Consider the Courage of Celebrating Hanukkah with Jewish Families This Year

(Photo used with permission.)

With a worldwide rise in antisemitism,
the Hanukkah lights can become community affirmations

THIS WEEK, WE ARE WELCOMING TEN OF OUR MANY JEWISH WRITERSwho are sharing personal reflections on celebrating Hanukkah in 2023.

Of course, Jewish families know that Hanukkah is a relatively minor festival each year, heightened across the U.S. because of its proximity with Christmas. “It’s not the Jewish Christmas,” Jews tell non-Jewish friends each December. “Hanukkah is a celebration of religious freedom.”

And that’s why, this year, many non-Jews are adding—in the face of a horrifying rise in hate crimes: “Community affirmations of our Jewish neighbors are important, especially as we begin to see the lights of Hanukkah appear in windows.”

Since our founding in 2007, our publishing house has been proud to produce books with men and women from many different faith traditions, including two dozen Jewish writers. Over the past week, 10 of those Jewish writers sent us personal notes about the deep resonance of Hanukkah this year. Please, read this cover story and share it with friends as a way to spread a little peace and hope and affirmation of our religious diversity, this week. If you want to take a further step, we have added links to these authors’ books. Consider expressing your own affirmation of our religious diversity by giving a friend or loved one a book by one of these authors—or by purchasing one of their books for your own enjoyment.

Note: Spellings vary as writers refer to the holiday.

Rabbi Jack Riemer

Where is the miracle in the Hanukkah story? That the Jewish people have held onto the Hanukkah story for 2,100 years, transmitting it from generation to generation, in one country after another, when they had so many opportunities to abandon it; when they were offered both the carrot and the stick, rewards if they gave it up and threats if they did not; that the Jewish people held onto this holiday for 2,100 years—that is the miracle. And that we still have it now, that we are right now about to transmit it to the next generation, to those who will come after us—that is the miracle.

It is a miracle that more 20 centuries after the Hanukkah story happened, we are still here, still telling the tale, still transmitting it to a new generation which, in turn and with God’s help, will tell the tale to those who will come after them. Therefore, let us celebrate Hanukkah together this year, with a whole and a happy heart.

Rabbi Jack Riemer often is referred to as a “dean of preachers” among Jewish clergy, because he has taught and mentored so many of his colleagues. You can enjoy his most memorable holiday messages in his book, Finding God in Unexpected Places: Wisdom for Everyone from the Jewish TraditionHis newest book is Duets on Psalms.


Lynne Golodner

I agree that publicizing the miracle aspect of Hanukkah is even more important this year. In response to the catastrophic rise in antisemitism, especially since the Oct. 7th attack on Israel, I have pulled my Jewish star necklaces out of my jewelry box and started wearing them again. I’ve also gotten more involved in my synagogue and Jewish community. I believe the best way to combat senseless Jew-hatred is to be the proudest Jewish person I can be, publicly and privately—to infuse my life with Jewish practice and ritual.

And I am even more committed than ever to my author brand, which focuses on creating compelling Jewish characters. I’ve always lit a bunch of menorahs in the window every night of Hanukkah, and this year will be no different. What is different is that being Jewish is incredibly special, handed down over generations, a long legacy of prioritizing life, celebration and love. I am very proud to be Jewish!

Lynne Golodner is a leading journalist, author and educator who coaches other writers and creative professionals. Learn more at her website LynneGolodner.com—and enjoy an example of her “compelling Jewish characters” in her new novel, Woman of ValorAmong her many books is an exploration of interfaith food traditions in The Flavors of Faith: Holy Breads.


Rabbi Lenore Bohm

In my decades of celebrating Chanukah, I have never felt such a great need to see and relish the glowing lights of the Chanukah menorah. With deep longing, I seek to be reminded that we can create light in darkness and that we can increase light over time by lighting one additional candle for each of Chanukah’s eight nights.

It will certainly be a more solemn Chanukah celebration this year for many in the Jewish community. We remain shattered by the events of October 7 and anguished by violence that continues in and around our beloved Israel. We give thanks for the released hostages and pray that each one remaining in captivity will be reunited with family and friends before or during Chanukah. May Israel know true peace and security and may the Palestinian people gain freedom to choose worthy leaders who prioritize their people’s flourishing.

Rabbi Lenore Bohm is known as a pioneering Jewish leader, among the first women to be ordained. Today, she says, “I am thrilled that now there are over 1,500 women rabbis including almost 50 ordained under Orthodox auspices.” She also is known as a Jewish educator, including her book, Torah Tutor: A Contemporary Torah Study Guide.


Rabbi Joseph Krakoff

In the Chanukah story, a small group of individuals known as the Maccabees rose up to resist the Greek culture that was forcefully imposed on the Jews by Antiochus Epiphanes during the 2nd century BCE. While some Jews willingly assimilated so they could more comfortably co-exist within the majority culture, a battle was waged by Jewish traditionalists to preserve the beautiful rituals and distinctive traditions that were the heart and soul of Jewish living. At the crux of the Chanukah narrative is the lesson that defending the right to practice Judaism freely and proudly is at the core of our ability to survive as a people. The eight-day holiday encourages and empowers each of us to do everything in our power to celebrate our differences while affirming the joy associated with being uniquely Jewish.

In this time of overwhelming challenge and struggle against growing antisemitism and the evil perpetuated on October 7 and every day since, we need to even more vigorously support and defend the Jewish right to practice freely in this country, in Israel and across the globe. May the brilliant lights of the Hanukkah menorah, this year more than ever before, remind us of our human responsibility to bring increased light into the world especially during our darkest days and when we all need to see and feel it the most.

Rabbi Joseph H. Krakoff is CEO of the Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network. He also is co-creator of Never Long Enough, a unique book about the end of life, along with artist Dr. Michelle Y. Sider. This “picture book” invites families to reflect on the milestones of life either before or after the death of a loved one.


Howard Brown

We are not alone. That’s the affirmation that runs throughout Jewish history and is a key part of the Hanukkah story that has been preserved and handed down to us through the millennia. This also is a central truth understood by survivors around the world—certainly by survivors of stage IV cancer like me as well as survivors of traumas in so many forms, especially now.

We are not alone.

As a lifelong volunteer in Jewish leadership, I have never seen our community so alarmed by the hundreds of antisemitic threats documented by law-enforcement officials—and the thousands more that pass without such official notice in communities across the U.S. and around the world. The alarming rise in antisemitism makes us especially aware and thankful for friends, neighbors and co-workers who express their support. As Jewish families set out our candles this year—and shine our light into the darkness of this world—it takes courage and commitment as we affirm religious freedom for all. Perhaps, this year, you can encourage a friend or neighbor by reminding them:

We are not alone.

Howard Brown is a two-time stage IV cancer survivor, an early Silicon Valley entrepreneur and an active interfaith peacemaker. Visit ShiningBrightly.comto join the thousands of listeners to his weekly podcast. And order a copy of his memoir, Shining Brightlyfor friends who may need a bit of inspiration in this holiday season.


