Academy #41 Required Reading

Reading assignments from faculty of Academy #41 held at Camp Sumatanga in Gallant, AL. Books are added when received from faculty presenters. Please check back frequently for new book additions.

Session One: August 27 – September 1, 2018

Roger Owens: Attentiveness to the Word

1. A Tree Full of Angels, Macrina Wiederker
2. Eat This Book, Eugene Peterson

Loyd Allen:  Traditions of Christian Spirituality

1. Thirsty for God, by Bradley Holt – August 2017 edition
2. Spiritual Traditions for the Contemporary Church, by Gabriel O’Donnell and Robin Maas

Session Two: November 12-17, 2018

Rabbi Chava Bahle:  Hebrew Spirituality

1. Midrash: Reading the Bible with Question Marks, Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
2. Psalms of the Jewish Liturgy: A Guide to Their Beauty, Power and Meaning, Miriyam Glazer (limited print copies – available to Kindle or Nook. May select alternative suggested book below)

Alternative Suggested by Chava: The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary, Robert Alter

Sr. Dawn Mills:  Spiritual Disciplines

1. Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster
2. Tools Matter: Beginning the Spiritual Journey, Mary Margaret Funk

Session Three: February 4-9, 2019

Melanie Ross:  Liturgy & Spirituality

1. Radical Discipleship: A Liturgical Politics of the Gospel, Jennifer McBride
2. You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit, James K.A. Smith

Luke Timothy Johnson:  New Testament Spirituality

1. Faith’s freedom: A Classic spirituality for Contemporary Christians, Luke T. Johnson
2. Living Jesus: Learning the Heart of the Gospel, Luke T. Johnson

Session Four: May 13-18, 2019

Sr. Kathleen Flood:  Roman Catholic Spirituality

1. Ways of Imperfection, Simon Tugwell
2. Four Women Doctors of the Church: Hildegard of Bingen, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, Mary T. Malone

Luther Smith:  Spirituality and Embodiment

1. Learning to Fall: The Blessings of an Imperfect Life, Philip Simmons
2. The Little Book of Trauma Healing: When Violence Strikes and Community Security is Threatened, Carolyn Yoder

Session Five: August 19-24, 2019

Roberta Bondi: Prayer and the Art of Discernment

1) Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers, by Anne Lamont
2) To Pray and to Love, by Roberta Bondi

Additional recommended readings: Beginning to Pray, Anthony Bloom and Wild Things, Roberta Bondi

Fr. John Mefrige: Orthodox Spirituality

1) The Orthodox Understanding of Salvation: “Theosis” in Scripture and Tradition by Christopher Veniamin (Printed book available at www.mountthabor.com)
2) The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology by Igumen Chariton.

Additional recommended reading: The Way of a Pilgrim: and The Pilgrim Continues His Way, by R.M. French (translator)

Session Six: November 18-23, 2019

Amy Oden: Protestant Spirituality

  1. Barbara Holmes, Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative Practices of the Black Church. Fortress Press, 2017 (revised edition).
  2. Gregory Clapper, As If the Heart Mattered: A Wesleyan Spirituality, Wipf and Stock, 2014.

Grace Imathiu: Spirituality and Ways of Healing

  1. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
  2. The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann

Session Seven: February 3-8, 2020

Thomas Thangaraj: Christian Spirituality in the Global Context

  1. Encountering God: a spiritual journey from Bozeman to Banaras; Diana L Eck; Boston : Beacon Press ; 2003
  2. Relating to people of other religions: what every Christian needs to know; M Thomas Thangaraj

Nancy Schreck: Spiritual Leadership in Local Faith Communities

     1. Canoeing the Mountains: Christian leadership in Uncharted Territory  by Tod Bolsinger

     2.  Strengthening the Soul of  Your Leadership:  Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry By Ruth Haley Barton

Additional suggested reading by Nancy Schreck:

    Salsa, Soul and Spirit:  Leadership for a Multicultural Age by Juana Bordas

    The Monk Within: Embracing a Sacred Way of Life by Beverly Lanzetta

    OR Drinking from the River of Light: The Life of Expression by Mark Nepo

Session Eight: October 26-31, 2020

Larry Peacock: Sustaining Our Life in Christ: A Rule of Life

  1. Openings: A Daybook of Saints, Sages, Psalms and Prayer Practices, Larry Peacock (second edition, Skylights Paths Publishing)
  2. Peacework, Henri Nouwen, Orbis Books — Suggest they read using the words “climate change” in place of or in addition to Henri’s prophetic words about resisting violence and nuclear war

Suggested Reading by Larry Peacock: Margaret Guenther’s At Home in the World, Seabury Books

Barbara M.B. Taylor: Bearing Witness to the Reign of God in the World

  1. Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited 
  2. An Altar in the World, Barbara Brown Taylor