Erie, PA: Benetvision, 2020 (93 pages, $8.95).
Slip this gem into your backpack, purse, or pocket and pull it out when the need arises for intelligent, reinforcing, synthetic insights about women in all of our power. Joan Chittister’s signature wisdom coupled with LMNOPI’s haunting yet inviting artwork make an accessible book sure to challenge, inspire, and spur to action readers from many starting points. It makes a welcome gift at a troubled time.
Espín, Oliva M. WOMEN, SAINTHOOD, AND POWER: A FEMINIST PSYCHOLOGY OF CULTURAL CONSTRUCTIONS. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 2020 (211 pages, $95).
Oliva Espín offers a highly readable, indeed compelling account of the construction of saints in their many and varied contexts. Her favorite, Joan of Arc, for example, influenced Thérèsa of Lisieux, while Edith Stein looked to Teresa of Avila as a role model. So, the lineage continues, making the theo-political sainthood process a matter of cultural concern. As Espín cautions: “Now, as ever, we women need to make meaning for ourselves on our own terms just as these women saints did.” Re-appropriating the ‘saint making’ business to ourselves is an integral feminist act.
Legath, Jenny Wiley. SANCTIFIED SISTERS: A HISTORY OF PROTESTANT DEACONESSES. New York: New York University Press, 2019 (253 pages, $35).
What a fascinating study of Protestant women, mostly not married to men, from the 19th century to the present who engage in the service work of their churches. While some clearly accepted diaconal ministry in lieu of ordination, once ordination opened up for women some still insisted that they did not want ordination. This lends credence to certain Catholic arguments that the two are quite separate routes to church work. Well worth pondering.
Melcher, Sarah J., Mikeal C. Parsons, Amos Yong, THE BIBLE AND DISABILITY: A COMMENTARY. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2017 (498 pages, $ 59.95).
This volume is a useful introduction to the many ways in which disability is woven into biblical texts and interpretations. It opens many doors to far more accessibly-oriented ways of thinking and helps readers to avoid the damaging ways in which scripture has been used to exclude and marginalize.
Meyers, Debra and Mary Sue Barnett. CRISIS AND CHALLENGE IN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH: PERSPECTIVES ON DECLINE AND REFORMATION. Lanhan, MD: Lexington Books, 2020 (257 pages, $95).
The Roman Catholic Church is in a disheveled state given its misogyny, clericalism, sex abuse crimes and their coverups, financial irregularities, and the rest. These editors have gathered an array of writers, including Miriam Duignan, Mary E. Hunt, and themselves among others, to diagnose and offer creative solutions to the sorry mess. No magic formulae here, but serious, solid thinking about how, for the good of the world, this monarchy can be transformed into a community.
Russaw, Kimberly D. DAUGHTERS IN THE HEBREW BIBLE. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books 2018 (225 pages, $39.99).
The author makes the important point that little attention is paid to the role of daughters in the Hebrew Bible, perhaps less in the Christian scripture. Wives, mothers, concubines, widows, and others are given more attention. Kimberly Russaw’s study opens that door to why there is such a lacuna in the scholarship and how it might be remedied.
Wilcox, Melissa M. QUEER NUNS: RELIGION, ACTIVISM, AND SERIOUS PARODY. New York: New York University Press, 2018 (288 ages, $39).
This community does not belong to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, but these contemporary “queer nuns” have raised a lot of important issues by their mere existence: sexual safety, supporting people living with HIV/AIDS, moving beyond the binary (calling ‘sister’ a third gender). They add sparkle and snap to every scene, letting parody carry their message of spiritual and social renewal. A challenging and rewarding read about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
Williams, Natalie E. FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE: THE ETHICS OF DIVORCE AFTER MARRIAGE EQUALITY. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, 2020 (127 pages, $90)
Natalie E. Williams provides an important missing piece in the dynamic, fraught, theo-ethical conversation on marriage. Divorce, according to many religions and to the state, is seen as a shame-inducing decision that unleashes family catastrophes when in fact it can be a multifaceted, sometimes liberating relational choice. Queering the data reveals many creative relational options for those who are open to difference.
Wolfe, Lisa Michele. QOHELETH (ECCLESIASTES) WISDOM COMMENTARY. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2020 (203 pages, $39.95).