Suzy Farbman

Lighting candles on Chanukah is a way to celebrate and express gratitude for my ancestors and for 3,000-plus years of Judaism. With the amount of antisemitism currently being demonstrated worldwide, observing Chanukah this year is also a personal expression of solidarity for Jewish people everywhere.

Suzy Farbman is a nationally known journalist who is one of the most popular columnists in ReadTheSpirit magazine. She shares the inspiring and often funny story of her successful battle with cancer in GodSignsand celebrates her love of the fine arts in Detroit’s Cass Corridor and Beyond: Adventures of an Art Collector.


Bobbie Lewis

For me, Chanukah has a more poignant meaning this year, because the original Chanukah marked the victory of the Jews in Judea (an area that later came to be called Palestine) to be free from domination by the larger surrounding culture (the Assyrian Greeks). And so it is today. Israel is battling for the right to exist as a Jewish state—the only one in the world.

Bobbie Lewis—a past president of WISDOM and contributor to the Friendship & Faith collection (with a piece about Chanukah!)—is a retired public relations professional and a contributing writer for the Detroit Jewish News.


Joe Lewis

When I was young (in England) Chanukah wasn’t an orgy of presents to compete with Christmas. Instead, we kids would pay a visit to aunts and uncles and get a few coins as “Chanukah gelt”—Chanukah cash. Coins represent the independence of a sovereign nation, and the Maccabees minted their own currency, so coins are a reminder of our people’s independence long ago and—since the establishment of the State of Israel—the recovery of that independence.

Do today’s children know what coins are, I wonder? My schoolmates and I used to discuss the superiority of the twelve-penny shilling, so easy to divide by 2, 3, 4 and 6, over currency of other countries; we’d collect pennies from bygone kings and queens, every coin a history lesson; and a sixpenny bit or a threepenny bit in the hand conjured images of a spree at the sweet shop (candy store).

Joe Lewis is Bobbie Lewis’s husband and, among his many professional pursuits, taught generations of non-Hebrew-speaking men and women to enjoy a deeper participation in Jewish rituals, like the Passover seder, through his Singlish adaptations that he created and published. We thank Joe especially for his many years of support for our interfaith community of writers.


Rabbi Bob Alper

Our festival of lights comes at a time when we feel enveloped by the darkness of fear and overwhelming sadness. This year’s celebration of Chanukah reminds me of Rilke’s words: Even in the worst of times would you not still then have your childhood, that precious, kingly possession, that treasure house of memories? Turn your attention thither. Try to raise the submerged sensations of that ample past.”

And so, for eight nights, as we light our menorah, for a few sweet moments I will once again be little Bobby Alper, standing in the dining room of our home at 89 University Avenue in Providence, our faded Chanukah banner hung across the door and warm orange candle wax dripping on my hand. For a few moments I’ll return to that chamber of happy expectation.

For a few precious moments.

Rabbi Bob Alper is the only practicing rabbi who tours nationally as a standup comic, famous for organizing interfaith comedy revues. You can enjoy more of Bob Alper’s wit and wisdom in his memoirs, Life Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This and Thanks. I Needed That.


Brenda Rosenberg

Celebrating Hanukkah, the Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem by the Maccabees (a group of Jewish rebel warriors) and the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem is always a bittersweet time for me. My brother died on the first night of Hanukkah, 2020. My mother died on the last night of Hanukkah,1968. This year it will be even more emotionally challenging. October 7 in Israel was the most brutal attack on Jews since the Holocaust has left me shaken and fearful to be a Jew in America.

As I light the candles on the family menorah, the same Menorah I lit as a child, I will be praying for another miracle, a miracle of replacing hate with hope, and to creating healing. I pray my efforts with my friends from multiple backgrounds, religions and ethnic groups will bring a new level of understanding, to move from the ghosts and shadows from the past and heal our traumas, working together to create a new and viable future together.

Brenda Rosenberg is a peace activist and educator after a long career in retail marketing. Ironically, she is the creator of the original “Santa Bear” that swept the nation in the 1980s. Her commitment to interfaith peacemaking includes books, such as Reuniting the Children of Abraham and Harnessing the Power of Tension.

In 1955, Brenda Rosenberg (right) watches along with her brother Sanford Allen Cohen as their mother Belle Cohen lights the family menorah in their Detroit home.

 

Two good deeds in one: Please, give the gift of reading this holiday season.

Support Our Community of Authors while Shining Your Light in Our World

WHETHER YOU CELEBRATE HANUKKAH or CHRISTMAS—we know you’re looking for gifts for family and friends. This year, please consider a “double gift.” By that we mean: Giving “our books” not only will light up the lives of your loved ones, as they read, but your purchases also will help support our community of writers, whose creative energies flow through these books.

A Cozy Mystery that Celebrates Community

Since her cozy mystery debuted in September, Laura Elizabeth has been experiencing a community of love and creativity with her readers. In a series of public events this fall, readers have welcomed Laura with hospitality gifts, including—at one deliciously creative book event—cookies individually decorated with themes related to the famous island in her novel.

How can a cozy mystery spark such creative affection? As you can read in more depth in this earlier column, millions of Americans enjoy cozies for their focus on ordinary men and women coming together to solve mysteries that threaten the peace and safety of their hometowns. Yes, these are crime novels, but these tales are told in a way that invites readers to meet a circle of memorable friends.

In Laura’s case, that welcoming “hometown” is the real-life, historic Daufuskie Island off the Atlantic coast of South Carolina. In a news story published by Laura’s alma matter, Babson College, readers learned that Laura’s love of Daufuskie involves more than her fondness for a lovely island. As the Babson news story explains: “She would like her readers to fall in love with this island, visit the real Daufuskie and help in the overall effort to keep the island community alive and well.”

But don’t simply take our word for it that her novel is a “great read.” Laura already has 20 reviews on her novel’s Amazon book page that collectively average a glowing 4.2 out of 5 stars.

One reviewer writes: It’s a “great little mystery that keeps you engaged and wanting to know more about such a magical place.”

Another reviewer says: “When I read the opening pages, I was suddenly standing outside of Books & Brew, a new bookshop on the island. And with that—an ocean breeze and a bookshop on a lazy, laid-back island—I was hooked. The inspiration for this fictional island comes from the author’s many visits to Daufuskie Island, off the coast of South Carolina. I’ve heard of it and seen the signs for the ferry on my visits to Hilton Head, but never made it across the water to visit. Now I finally have, thanks to this Book No. 1 in Laura Elizabeth’s new mystery series.”

So, considering ordering Laura Elizabeth’s novel from Amazon in paperback or hardcover, right now.


Lessons in Resiliency that are More Timely than Ever

Click on these delicious cookies made to look like the cover of Howard Brown’s Shining Brightly to visit the book’s Amazon page.

There’s something very “tasty” about our newer books! We say that because Laura Elizabeth is not alone in discovering cookie-shaped representations of her book. Howard Brown also connected with a fan who created book-cover cookies to celebrate his inspiring memoir, Shining BrightlyWe shared that delicious story earlier.

