A New Season
Hitting midlife can bring angst, lots of it. Dale Hanson Bourke’s Second Calling: Finding Passion and Purpose for the Rest of Your Life will speak to women who are entering the second half of life and aren’t too happy about it. Hanson Bourke records her personal journey from feeling “washed up” to energized and ready to embrace God’s calling for the next phase. The best may be yet to come. Integrity Publishers.
Civic Resistance
Two must-have publications from the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict: How Freedom is Won: From Civic Resistance to Durable Democracy and People Power Primed. Both look at the impact of “people power”—how civilian-based nonviolent resistance is more effective in securing democracy than violence or terrorism. The former provides fascinating stats on countries’ transition from authoritarian rule to democracy. www.nonviolent-conflict.org.
Places of Belonging
In Befriending the Stranger, beloved l’Arche founder Jean Vanier takes up the topic of community—how can we create spaces of sharing, peace, and compassion? The book’s six chapters were originally presentations Vanier made to a group of l’Arche assistants from communities in Latin America and the Caribbean, but the words and themes apply to any community. As he writes, the renewal of the church and the unity of Christians will come as we serve and befriend those who appear to us as strange, lonely, or unwanted. Eerdmans.
Walking Through Minefields
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