This is a good example of how feminist/womanist biblical scholarship creates new readings of texts many have long ago written off. The Afterword, “Qoheleth as a Model for Feminist Hermeneutics” is a stand-alone essay that could fruitfully be studied in classes. Readers will find that the section on women as makers of beer (Ecclesiastes 11:1) shatters a few more myths as craft makers prove today!
Worsham, Sandra. GOING TO WINGS: A MEMOIR. Hickory, NC: Third Lung Press, 2017 (348 pages, $17).
Enjoy this novel of a southern convert to Catholicism coming out as a lesbian and finding her way to a meaningful life of faith and love. She lives in Flannery O’Connor’s Milledgeville, GA where perhaps there is something in the water that sparks good writing. Anyone who ever had a mother, fell in love, or thought for themselves will find this a compelling read.
WATER recommends: September 2020
/in What We're Reading /by waterstaffWATER Recommends: September 2020
Anderson, Joanne W. MOVING WITH THE MAGDALEN: LATE MEDIEVAL ART AND DEVOTION IN THE ALPS. NY: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2019 (248 pages, $120).
Who knew that this deep devotion to Mary Magdalen was central to the faith of many Alpine communities in Switzerland, Austria, and Italy? Stunning artwork and fascinating development of liturgies/rituals make clear that like Latin American Marian worship, Magdalen worship was (perhaps still is) alive and well in small villages and towns. That the ‘official’ church did not dwell on it, much less tout it, indicates its power.
Bird, Jennifer. “Marriage in the Bible: A Discussion Among Friends.” See jennifergracebird.com, 2020 (12 videos, $50 to rent for six months, $120 to buy).
Jennifer Bird is a feminist biblical scholar who offers Ted-talk-like lectures on what the Bible says and doesn’t say about marriage. Her perspective is inclusive, her presentations user friendly. She encourages viewers to think for themselves about the texts, their contexts, and their impact on the social order. Group discussion is key, making these very useful for study groups and classes.
Casselberry, Judith and Elizabeth Pritchard, Editors. SPIRIT ON THE MOVE: BLACK WOMEN AND PENTECOSTALISM IN AFRICA AND THE DIASPORA. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2019 (248 pages, $24.95).
Given that women make up three quarters of the hundreds of millions of people who identify as Pentecostal, it is time for serious study of this growing religious sector. This volume offers a running start with essays that focus on Brasil, Ghana, Haiti, Nigeria, Mozambique, and elsewhere. Experiences vary widely across these enculturated groups, but women are shaping the movement much earlier in its history than in other Christian denominations. These essays alert scholars and interested readers about some trends and groups to watch.
Engh, Susan L. WOMEN’S WORK: THE TRANSFORMATIONAL POWER OF FAITH-BASED COMMUNITY ORGANIZING. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, 2019 (157 pages, $95).
Community organizing as a form of ministry is raised to an art form by many women. Susan Engh makes this abundantly clear and equally inviting. So many organizations from social service to political lobbying benefit from the amazing energies, talents, and commitments of community organizers. May their numbers multiply.
Fredriksen, Paula and Jesper Svartvik. KRISTER AMONG JEWS AND GENTILES: ESSAYS IN APPRECIATION OF THE LIFE AND WORK OF KRISTER STENDAHL. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2018 (201 pages, $29.95).
Krister Stendahl distinguished himself among scholars (mostly men) of his generation by his early and consistent support of social change, especially the full inclusion of women in church and society. These essays, both biographical and thematic, provide insights into the person and his thinking. Readers will resonate with his struggles to find the right time and place for his ministry, and marvel at his incredible capacity to give the Bible a place in modern life without reverting to evangelical platitudes. His memory is a blessing on many levels.
Izzo, Amanda L. LIBERAL CHRISTIANITY AND WOMEN’S GLOBAL ACTIVISM: THE YMCA OF THE USA AND THE MARYKNOLL SISTERS. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2018 (275 pages, $28.95).
Such an interesting book! The parallels and differences between the YMCA movement and the Maryknoll Sisters make for fascinating feminist history. Both organizations have had far wider and deeper impacts than their mere numbers would suggest. Both have shaped and empowered their members and the broader society. These groups incarnate justice and equality for women and BIPOC. This study captures their essences and displays their achievements in relief against formidable patriarchal odds.