But this book has an even more substantial set of lessons to share—especially as we approach Hanukkah, the festival of lights and religious freedom. Right now, readers around the world are discovering the very timely appeal of Howard’s book as war in the Middle East is driving the level of hate crimes—especially antisemitic crimes—to an all-time high. Howard’s role as a Jewish peacemaker—and as a veteran in grassroots organizing to build healthy interfaith relationships—is a practical model for all of us, whatever our faith may be.

In fact, his book comes with links to download free guides for individual reflection and group discussion on “Interfaith Bridge Building: Why do this work?” and “Mentorship: Why should we become mentors?” Given the level of violence and the rising tide of hate crimes against Jews as well as Arabs and Muslims, community leaders are searching for fresh resources to spark community conversations.

Of course, as our regular readers know: Rediscovering our resilience comes in many forms. Howard also is internationally known as a two-time stage IV cancer survivor so his memoir is a burst of bright light for any friend or family member facing those fears right now.

Once again, don’t simply take our word for it! Since his book was published, Howard has been welcoming what he calls “raving fans” who express their enthusiasm by sending him photographs of themselves holding the book that has inspired them. Here’s an earlier story we published about that.

So, please consider ordering Shining Brightly from Amazon in paperback or hardcover, right now.


Click on this photo of George A. Mason enjoying ‘The Word Made Fresh’ to visit the book’s Walmart page.

A Year of Inspirational Reading

When a Child is born—a ray of hope flickers across the sky.” So begins one of the first chapters in George A. Mason’s inspiring new The Word Made Fresh: Preaching God’s Love for Every Bodyavailable in paperback and hardcover from Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Amazon and other retailers as well.

For the world’s more than 2 billion Christians, each “year” begins not in January but with Advent, the season of Christmas—so it is appropriate that one of the Rev. George A. Mason’s most memorable Christmas Eve sermons appears in the opening pages of this collection.

For three decades, Mason’s weekly messages have inspired those who attend Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, as well as George’s followers nationwide. Now, this unique multimedia book collects 80 of George’s most memorable and thought-provoking sermons along with links to videos of many of them. This collection covers timely themes ranging from the welcoming love of God and the basics of the Christian faith to such vital issues as the stewardship of our planet, the importance of interfaith relationships, the need to include the most vulnerable in our community life, and the importance of peacemaking.

Greg Garrett, another best-selling Christian author, writes in his preface, “George Mason is one of the Christian world’s most accomplished preachers and pastors. A writer, teacher, activist, and media figure, during thirty-plus years as senior pastor at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, he modeled a Christian love of and advocacy for the marginalized, the disdained, the set aside, that feels absolutely like the Jesus I know, love, and serve.”

Care to learn more? In June, we published this story about the many friends of George A. Mason who contributed to organizing and publishing this book.

So, please consider ordering The Word Made Fresh: Preaching God’s Love for Every Body in paperback or hardcover, right now.


Welcoming a Saint into our Midst

That’s what it feels like to read the story of the courageous Dr. Gustavo Parajón, whose life story is told in Healing the World.

We often refer to the global reach of our community of authors—and their inspiring books. That’s certainly true of Healing the World. Confirmation of that worldwide impact came earlier this year when we received a salute from the esteemed 160-year-old Church Times in London.

We have known—since co-authors Daniel Buttry and Dámaris Albuquerque approached us about this project—that a major biography of international peacemaker and public-health pioneer Gustavo Parajón would bring much-needed good news in our troubled world.

“This long-awaited biography charts his achievements … and has real value in bringing his life of selfless dedication to public notice,” the Rev. Malcolm Doney wrote in his Church Times review of the book. Downey is well known in the UK as an author and a contributor to BBC Radio 2’s Pause for Thought and Radio 4’s Something Understood. He also has been involved in helping with the Greenbelt Festival, where Parajón spoke. In his review, Doney noted: “Parajón’s enhanced international profile brought visits from celebrities such as the singers Kris Kristoffersen, Bruce Cockburn, and Bono. Former-President Carter came, too. Parajón became a popular speaker at the Greenbelt Festival.”

In a world ravaged by crises, this inspiring biography of Nicaraguan public health pioneer and peacemaker Gustavo Parajón encourages readers to courageously reach out to the world’s neediest people. From his family, Parajón inherited a deep Christian faith that made him a fearless example of how to navigate dangerous conflicts and public health crises. Gustavo described his mission as simply following the example of Jesus, but he did so in a unique, tireless and effective way.

Care to learn more? We published this story about the many friends of Gustavo Parajón who contributed to organizing and publishing this book.

So, finally, please consider ordering Healing the World in paperback or hardcover, right now.

Where can we find St. Nicholas this December? Try the Virginia Theological Seminary

World’s Largest St. Nicholas Database Is Moving

Virginia Theological Seminary’s exhibit is ready for the December 6 Feast of St. Nicholas …

… followed by a December 17 dedication

By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of ReadTheSpirit Magazine

Because our Front Edge Publishing is based in Michigan, we have enjoyed a bit of home-state pride in Carol Myers’ creation of the world’s largest St. Nicholas database, operating out of her home in Holland, Michigan. So, each year, it’s a ReadTheSpirit tradition to publish a story—well before St. Nicholas Day on December 6—reminding readers to visit the online resources Carol has compiled at the St. Nicholas Center website. Her Center is packed with fun for history buffs, church leaders, teachers, parents—and anyone who wants to learn more about the global impact of the saint behind our pop-culture Santa Claus.

Her Center even shares tasty recipes—and we know that our readers love a good recipe!

This year, we are joining with the Myers—both Carol and also her husband, the best-selling author of psychology textbooks David Myers—as they are celebrating their historic effort to move all of these St. Nicholas resources to a permanent, endowed home at the Virginia Theological Seminary.

St. Nicholas: ‘A Subversive Saint … of Justice’

This is a project as big as the database itself and it contains many moving parts that have been unfolding over the years.

And, first, to reassure our readers who know Carol personally and have interacted with her over the decades: Don’t worry! Carol isn’t leaving her role at the helm of the website immediately. She and the Virginia Theological Seminary team are planning a multi-year transition.

This week, Carol explained some of those moving parts for us. In a Q&A interview about this momentous move, she said:

The partnership with VTS has three parts: 1) the website, 2) the “Who Is St. Nicholas?” Exhibit, and 3) the St. Nicholas Faith & Justice Center.

The Faith & Justice Center is still in the formative stage. The director will be the soon-to-be-appointed Professor of Ethics. St. Nicholas, I always say, is a subversive saint. Folks think he’s about sentimental gift-giving. He’s actually about justice—particularly for the vulnerable and oppressed. His stories and legends relate to contemporary justice issues: human trafficking, hunger, mass incarceration, death penalty, inequality. The center will help form students and others for advocacy, familiarize students with Episcopal Church resources (such as Episcopal Relief & Development, the Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, Episcopal Public Policy Network) and beyond (such as Bread for the World), and take advantage of the seminary’s proximity to our nation’s capital.

The website has grown beyond anything I could have imagined back when it launched in 2002. Each year, I get correspondence from many of the million-plus visitors to our website. People ask all kinds of questions! St. Nicholas experts in Europe tell me my site is where they send people to learn about St. Nicholas. So many artists, writers, photographers, and others have shared their material, making the site as rich as it is.

