Author Archives: ericmuhr

An Invitation to Mystery and Joy

This astonishing new collection from poet Bethany Lee weaves the thread of her keen attention around life’s joys and sorrows, draws them tightly together and offers them into our hands. With unflinching courage she extracts beauty from her journeys as seafarer and grief-tender, makes her way into the present moment, and invites us to come along.

The Breath Between offers good company for hard days, water for the thirsty spirit, and a summons to inhabit your own life more fully. You will not regret the time you spend in the chapel of these words.

“I love these poems. Weaving together the textures of light and the rhythms of breath, seeing the wonder in ordinary everyday surroundings, touching the mysteries of night and death and grief, Bethany Lee has put into words some of the deepest human experience, and given it back to us clothed in joy and hope. Her work sings like a bird.”
—Penelope Wilcock, author of The Clear Light of Day

“Let this book into your life, and it will be a generous visitor, giving you blessings and consolations, musical thoughts, and glances of spirit light to play across your troubles and your treasures. In the ebb and flow of well-being that is a given for us all, these poems will nudge you back to center, to the true point of beginning.”
—Kim Stafford, author of Wild Honey, Tough Salt

“Bethany Lee’s The Breath Between is an invitation to a moment-by-​moment unfolding of each day. It’s a quiet celebration of the elusive happenings, made worthy of our attention through a voice endearing and wise.”
—Emily Grosvenor, editor of Oregon Home magazine

“Mystical and joyful, Lee delivers clean lines of poetry with a frank and open heart. Her window to the natural world is one of whimsy and deep connection. She writes of human relationships thoughtfully and with unadorned love. There is magic in this collection.”
—Jennifer Springsteen, co-founder of PDX Writers

Available from Fernwood Press: http://www.fernwoodpress.com/2019/05/02/the-breath-between/

Available from Barclay Press: http://www.barclaypressbookstore.com/The-Breath-Between.html

“A big Hollywood canvas and an intense family focus, emotionally devastating, funny and charming all at once”

 

OUR CHILD OF THE STARS is a mainstream novel with a wonderful speculative flourish. Set in 1960s America, it tells the story of Cory, a lost boy with a remarkable appearance, the lengths his adopted family will go to protect him, and the secret that refuses to stay hidden. It is a rare novel of warmth, goodness and generosity.

Molly and Gene Myers were happy, until tragedy blighted their hopes of children. During the years of darkness and despair, they each put their marriage in jeopardy, but now they are starting to rebuild their fragile bond.

This is the year of Woodstock and the moon landings; war is raging in Vietnam and the superpowers are threatening each other with annihilation.

Then the Meteor crashes into Amber Grove, devastating the small New England town – and changing their lives for ever. Molly, a nurse, caught up in the thick of the disaster, is given care of a desperately ill patient rescued from the wreckage: a sick boy with a remarkable appearance, an orphan who needs a mother.

And soon the whole world will be looking for him.

Cory’s arrival has changed everything. And the Myers will do anything to keep him safe.

A remarkable story of warmth, tenacity and generosity of spirit, set against the backdrop of a fast-changing, terrifying decade.

Click here for more information.

Quaker Quicks is a new series from Christian Alternative focusing upon aspects of Quaker faith and theology. Beginning with Quaker Roots and Branches the series will build into a valuable resource for Quakers and others interested in this unique Christian expression. Watch out for upcoming titles on Quaker theology, faith and practice, and studies in social aspects such as economics and pacifism.

First Title: Quaker Roots and Branches  

Quaker witness in the world today, its rationale, and how it derives from the insights of earlier Quaker generations.  

Author: John Lampen

Imprint: Christian Alternative (Quaker Quicks series)

Publication Date: 27 July 2018

Description: Quaker Roots and Branches explores what Quakers call their “testimonies” – the interaction of inspiration, faith and action to bring change in the world. It looks at Quaker concerns around the sustainability of the planet, peace and war, punishment, and music and the arts in the past and today. It stresses the continuity of their witness over three hundred and sixty-five years as well as their openness to change and development.

Endorsements: Thomas Hamm, Professor of History, Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana, U.S.A. comments: 

John Lampen has a gift for connecting the contemporary concerns of Friends with the rich heritage of the Quaker past. In his latest collection of essays, he shows us how the experiences of Friends like George Fox, William Penn, and Elizabeth Fry offer us wisdom and guidance in confronting the problems we face today.

Gerald Hewitson, author, Journey Into Life: Inheriting the Story of Early Friends  writes:

From his insight that modern-day Quakers are the product and carriers of an inspiring tradition, John Lampen paints a compelling picture of the Quaker character: clear intellectual enquiry, resolute moral integrity, and quiet, unsung heroism. The lives he describes are led by the guidance emerging from silent worship. In describing the resonance of these Quaker lives with his personal experience, John makes these stories relevant for us today.  