Lanzetta, Beverly. THE MONK WITHIN: EMBRACING A SACRED WAY OF LIFE. Sebastopol, CA: Blue Sapphire Books, 2018 (400 pages, $19).
Beverly Lanzetta is a trusted voice on spirituality. Her approach to feminine wisdom (would that it were explicitly feminist) is wise and well grounded. She offers practical insights: “From the moment of birth, until death stills our breath, each human heart, each soul, recites a ceaseless prayer…Prayer is the language of the spirit. It is our first language.” Yes.
Miles, Margaret R. RECOLLECTION AND RECONSIDERATIONS. Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2018 (159 pages, $23).
Few scholars are as humble or as self-aware to publish this kind of retrospective of their own work. Margaret R. Miles is both and more as she reprises her life’s work with critical assessments and appreciations. She concludes that abstractions will get us nowhere but concrete, body-based insights are hopeful paths for future Christians.
Peterfeso, Jill. WOMANPRIEST: TRADITION AND TRANSGRESSION IN THE CONTEMPORARY ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. New York: Fordham University Press, 2020 (276 pages, $30).
This is a cultural history of the Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP) organization and the larger movement of feminist ministry of which it is a part. The author lays out the contours of intra-feminist Catholic perspectives as well as the predictable opposition from the institutional Roman Catholic Church. It is a valuable contribution to a complicated set of issues, a welcome narrative about one segment of the movement that is in the process of transforming one of patriarchy’s last bulwarks.
Porter, Elisabeth. WOMEN-OF-FAITH PEACEBUILDERS. Independently published, 2018 (179 pages, $5).
A good intro to how women’s efforts are different and the difference they make. It is hard to imagine international peace work without the leadership and solidarity of so many women from a variety of religious traditions. It needs to be taken more seriously.
Thistlethwaite, Susan B. WHEN DEMONS FLOAT. Resource Publications, 2019 (262 pages, $23).
Susan Thistlethwaite’s third of a murder mystery trilogy is the best yet. Characters come into full bloom, the story is compelling, all too timely, full of twists and turns that make it a page turner. Stark resemblance to contemporary life sends an extra chill up the reader’s spine. No escapist fiction here. White racism, police corruption, and other fascist elements in a culture riven with hatred and marbled with the blood of innocents emerge in demonic relief.
Woolley, Alison. WOMEN CHOOSING SILENCE: RELATIONALITY AND TRANSFORMATION IN SPIRITUAL PRACTICE. Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Routledge, 2019 (283 pages, $ 140).
Silence plays a pivotal role in many forms of feminist spirituality. This study introduces some of them with a nod to Nelle Morton who understood the difference between being silenced and choosing silence for health and insight. More needs to be said, but this is a good start.
WATER Recommends: July 2020
/in What We're Reading /by waterstaffWATER Recommends: July 2020
Ahmed, Sara. WHAT’S THE USE?: ON THE USES OF USE. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2019. (296 pages, $26.95)
Sara Ahmed traces the word and idea of “use” through the ways it is used, and in the contexts of biology, education and the University. This thorough examination unveils important questions and considerations of accessibility, diversity, and power, while moving people towards an understanding of “queer use.” An engaging theoretical read for those seeking systemic change.
Bachman, Mercedes L. Garcia. JUDGES: WISDOM COMMENTARY SERIES, Vol. 7. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2018, (273 pages, $ 40).
Intersectional feminist, womanist, mujerista biblical work invites new perspectives on the Book of Judges. Thomas Hanks, Renate Jost, Susanna Scholtz, among others, join the author in analyzing the many women in this book. Like their contemporary counterparts, the women of Judges fulfill myriad roles and multiple responsibilities. Readers can learn from them. In the same series, Wilda C.M. Gafney has written NAHUM, HABAKKUK, ZEPHANIAH: WISDOM COMMENTARY SERIES, Volume 38, 2017 (224 pages, $40), lifting up the horrors of the end times. The hope at the end of the book for “rebuilding and restoration” may encourage some readers today.
Bacon, Hannah. FEMINIST THEOLOGY AND CONTEMPORARY DIETING CULTURE: SIN, SALVATION AND WOMEN’S WEIGHT LOSS NARRATIVES. London: T&T Clark, 2019 (346 pages, $39.95).