I would have run out of new ideas years ago. I’ve worked hard to provide appropriate material for people across the Christian spectrum; the site serves Catholics, both Roman and Eastern Rite, Orthodox, Anglicans and other Main-line Protestants, and more conservative Evangelicals, too. It’s been an amazing and rewarding journey.

Finding a ‘middle way’ to bring our world’s people together

I asked Carol why she and David chose Virginia Theological Seminary for this generous, endowed gift and she replied that this was a relationship that had grown over time—and seemed especially fitting because the seminary already has an extensive digital outreach.

Carol said:

Virginia Theological Seminary does, I believe, more with digital formation of this kind than anyone else, anywhere.

We chose VTS also because the Episcopal Church offers a “middle way” that is accessible to Christians across a broad spectrum. That’s important to me as the site’s visitors come from across the whole Christian spectrum. Plus, I’m also an Episcopalian so it is a place that’s “home” to me, too. Most importantly, their warm embrace of this idea was an enormous joy and relief.

I also know these resources are in stable hands. VTS, unlike so many seminaries today, is secure financially, focused on the future, not on survival. It has just completed celebrating its bicentenary with a completely renovated campus, positioned to lead in the future.

The way the Dean and President Ian Markham has embraced St. Nicholas for the seminary is beyond anything I could have ever hoped or dreamed. My St. Nicholas has found a home there that goes way beyond just the website itself. I can’t say enough how significant and wonderful this is.

The exhibit answers the question: ‘Who is St. Nicholas?’

Carol described the exhibit this way:

Our St. Nicholas Exhibit opened at St. James Cathedral, Chicago, in 2008. The museum-quality exhibit was meant to be traveling, though due to size and expense it didn’t travel very much. VTS hosted the traveling exhibit in 2019 to kick-off our partnership for the website. When the exhibit was there, they fell in love with it and decided to find a way to have it permanently installed at the seminary. It is now in the completely renovated Welcome Center.

Dean Ian Markham said, “Unlike a generic Welcome Center found at other graduate schools, this one seeks to reflect the distinctive values of VTS. As one admires the extraordinary exhibits, the guest learns that this is a place focused on the Incarnation. Both exhibits are linked with Christmas. We are a Christmas people trusting that God is made manifest in the babe from Bethlehem.” The Welcome Center also has a creche gallery.

The exhibit, “Who Is St. Nicholas?” tells the St. Nicholas story with text and artifacts from all over the world. It shows him as a saint, introduces his stories and legends, shows how he’s celebrated around the world through faith traditions and folk customs.

It also illustrates Santa’s development. There are hands-on activities for all ages—rubbings, miter-folding and St. Nicholas symbol puzzle pieces for younger visitors. An interactive panel identifies the 32 stories depicted in a large story icon painting. The exhibit is fun, festive and educational for all ages.

Here’s another webpage where your readers can see a few more of the items in the exhibit.

Why did the Myers decide St. Nicholas should make this major move?

Carol said:

When we reach a certain age it’s necessary to make plans for the future. I really wanted the resources that make up St. Nicholas Center to continue to be available for families, churches, and schools.

I’m 80 now and it was important to try to find a home for the site that would give it an ongoing, secure future. The site launched in 2002 and I figured I’d do it through my 60s, not sure I’d want to continue in my 70s. Well, as I was approaching the end of my 70s I knew it wouldn’t be wise to assume that I’d want or be able to keep on in my 80s. That said, I’m not yet ready to give up the site—there’s still so much to do! Recipes to make and photograph, crafts to add, churches to find, code to clean up before handing it over, and more.

December 17 VTS Dedication in Alexandria, Virginia

Finally, Carol explained:

Sunday, December 17, 2023, is the dedication and blessing date—and, yes, David and I will be there along with a number of folks that have been instrumental, helpful, and supportive over the years.

Episcopal Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is giving a lecture on The Way of Love, the Bishop of Virginia, Mark Stevenson, will do the dedication and blessing in the Welcome Center, followed by a service of Lessons and Carols in Immanuel Chapel.

Ready for Christmas? Kara Eidson’s Stay Awhile reminds us that hospitality is a divine pursuit

Click on the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page. You can get the paperback within a matter of days from Amazon or other online retailers—or you can begin reading the Kindle version within minutes.

How will your family celebrate this season?

Consider a Commitment to the Christian Value of Hospitality

By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of ReadTheSpirit magazine

Kara Eidson. This photo is from her video series that accompanies her new book, Stay Awhile, and is used with permission.

When I scheduled an interview with author Kara Eidson along with my daughter, the Rev. Megan Walther, a United Methodist pastor in Michigan—none of us could imagine what would erupt a few days later. We knew that the FBI was reporting religious and ethnic hate crimes at an all-time high across the U.S., but we had no idea that a horrific war would break out in the Middle East, driving hate crimes to even higher levels across the U.S.

Since then, our writers and authors have been working overtime trying to helpfully respond to the painful and often dangerous tensions in our communities, universities and workplaces. One example is this recent story by Howard Brown. Our many Jewish writers and readers already are talking about how their traditionally minor festival of Hanukkah will take on a much deeper resonance this year. In fact, as Editor of this magazine and publishing house, I have received scores of emails and other messages from our writers and readers around the world wondering how they can hope to bridge gaps among friends and neighbors ever again.

They will, of course. Hope and resilience that celebrates our religious and cultural diversity is the theme that has run through all 847 weekly issues of our online magazine. Collectively, our community of writers are specialists in resilience and hospitality. We know better times will come again.

But right now?

Right now, we’re all struggling every day to envision what hospitality looks like in our world.

As the Nativity season begins on November 15—

Now, as the “Christmas season” begins for the world’s 2.4-billion Christians—Kara’s focus on the timeless value of hospitality seems absolutely prophetic. This year’s season begins with the first day of the Eastern Orthodox Nativity Fast on November 15, 2023, and Western Christian Advent begins for the majority of Americans with the first Sunday in Advent on December 3, 2023.

I had invited Megan to join in the interview with Kara, who is the pastor of two churches in rural Kansas, so that Megan would add the perspective of grassroots ministry to our discussion of Kara’s new book, Stay Awhile—Advent Lessons in Divine HospitalityIn addition to her local pastoral ministry, Kara’s website illustrates her ongoing work as an author and educator.

So, how well will this new book appeal to everyday readers wanting a fresh source for individual reflection and group discussion in Advent? In our Zoom conversation, Megan served as our expert on that question. Megan told Kara:

“This is an intentionally pastoral book—and, by that, I mean you really know how to write in a way that draws people in. You tell stories we want to keep reading—and you lead us to just the right questions we should be asking. When I finished reading the book, as a pastor myself, I thought: I appreciate how practical this book is for Advent. I could hand this without fear to pretty much any parishioner and have them engage in a discussion about this book—and feel confident that it will go well and be helpful. You’ve set that up in the way you’ve so carefully organized everything in this book—even the accompanying videos. I appreciated those videos in particular. Today, I know people in congregations really enjoy having a video component to accompany their reading.”

At the end of this Cover Story, you can watch the first YouTube video in a series produced by Westminster John Knox (WJK Press) to accompany the various parts of Kara’s book.

