Church Publishing

Whether he is interviewing God ("I must be the first since Moses to be allowed into your presence"), preaching on "marriage as music," or reflecting on a visit to his parents' grave, Friedman always has the power to surprise us and invite us to change. This collection of Edwin Friedman's writings, most of them unpublished, reveal a different side of this rabbi, teacher, and leadership coach who caused a revolution in viewing human relationships with Generation to Generation.

Organized into life stages, specifically the journey from young adulthood to maturity and death, What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? captures Friedman's signature wit and playfulness as he cuts straight to the heart of human growth and relationships.

Throughout his life, Friedman eloquently applied the insights of family therapy to churches and synagogues, organizations and businesses-and, of course, to families themselves. He energized and delighted a wide public in his lifetime and continues to engage us with What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?, an essential reader for those seeking life-changing insights.

"Why did I give advice to Eve instead of going directly to Adam? I knew I would never be able to stop the Creator's overall plan, but I thought I might really be able to frustrate it if I could screw up some relationships." So speaks Satan as The First Family Counselor in this collection of Edwin Friedman's most popular essays, edited by his daughter, Shira Friedman Bogart.

Friedman's signature wit and playfulness goes straight to the heart of human relationships from one generation to another. Throughout his life, Friedman eloquently applied the insights of family therapy to churches and synagogues, rectors and rabbis, politicians and teachers, and his humor, sense of paradox, and unique style of storytelling were trademarks of his teaching style.

Explores how we can use our bodies sexually and holistically in contemporary culture.

What About Sex? provides a moral compass to navigate the changing landscape of sex and sexuality. Dealing with the Bible, evolving traditions and customs, and the findings of science and psychology, Haller endeavors to inform and guide rather than lay down the law. This book is not about what goes where or who does what to whom, but about what it means to be an embodied person with responsibilities both to oneself and others.

Resource for clergy to give/use with couples seeking to be wed in an Episcopal Church

Many couples come to an Episcopal Church seeking a place to hold their wedding ceremony because they love the setting in our beautiful churches. Others seek to be married in the Episcopal Church because their parents are members and/or it was the church of their childhood but have lapsed in attendance. While marriage is a tradition for many rooted in the religious tradition, the church continues to be an agent of the state in performing the legal components. And some couples are deeply connected to their parish family and seek a marriage grounded in the rites of the church.

Intended as an accessible resource, clergy can give this book to couples and use as a preparation tool in planning "The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage" in the Episcopal Church. This book will satisfy the request clergy often receive from individuals (as well as newcomers, unmarried parents, same gender couples, those seeking remarriage) who desire to be married but don't know what is involved from an Episcopal perspective. It includes essays, an outline and explanation of the marriage service, and how couples can live out the promises they make to one another.

Inspired by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s powerful statement and call to the Episcopal Church to be the “Jesus Movement” in this world, artist Roger Hutchison created a painting that measures 30” x 40” and illustrates the full life of Christ. Beginning at the bottom with the infant child in the manger, the eye is drawn upward to the boy Jesus, the adult Jesus, and Jesus on the cross. This book reproduces 16 different areas of the painting, with the final image being the full painting. Each section is matched with a page of Scripture from one of the gospels telling a portion of Jesus’s life (birth, baptism, miracle, teaching, Last Supper, crucifixion, resurrection, etc.), followed by a reflection, the painting piece, and finally a story suggesting where the reader can find Jesus today in a similar encounter between ourselves and another person. Each “chapter” concludes with a reflection question.

Helps develop the pastoral skills needed for hearing confessions.

Although the sacramental Rite of Reconciliation is included in many Anglican prayer books, nothing has been written expressly Anglicans since the 1980s that focuses on the pastoral skills required for this ministry. This book combines and passes on the teaching, coaching, skill development, and accumulated pastoral wisdom that has not been widely accessible or well integrated into clergy training.

Realistic transcripts and "verbatims" of sample confessions and counseling sessions involving a wide range of people makes this a unique ministry resource for most seminaries and theological colleges, plus clergy in general-including Lutheran pastors who use the rite of "Individual Confession and Absolution" in the Lutheran Book of Worship.