How helpful to notice that the diet industry depends largely on certain Christian teachings about sin and salvation. The diet industrial complex’s links with guilt/shame producing religious ideologies is a match made in the kitchen. The author offers healthy alternatives in the form of body-loving, women-respecting, food positive views. A provocative read that sheds light for pastoral counselling as well as theology.
Blain, Keisha N. SET THE WORLD ON FIRE: BLACK NATIONALIST WOWEN AND THE GLOBAL STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018 (255 pages, $25).
The determination, skill, and commitment of Black Nationalist women is edifying. Confronted by white supremacy in the world and male supremacy in their movement, they found ways to lead. A well-told story that deserves a wide audience.
Callaghan, Tonya D. HOMOPHOBIA IN THE HALLWAYS: HETEROSEXISM AND TRANSPHOBIA IN CANADIAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press, 2018. (264 pages, $22.46)
Tonya D. Callaghan provides an important study on homophobia in public Canadian Catholic schools. Through interviews with teachers and students, an analysis of media accounts, and church documents, Callaghan highlights how systemic homophobia is maintained and how students resist it. An important read for educators, and those concerned with the ways that churches’ power can function in society.
Johnson, Emily Suanne. THIS IS OUR MESSAGE: WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP IN THE NEW CHRISTIAN RIGHT. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019 (224 pages, $29.95).
A well-documented, accessibly written study of major players among religious right women including Marabel Morgan, Anita Bryant, Sarah Palin, and others. Their role in the political shifts and the success of conservative movements is not trivial. Knowing more about them illuminates the complexities and sometime contradictory messages of their movement.
Ketchum, Katie and Jann Aldredge-Clanton. HERSAY: SONGS FOR HEALING AND EMPOWERMENT. http://jannaldredgeclanton.com/music/, 2020 (105 Pages, $14.95).
These original songs and music will refresh any worship service with images and symbols that include and invite. Taizé-style chants and simple melodies make these sing-able aids to justice-seeking liturgy. No longer do groups have to rely on the same old same old male-language lyrics and bellicose images when these songs are readily accessible.
Margolis, Maxine. L. WOMEN IN FUNDAMENTALISM: MODESTY, MARRIAGE, AND MOTHERHOOD. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2020 (211 pages, $34).
Mormon polygamists, the Satmar Hasidim, and certain extremist forms of Islam share the unholy characteristic of control of women. Maxine Margolis lays out the contours, labels the gestalt as “a cesspool of misogyny,” and indicates what women and girls need to know about religious fundamentalism. A very useful study.
Nguyen, Thao. ASIAN CATHOLIC WOMEN: MOVEMENTS, MISSION AND VISION. London/Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2020 (151 pages, $90, ebook $85.50).
Some of the most creative, courageous, and visionary voices in global Catholicism are those of Asian women. This study offers an inviting overview which will be best filled in by women’s own voices. The author highlights the need for women to be leaders, for their studies to be paid for, for their work with poor and marginalized people to be normative, and for their ways of being involved beyond the institutional church to be taken seriously. In short, these women are pointing the way forward for Catholics everywhere.
O’Donnell, Karen. BROKEN BODIES: THE EUCHARIST, MARY, AND THE BODY IN TRAUMA THEOLOGY. London: SCM Press, 2018 (224 pages, $29.99).
A challenging read about hard topics, Karen O’Donnell looks at miscarriage and other bodily experiences of traumatic loss. These experiences become a springboard for a deep dive into historical sources about Mary and the Eucharist. The result is not the glorification of suffering, but a realistic picture of the complexity of being bodies.
Wilcox, Melissa. QUEER RELIGIOSITIES: AN INTRODUCTION TO QUEER AND TRANSGENDER STUDIES IN RELIGION. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2021.(252 pages, $32.00)
Written as an introductory textbook for undergraduate or graduate students, Melissa Wilcox provides an insightful, engaging and accessible overview of transgender and queer studies in religion. Wilcox investigates the connections between religious practices and queer identities through exploring stories and practices of communities, while highlighting the diversity of global views on sexuality and gender. The accompanying indices of films and books, and a thorough glossary make this a highly welcome resource for classrooms, and beyond.