Whatever your faith, hospitality also is a timeless American value

Kara appreciated our enthusiasm for her book and kept bringing our conversation back to her central theme: Hospitality.

And in emphasizing this value, she broadens her appeal beyond its religious tradition. She encourages all Americans to remember that hospitality is truly a heartland value. Even if you’re starting your Christmas season from a secular American cultural approach to life, Kara wants you to know:

Hospitality is as American as apple pie.

In that first video (below), Kara begins by telling us:

“I spent most of my childhood years living in the state of Kansas and I am a Midwestern girl through and through. And when you come to visit someone in a Midwestern home, or even in their office, and they want to chat with you, they say: ‘Pull up a chair and stay a while.’ That’s where we get the title for this book and the theme of this study. While there is a ton of worry and activity in the season leading up to Christmas day … the best part of Christmas isn’t all of the presents, not all of the wrappings, not all of the stuff—the best part of Christmas is when we gather together with people we love and we celebrate that love simply by staying awhile with one another.”

That’s also what Kara expressed in our three-way interview. On the day we talked, we had no idea what was about to erupt in our world. But, in hindsight, it’s crystal clear that Kara’s book points toward the perfect, timely theme for this holiday season: Coming together again as families and communities.

What’s in this book?

Stemming from values held deeply in the ancient world and translated through Jewish and Christian traditions, the timeless value of hospitality rests on the notion that there is divine purpose in welcoming people into our homes and communities. In religious traditions across various faiths, we are encouraged to recognize the divine spark in others. When welcoming a stranger, so the tradition goes, we might be welcoming a visitation of the divine. Jesus himself taught (look at Matthew 25) that when we welcome “the least of my brothers and sisters,” we are welcoming Jesus.

Kara’s book was written as a reminder of that rich tradition, which holds so much potential for healing communities especially in this era of intense polarization across America. One antidote to extreme division is relying on the timeless principles of wholehearted hospitality.

While that’s the core theme in Kara’s book, she divides her text into larger weekly and shorter daily reflections that readers can follow during Advent. If you are interested in exploring this season’s potential for building bridges with friends, neighbors and strangers in your community—then this book could be an inspiring companion on that journey.

Kara begins each week with readings from both the Hebrew scriptures, reaching into the Jewish roots of concern for our communities, and also from the Gospel stories of Jesus’s life. All along the way, she poses questions for personal reflection or small-group discussion.

So many practical ideas for your congregation

If readers are involved in the life of a congregation, Kara has included a section at the end of her book describing some of the creative ideas she has used during Advent worship services. Those resources include prayers adults can share with children—as well as prayers that can be used during the Christian custom of lighting “Advent candles” in the weeks before Christmas.

One idea that struck Megan as especially inviting is asking people in the community to bring in something from their home—perhaps an actual table setting—to be placed on a collective community table that will expand throughout Advent. More than simply showing off a table setting, Kara invites people to think of meaningful family stories they can share that are associated with these objects from their home.

“That’s one of the ideas in the Worship Arts section of your book that really interested me,” Megan said. “I can see that idea working well in small churches and also it could be adapted for larger churches like ours. That’s an idea I may borrow from your book. Can you tell me more about how you developed that idea?”

“This idea comes from some times in the past when I’ve invited people to bring objects from home into the church, along with the stories that accompany those objects—to share as part of sermon sermon series I’ve done,” Kara said. “I remember one series we did in which people brought in tabletop clocks, along with their stories. I’ve also had people bring in crafts they are making, while those crafts are still in progress, then people took them home—and brought them back the next week. Looking at those crafts, over time, we could those pieces grow and transform as people completed them. It was a powerful illustration of transformation over time. Then, for Advent, I like the idea of bringing in a table setting, or perhaps a serving piece, like a bowl, that’s been in their family. Together, these pieces could be arranged along a table—a table that illustrates hospitality.”

“I like that,” Megan said, “and especially the stories that come with those pieces.”

“Right,” Kara said. “There are so many ways to share those stories. You can put them in a weekly newsletter. You can print them on paper or in a booklet. People can tell their stories in a program.”

“And, I have to say: That’s just one of so many ideas in this book that I want to remember and borrow in the future,” Megan said.

So, this short book is both a toolbox of useful reflections, questions and prayers for your journey through Advent—and also a reminder that one of the truly divine values in the Christian tradition is hospitality.

Now more than ever, our world would be a better place if more of us who are involved in Christian communities remembered and embraced that timeless call to welcome and care for the whole world.

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Our Hearts Are Heavy, but We Must Keep Sharing Our Light with Others

That’s me with the late Samantha Woll (in the middle) and Kari Alterman, then-Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Detroit, at an event in 2014 promoting peace and combatting antisemitism. At that time, Samantha was an AJC board member and I was president of the board.

‘They hate me—but they don’t even know me.’

By HOWARD BROWN
Author of Shining Brightly

Our world is imploding and exploding—all at the same time.

Where I live in the Midwest, we still are reeling from the trauma of two vulnerable neighbors murdered in their homes—and, yes, we are mourning them like true neighbors.

On October 14 near Chicago, 6-year-old Wadea al-Fayoume was brutally killed (and his mother Hanaan Shahin was severely injured) by an Islamophobic landlord—and on October 21 my friend Samantha Woll, a prominent Jewish and interfaith leader in Michigan, was murdered in her Detroit home.

Initially, Samantha’s death was reported around the world as a potential antisemitic hate crime, since religious and racial hate crimes are at an all time high in the United States. Detroit Police investigators now say the crime likely was not a hate crime—but the shockwave has convulsed the entire southeast Michigan interfaith community, nevertheless.

Samantha was “our friend,” so many of our Christian, Muslim, Hindu and other neighbors have been publicly saying in notes of sorrow and tribute, ever since her death.

One of our mutual friends—the Rev. Kenneth Flowers, who is nationally known as one of Detroit’s most influential African-American pastors—told The Detroit Free Press this weekend:

“We were just devastated,” Flowers, whose work has been influenced by Coretta Scott King, said of Woll. “She left a legacy of bringing people together, whether it was Blacks and Jews, Muslims and Jews. … She was just a loving person, a kind person, someone who I could see as a major leader of Black Jewish relations going forward. It’s just a tragedy, but I believe her light will shine again because when we come together, Blacks and Jews and Muslims and Jews, it will cause her light to illuminate.” 

Our unique interfaith community is respected around the world because of our remarkable diversity, originally fueled in the early 20th century by the auto industry. We are known for our long history of building resilient, long-lasting relationships. One reason so many people knew Samantha across this region was that she served as the board president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue in Detroit.

In the wake of Samantha’s death, public gatherings in her memory have drawn crowds of people from every race and religious background. Those gatherings have included dozens of writers who have contributed to www.ReadTheSpirit.com magazine, and Front Edge Publishing books, over the past 16 years.

So, this week, all of our ReadTheSpirit community of readers and writers are taking a moment from our regular weekly coverage to reflect on the challenge we all face of confronting hate—and renewing our hope and constructive community relationships even in the midst of horror, violence and sorrow.