Helen Rowlands, former Head of Education, Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre, Birmingham, UK, says:

This exploration of Quaker identity shows how modern Quaker ways have developed out of, but are clearly rooted in, the lives of earlier generations. It is engaging and very readable. John Lampen gives frequent examples of real
Quakers seeking to follow ‘guidance’. There are some familiar stories, and some quite tantalising glimpses into less well-known characters which left me wanting to know more. They illustrate how today’s Quaker practice is
frequently on a continuum with the past, but at other times breaks significantly with tradition – and it is helpful to be aware of which is which, and why. A worthwhile read for anyone wanting to understand early 21st century (British) Quakers!

ISBN/Price: 978-1-78535-834-0 (Paperback) £6.99 / $10.95 80 pages.

Hiking Naked – A Quaker Woman’s Search for Balance (Homebound Publications, 2017) is a personal narrative of what Iris Graville learned in the remote mountain village of Stehekin, WA, about work, community, and leadings of the Spirit (as well as dealing with six feet of snow in the winter, ordering groceries by mail, and living without a telephone).

Available in paperback, e-book, and audiobook. 978-1-938846-84-7

What does prayer mean to you?

Explore different ideas and share them with others in this entertaining and thought-provoking game for 2–8 players

Play time – about 20 minutes

Jennifer Kavanagh (Originator) is a Quaker writer, retreat leader and associate tutor at Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre. She is also the creator of Journey Home game.

The idea for this game came from the need for something different for a workshop session on prayer. It has been played by a variety of ecumenical groups at away days and more informal gatherings, including by people who say they “don’t do prayer”!

Individual cards can also be used as tools for personal reflection.

£1 per game is given to Woodbrooke.

“It was such a great way to get a sense of where everyone was coming from – and also I think very helpful for us to hear ourselves saying aloud why certain words spoke to us, and why certain others not. More often we have a silent internal conversation, so it was a very good way of opening out.” Trish

“It was wonderful to have your game at our event today. It certainly led to a lot of deep sharing and the activities in the afternoon when we were told to ‘play’ certainly seem to have been influenced by the game in the morning.” Julia

Click here to order the Prayer Game

Quaker Press of FGC is pleased to announce its first new release in almost four years – Debbie Humphries’ Seeds that Change the World: Essays on Quakerism, Spirituality, Faith, and Culture.

The Quaker tradition at its best is a practice-based religious path that embodies the ability to hold paradoxical truths with deep love and a minimum of hierarchy. Each of these elements is an important capability, that the world as a whole needs today. These capacities are developed through regular exercise of both individual and corporate spiritual practices, that can be taught and strengthened. The ongoing divisions and separations among us speak to our failure to live up to our potential. As stewards of this tradition, we need to better embody the truths of the Quaker tradition.

With a foreword by Diane Randall, Humphries’ book helps readers do just that by exploring Soul Time, Our Hope for a New Life, Four Pillars of Meeting for Business, Embracing Wholeness in the World, Exploring the Unwritten Rules of Waiting Worship, Why the World Needs Quakerism and more.

Of Seeds that Change the World, Lloyd Lee Wilson says “In these essays, Humphries enters the long-standing debate among Quakers as to whether Friends have anything distinctive to offer the contemporary world. Her conclusion: Yes!”
“Part spiritual autobiography, part critique of the white middle class, this collection of essays offers deep insights into the unique constellation of gifts of Quaker faith and practice, and pleads for Friends to better understand and embrace our radical tradition,” writes Marty Grundy.

Debbie Humphries came to Quakerism in the early 1990s after growing up Mormon. Debbie has travelled in the ministry among Quakers since 2004 under the care of Hartford Monthly Meeting, carrying a concern for the spiritual health and vitality of the Religious Society of Friends.

Paperback: ISBN 978-0-9993823-0-1, $14.95 e-book: ISBN 978-0-9993823-1-8, $9.95
Order at QuakerBooks.org (http://bit.ly/SeedsThatChange) or through
Ingram Content Group (for booksellers)

An exploration of the oneness at the heart of the universe

Publishing 24th November 2017 by Christian Alternative Books (imprint of John Hunt Publishing Ltd) – Heart of Oneness – a little book of connection by Jennifer Kavanagh.

ISBN: 978-1-78535-685-8 (Paperback) £6.99 $10.95
EISBN: 978-1-78535-686-5 (e-book) £3.99 $5.99

Our screens and newsfeeds are full of violent images; our world is full of poverty, inequality and injustice. We find it hard to live together, in our families, communities, or in the world at large. At the same time, we are surrounded by the beauty of the natural world, and daily life is full of acts of compassion, kindness, friendship and love. How do we reconcile these differences? What does the universe, with its countless examples of mutuality, have to teach us? Science, religion and our own experience teaches us that the whole of creation is a web of interconnectedness.
This book explores the oneness at the heart of existence – and what this means for how we act in the world.