Before Samantha’s death, I already had decided to devote the 50th episode of my Shining Brightly podcast to this theme. The ongoing wars between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Gaza— overlaid with alarming FBI reports of the all-time-high level of hate crimes across the U.S.—have been a spiritual, emotional and moral weight on my shoulders.

Perhaps your heart is heavy, too.

You can listen to my reflection, below, in my Podcast Episode 50, as I talk through these challenges and offer some helpful suggestions for re-engaging in our vitally important interfaith work.

Also, today, please look below for several of the resources our community of writers have published, as we have worked together for many years.

Please consider ordering one of those books to lighten your heart, this week (all of them are inspiring and packed with constructive ideas). And please share this column with friends via social media to spread this light just a little farther into our often all-too-dark world.

Here’s Podcast No. 50:

Remember, I recorded this message before Samantha’s death, but ReadTheSpirit Editor David Crumm nevertheless urged me to share it as part of this special issue today:

.

And Now, Please Take a Step With Us—
Shine a Little Light

As I said, above, please consider ordering one of the following books to lighten your heart—all of them include practical advice as well as inspiring stories. And please share this column with friends via social media to spread this light just a little farther into our often all-too-dark world.

Want to meet many of Samantha Woll’s friends? Many of the women with which Samantha worked in Michigan’s interfaith community contributed stories to Friendship and Faithwhich is available from Amazon in paperback or in an inexpensive Kindle edition as well that you can start reading right away. This is a book about making friends, which may be the most important thing you can do to make the world a better place, and transform your own life in the process.

Want to meet some of Samantha Woll’s spiritual heroes? Get a copy of Daniel Buttry’s Blessed Are the Peacemakers, which also is available in paperback and in Kindle. Buttry is an internationally known peacemaker and interfaith trainer who worked for many years in some of the world’s most dangerous hot spots—but Dan’s home base is the same southeast Michigan community where Samantha lived and worked. In Blessed Are the Peacemakers, Dan shares inspirational profiles of men and women whose light continues to shine every day in our world.

Want advice on “unplugging extremism”? Award-winning journalist Bill Tammeus lost a close relative in the 9/11 terrorist attacks and writes about the long legacy of such trauma in families in his memoir, Love, Loss and EnduranceThen, he concludes his book with a practical list of ways each of us can contribute to “unplugging extremism.”

Want help rediscovering your resilience after a traumatic loss? Mindy Corporon now is helping people nationwide cope with trauma and lingering grief. Her memoir is Healing a Shattered SoulMindy also is Founder and Co-CEO of Workplace Healing, which offers a series of programs and online tools to help people coping with these issues in their workplace.

And finally: Want to learn practical ways to keep shining your light—even in the face of catastrophic challenges? Please, order a copy of my own book, Shining Brightlywhich is available in hardcover, paperback and Kindle versions via Amazon.

I speak to audiences nationwide on these themes regularly—both through my weekly podcast and in person at conferences, retreats and other events. Because I want to be as practical and helpful as I can in sharing ways to restore your resilience and hope—I also offer three free “downloads” that you can get on this page of my website. (Just scroll down on that page and look at the dark-blue box marked “DOWNLOADS.”)

Currently, I am offering three, free guides related to today’s column:

  • Mentorship: Why should we become mentors?
  • Survivorship: Keys to resiliency when confronting cancer?
  • Interfaith Bridge Building: Why do this work?

Yes, you can make a difference!

Throughout my life—and nearly every week today—I’ve seen small actions lead to remarkable outcomes. So, if you’ve read this far, become a part of this movement. In fact, I’ll give you a preview of something to look for in coming months.

The truth is that peace and understanding come from getting to know other people—just as I am inviting you to do throughout this column, today. Once we start learning about each other’s stories, those ugly and hateful instincts begin to fade. Each of us can choose not to hate.

That kind of healthy community often is just one new friend away.

Already, I am planning a future podcast that will take this week’s theme—”They hate me—and they don’t even know me”—and will turn it around with the headline:

“They love me—because they got to know me.”

C’mon: The first step to getting involved in our community is to connect with one of our writers through our books. We’re all hoping to hear from you.

I know for a fact: What I call Shining Brightly is a force multiplier for good in our troubled world.

May Samantha’s name and memory be only for a blessing for all who knew and loved her.

Peggy Fletcher Stack and Kathleen Peterson invite families to explore ‘A World of Faith’

Click on the cover to visit the Amazon page for the expanded Second Edition of this book.


“An attractive, sensitively written book that can help young people better understand their playmates and neighbors who may be of different faiths. Such an approach today helps ensure peace and cooperation tomorrow in our ever more diverse society.”
Joan Brown Campbell

“The concise, descriptive text and beautiful illustrations provide an informative and entertaining resource to help children—and adults—understand the diversity as well as the similarity of the world’s religions.”
Jimmy Carter


It’s a inspiring, eye-opening ‘family gift’ for the holidays!

By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of ReadTheSpirit magazine

Have you already started your holiday shopping this year? A World of Faith is the perfect gift for individuals young and old—especially for families who welcome learning more about the inspiring, colorful diversity of our world’s many faith traditions. The moment I opened my copy of this gorgeous hardcover book, I was in awe of Kathleen Peterson’s full-page interpretations of the religious communities I have covered as a journalist all my life.

I should not have been surprised by the high quality of this book, because it was written and developed by Pulitzer-prize-winning religion writer Peggy Fletcher Stack, who also currently is the Executive Director of the International Association of Religion Journalists. I’m honored to call her a friend and to work closely with her on the IARJ’s efforts to increase awareness of religious diversity around the world.

So, our interview about her book started on what might seem to be an odd note: the illustrations.

“What I fell in love with right away were the illustrations,” I told Peggy. “Your accompanying text about each religious group is masterful, but what makes this book so fascinating—so compelling that you just have to sit down and explore each page—are those illustrations.”

“I’m glad you’re going to emphasize the wonderful illustrations,” Peggy said. “This idea for this book began with a suggestion by a friend at The Salt Lake Tribune, cartoonist Pat Bagley, who suggested that I work on a children’s book about world religions with each page opening to show an illustration and some text going from A to Z as readers turned the pages. At the time he made this suggestion, Kathleen Peterson was looking for a project. This all came together in A World of Faith.”

“How should we describe Kathleen’s illustrations in words?” I asked Peggy. “I’m going to include the book’s cover with this column, so they can see one illustration—but, how do you describe the style that readers will find throughout the book?”

“First, they are paintings,” she said. “They look like batiks. In the center of each illustration are some people doing something that’s a part of that particular faith—maybe they’re getting married or we see the Eucharist or something else is going on in their faith community. In the background of each illustration is some kind of structure—like a church, a synagogue or a tent—and around the border are symbols of that faith. Kathleen spent as much time researching the illustrations as I did working on the text for each page.”

Make Sure You’re Ordering the Second Edition

The link with this column (above) will take you to the Amazon page for the expanded “Second Edition,” which was released in the final days of 2022, so it still is relatively new book as we near the 2023 year-end holidays.

Copies of the original, shorter version of this book, first published in the late 1990s, still are floating around the world, including on Amazon where some resellers are offering used copies of that first edition. Instead, we’re urging readers to get the new Second Edition.

“The first edition was more focused on Christianity,” Peggy explained.

That’s because the idea was shaped by a question from Peggy’s young son. As a family, they had just attended a colorful, annual Kirkin’ o’ th’ Tartan service in Salt Lake City. “And, my son asked me about the differences between the different Christian denominations. He wanted to know: What makes Baptists and Catholics and Presbyterians—and all the other denominations—different from each other?”

So, that first edition was partly an answer to her son’s question.

“But then I became very involved with the International Association of Religion Journalists and I realized that I needed to expand the faith traditions in a Second Edition,” Peggy explained. “Because the IARJ has members—journalists who cover religion all around the world—I was able to ask our colleagues to help check the summaries I was writing to go along with Kathleen’s illustrations.”

What’s in the book?

In addition to Kathleen’s illustrations, you will find two paragraphs on each facing page, researched and written by Peggy, then vetted for accuracy by a wide array of scholars and journalists who are knowledgeable about these faiths.

I asked Peggy to describe the style of these texts.

“The opening paragraph is about the origins and founding of that faith group and the second paragraph is about common practices: baptism, bar mitzvah, wedding practices, anything that would make that faith seem more common to readers and also more distinct,” Peggy said.

“And the reading level?”

“We estimate the text is about 5th or 6th grade, but here’s the irony: I’ve heard from a lot of adults who love this book. A lot of people want to know just this much about religion—an illustration and a couple of paragraphs. There are hundreds of big books that go into great depth about religion available on Amazon. But, if you are interested more in a taste of the diversity of world religions, then this book is what you want.”

I agree entirely. The book covers a huge array of religious groups, including: Anglican, Baha’i, Catholic, Daoist, Eastern Orthodox, Mormon—and all the way through to Zoroastrian. This won’t make you an expert on world religions, but it will orient you to the many branches of faith that are a living part of our global culture today.

A Universal Call to Compassion

As a life-long professional journalist, like Peggy, I have specialized in covering religious and cultural diversity—so I was not surprised by the array of sacred practices and spiritual wisdom I found in these pages. I was impressed that she has included African and Native American traditions. I also can confirm that Peggy’s and Kathleen’s work is accurate in distilling the information down into an astonishingly small space.

One of the truths most readers will discover in these pages is that not all faith traditions identify what Americans think of as “God”—the Abrahamic idea of a single God—as the core of their beliefs. All of these traditions do, indeed, believe that there is a powerful spiritual realm in life—a transcendent core to our experience in the cosmos or, we might say, a universal calling to respect each other as human beings.

But that’s my way of summarizing the book’s central themes—so I asked Peggy for her summary, as well.

Peggy said, “I can tell you that writing this book was deeply inspiring to me. As I worked on it, and now that it’s out in the world, people always ask me: ‘What do they all have in common?’ And that’s not easy to answer because these faiths are not all monotheistic. Some traditions have multiple gods; some traditions do not even say there is a ‘God’ or that there are ‘gods.’

“What they do share is a belief in something outside of human existence. We might agree to use the word ‘divine’ to describe that ‘something outside of us.’ These traditions all have rituals and practices that they believe can somehow connect the human and the divine. And, when we do connect, what does this divine want of us? These traditions share a belief that this other sphere of existence, what we might call the divine, wants humanity to embody compassion and to follow ethical behavior toward each other on our planet.

“I found myself very moved by all the different faiths and the different ways that what many of us call God is expressed in our world. This book gives me hope—and my hope now is that children and parents and grandparents and teachers will be moved toward hope as they explore these pages.”

 

 

 

In ‘We Survived the End of the World,’ Native American author Steven Charleston urges readers to become prophets of hope

Steven Charleston (Photo provided by the author for this story.)


Like Native American prophets voicing hope in the midst of trauma, Charleston asks us—

‘I hope you will see this as a personal invitation to join me and millions of others.’


By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of ReadTheSpirit Magazine

Are you afraid our world is ending?

Polls show that millions of Americans are fearful of the growing effects of climate change, of the rising tide of violence in many forms, of the impact of “wars and rumors of wars” and of the threats to democracies in many parts of our world. A vast number of us living on the planet share a growing sense that an irreversible “apocalypse” is on the horizon that is likely to change the lives of our children and grandchildren.

Click the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page.

That also means millions of us are wondering: Where is hope?

The venerable Native American theologian, teacher and author Steven Charleston reminds us that there are neighbors living among us across North America who—as resilient communities of people—already have survived an apocalypse. His new book is aptly titled, We Survived the End of the World—Lessons from Native America on Apocalypse and Hope.

Just to be clear about this book’s focus: Charleston is referring to the relentless North American genocidal campaign waged by European immigrants against this continent’s original communities. That genocide has ranged from outright murder to the theft of homelands to the long-term policies in the U.S. and Canada of kidnapping Native children and sending them to brutal (and sometimes deadly) boarding schools that attempted to wipe away all memories of their families and their cultures.

In the opening pages of what may be the most important book he has ever written, Charleston writes, “Native American culture in North America has been through the collapse of civilization and lived to tell the tale. My goal is to investigate how my ancestors were able to do that—and what their experience can teach all of us who are living in uncertain times.”

Then, to be clear on a second point: Charleston is saying that our earth already is in the midst of cataclysmic change.

In 2021, our publishing house launched the book God Is Just Love, subtitled Building Spiritual Resilience and Sustainable Communities for the Sake of Our Children and Creation. In that book, author Ken Whitt, a nationally known Christian pastor and educator, wrote about the kinds of knowledge families should be sharing right now about grassroots health, well-being, spiritual practices and resilience because—in Ken’s view—the whole world already is moving through a catastrophic tipping point. In fact, in his book, Ken, who is not Native American, urges his readers to learn from our Native American neighbors about survival in this time of turbulence.

Now, in this new book, Steven Charleston—the former Episcopal Bishop of Alaska, an elder in the Choctaw Nation and a widely quoted Native voice in American media—is saying the same thing.

“Apocalypse is what we are living through,” he writes in his opening pages. “It is the coming true of our worst fears.” We already have crossed enough environmental trigger points that devastating storms and other ecological disasters will continue to unfold—unsettling millions upon millions of new refugees with each passing decade.

The great value that Charleston provides in his new book is what Ken Whitt—and many other wise writers and scholars—have been urging us to consider over the past decade: Charleston has filled this book with Native American wisdom on how a people and a culture can hope to survive the end of one’s world.

This new book shares the visionary wisdom of four real-life Native American prophets—all of whom have living legacies within Native communities—plus wisdom from the entire sweep of Hopi culture—plus, a final call to action from Charleston’s own wisdom as a prophetic elder. In less than 200 pages, Charleston has given us a crash course on this broad-base of indigenous wisdom—from a total of seven Native sources—that will be fresh news to the vast majority of American readers.

‘Cracking open the ability of people to cross boundaries’

The first step toward finding hope and building resilient communities is a clear vision expressed in an honest message.

In our interview, I summarized for Charleston how I was going to open this column. I asked him if I was accurately conveying what he hoped to achieve in this book.