A wise and welcome reminder of the mutuality and interconnectedness at the heart of the universe. Richard Rohr, Center for Action and Contemplation

Her new book is a gorgeous treatise of practical mysticism, a liberating testimony to the truth and reality of oneness, interconnectedness and personal power amidst the divides, difficulties and traumas of today’s world. Rev Dr Lynne Sedgmore OBE

Jennifer Kavanagh worked in publishing for nearly thirty years, the last fourteen as an independent literary agent. Jennifer contributes regularly to the Quaker press, and is an associate tutor at Woodbrooke Quaker study centre. She has published 8 books of non-fiction and one novel.

(All are published by different imprints of John Hunt Publishing.)

She lives in London.

The Newcomers: Finding Refuge, Friendship, and Hope in an American Classroom
by Helen Thorpe

From an award-winning, “meticulously observant” (The New Yorker) writer comes a powerful and moving account of how refugee teenagers at a Denver public high school learn English and become Americans.

The Newcomers follows the lives of twenty-two immigrant teenagers throughout the course of the 2015-2016 school year as they land at South High School in Denver, Colorado, in an English Language Acquisition class created specifically for them. Speaking no English, unfamiliar with American culture, their stories are poignant and remarkable as they face the enormous challenge of adapting. These newcomers, from fourteen to nineteen years old, come from nations convulsed by drought or famine or war. Many come directly from refugee camps, after experiencing dire forms of cataclysm. Some arrive alone, having left or lost every other member of their original family.

At the center of The Newcomers is Mr. Williams, the dedicated and endlessly resourceful teacher of South’s very beginner English Language Acquisition class. If Mr. Williams does his job right, the newcomers will leave his class at the end of the school year with basic English skills and new confidence, their foundation for becoming Americans and finding a place in their new home.

With the US at a political crossroads around questions of immigration, multiculturalism, and America’s role on the global stage, Helen Thorpe presents a fresh and nuanced perspective. The Newcomers is a transformative take on these timely, important issues.

6 x 9 inch, 416 p. hardback
ISBN: 9781416538981
Cost: $28.00

This book can be ordered directly through Simon & Schuster

Rich or poor. They want you to be a prisoner.

Mike Brooks’ debut novel is an adventure story set in a dystopian future in which our taste for branding, consumerism and artificial reality is boundless. In /The Machine Society/, he weaves together psychological insight, philosophical reflection and spiritual inquiry to give us a novel that is both a deep satire on modern life and a rich metaphor for our longing to find inner peace. Dean Rogers lives in the Perimeter of New London, holding down a soul-destroying job, surrounded by people who have lost the will to communicate. He is afraid his debts will spiral out of control, resulting in him being cast out of the city, outside of the Security Wall. Meanwhile, in the Better Life Complex, New London’s rich elite live in plastic luxury, unaware of the sinister secrets that underpin their world. /The Machine Society/ is an original and intelligent sci-fi thriller, and a heartfelt rally cry for the soul’s liberation.

Author Bio
Mike Brooks was born in Edinburgh, grew up in south Manchester, and now lives in London. After completing a psychology degree at the University of Central Lancashire, he trained as a journalist and went on to work for various newspapers and publications in Manchester, Yorkshire and London. He is currently the editor and communications manager for an international development agency.

Endorsements
A thoroughly gripping and highly intelligent novel, with a wholly plausible, perfectly imagined future – a warning of where present cultural trends may take us – all underpinned with philosophical speculations on the nature of freedom.
Steve Taylor, author of The Fall and Back to Sanity

Distributed to the trade by National Book Network in US; by Orca Marston in UK
Publisher contact: catherine@jhpbooks.net
http://cosmicegg-books.com

Publication Date
October 2016
Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-78535-252-2
$16.95 | £10.99
8.5×5.5 inches | 216×140 mm
224PP

e-book
ISBN: 978-1-78535-253-9
$7.99 | £4.99

Library of Congress 2016934226

What future for Quakerism?

Derek Guiton’s The Beyond Within is a courteous, plain-speaking critique of the militant strand within Quaker non-theism which advocates a future for Britain Yearly Meeting based on “radical religious humanism,” a form of atheism. Written as a commentary on David Boulton’s Through a Glass Darkly, it focuses on three themes which are central to the continuing crisis in British Quakerism − inclusivity, transcendence, and religious language. Affirming that for Quakers, transcendence and immanence are indivisible, this short work underlines the importance of the “mystical” at the heart of Quaker worship and practice. The Beyond Within is available from Feedaread.com, price £7.00 exc. postage, and from the Quaker Centre Bookshop.