“Yes,” he said, “I am saying that we’re already deep into the midst of change and, now, each of us could play a prophetic role.”

I replied, “So, by using that word ‘prophet’ to describe these great Native American sages in your book—you’re not using that word to describe someone who can predict the future. I find that a lot of Americans confuse the word ‘prophet’ with some kind of ‘futurist’ or ‘psychic’ or ‘seer.’ Your ‘prophets’ are people who are speaking important truths about the catastrophic eras in which they find themselves, right?”

“Yes,” he said again. “When I invite people to become prophets, I am literally asking them to accept the reality we can see in our world today—and then tell others honestly what we see. I’m trying to crack open the ability of people to cross boundaries and to talk to one another and share what they are seeing in the real world around us. That is the prophetic experience that those of us living in an apocalyptic time are trying to develop.”

I countered: “But our readers might ask, ‘How can you expect me—an ordinary, flawed, stressed-out person—to be as prophetic as you are with all of your academic degrees and experiences as a leader? How can we aspire to be prophets?’ Our readers might complain, ‘We’re way too flawed as individuals!'”

Then, Charleston summarized a central theme of his book in a few sentences: “We have to understand that the kinds of prophets I’m talking about don’t start out as anyone special. A person who becomes a prophet is often reluctant to be chosen for this role. Initially, they may not want to carry this burden. The prophets I’m writing about were everyday persons who transformed from the clay of their everyday lives into rather extraordinary people we remember today.”

Christians and Jews who have studied their scriptures are familiar with this foundational truth about the ancient “prophets” we share: Many were reluctant, most had obvious flaws and some were widely disregarded by their neighbors for most of their lives.

When I made that point in our interview, Charleston responded: “You’re not going far enough in your description. Some prophets actually were reviled because of their past behavior. The story of a prophet is a person who—despite those flaws, despite those mistakes and despite whatever their neighbors think about them—begins to speak truthfully about what they are seeing in the world around them. As they begin to speak, they find that their vision is something that they simply cannot contain. Their message must come out.”

Charleston continued, “That’s the key thing to understand about prophets: It’s something that any one of us can become. That’s why my invitation at the end of the book makes sense. With the right time, the right circumstance and the right depth of faith, any one of us can stand up and proclaim what we believe to be the reality of our situation—and we may find that others will share that vision.”

‘People who were broken or confused find themselves transformed’

In this column, we won’t cover all of the seven prophetic figures profiled in Charleston’s book—four individuals and then the Hopi nation as a whole, plus some of Charleston’s own prophetic reflections.

But here’s a good example of a major Native American prophet with a living legacy today: the Seneca spiritual leader whose name is rendered in many ways today.

He’s called Ganiodaiio in Charleston’s English rendering of his original name—or sometimes his name is spelled as Sganyodaio, Ganioda’yo, Skanatalihyo, Conudiu or, as Wikipedia has literally translated his name: Handsome Lake. In at least one other new book about Native American religious groups, his chapter is titled by none of those names but by the word “Longhouse,” because his teachings mainly are preserved by followers of the larger Iroquois Confederacy, also known as “People of the Long House.”

“How do you pronounce this prophet when you talk about him to audiences?” I asked Charleston.

“I’m not a Seneca speaker, but I pronounce his name gah-nee-oh-DAY-oh,” he said. “His legacy is long and I think it is very important for readers—especially readers who are non-Native—to understand that we are talking about a living religion that still is being practiced. His story is not known today to most Americans, nor is his story very well known to all Native people across this continent—but I can say that, across Native America, at least his name is recognized and respected.

“This is such a key point I am making in the book: Our Native culture is not some dusty matter for historians and anthropologists to study. The Native religious world view is an ongoing, contemporary, modern expression of human spirituality—a religious tradition like Islam or Buddhism or Hinduism. We are not a matter of history. I wrote this book to bring awareness that Native people—and our Native religious wisdom—is very contemporary and very future-focused as part of our global dialogue on spirituality.”

He continued, “I am at pains, whenever I write or speak, to tell people that these ancient parts of our indigenous cultures not only have survived, but are continuing to flourish especially as we cross into these difficult times.”

I asked Charleston to give us a very brief summary of this prophet’s life.

“Well, the first thing to understand is that he was a broken man—a person who had just about reached rock bottom in his life largely due to alcoholism. He was restored to health and strength by some mysterious spiritual encounter that released through him a powerful spiritual message that transformed his people. That is the prophetic role we are talking about here throughout all world culture and all of the living faith traditions—people who have been broken or confused or were trying to run away can find themselves transformed by a spiritual force to provide a message that breaks through to the world. This is part and parcel of the apocalyptic experience.”

Avoid ‘the Baloney’ and pick up the ‘seeds’ Charleston is offering

One thing Steven Charleston is not recommending is that non-Native readers try to convert to indigenous cultures. “There are lots of books and programs and retreats by people who claim to have taken the wisdom from Native people and recast it as their own mix of Native American branded herbs or drumming or visions—or whatever else they are selling. And, to all that stuff you can buy from people who aren’t Native American—I say: ‘Avoid all the Baloney!’ Native people don’t want non-Native people to come and appropriate our rituals as their own.

“In this book, I am sharing a deeper wisdom. I wrote this book so that readers—especially non-Native readers—can see that anyone—and I mean anyone from the vastly different cultures around our world—can learn the truth about our tradition. Even though we went through the end of the world, we survived because of the wisdom of our prophets and the strength of our spiritual vision.

“You don’t need to take our rituals. You can find this wisdom, and your own visions, from your own culture. Instead of trying to sell Baloney—I’m trying to inspire prophetic leadership from every community around the world. In this book, I am offering seeds that can give people the confidence they need to avoid hiding in spiritual bunkers as the apocalypse unfolds. I want people to know that there have been crises like this since the time of the Ice Age. Humans have had to deal with apocalyptic crises since the origins of humanity.

“We’re living in an age right now when people are deeply fearful. I want to show people one option they could choose based on Native experience to find new strength. If we do, we can make a real difference. We can prevent this feeling of helplessness and feel, instead, both hope and empowerment.”

.

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Care to Learn More?

Read our earlier interview with Charleston, headlined: Native American elder Steven Charleston’s ‘Spirit Wheel’ weaves spirituality from ‘common threads of hope and mercy’

Read Steven Charleston’s books! There are so many places to start. This week, we are recommending his newest book: We Survived the End of the World—Lessons from Native America on Apocalypse and Hope.

If you want to dig deeper into Native American reflections on connections between Christian and Native traditions, you’ll also want to read Coming Full Circle—Constructing Native Christian Theology.

Want to learn more about the many other Native American issues our magazine has been covering?

Check out these stories:

Water Walkers series: Carol Trembath debuts her latest Native American book ‘Pass the Feather’

Bill Tammeus on: ‘Land Acknowledgment’ is a first step toward justice for our Native American neighbors

Exposing the horrors of the Indian Boarding Schools: Why we need to read Warren Petoskey’s ‘Dancing My Dream’ now

And: In Native Echoes, Kent Nerburn returns from Indian country with A Liturgy of the Land