The Circle of Seasons: Meeting God in the Church Year (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: liturgical color, epistle reading, active waiting, Ordinary Time, Holy Spirit, Christmas Day (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In a nanosecond world we need sane rhythms that slow us down enough to notice God in our lives. Kimberlee Conway Ireton guides the reader to a simple annual pathway--the church year. The Circle of Seasons takes a practical look at how the church journeys with Jesus through Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Ordinary Time, Lent, Easter and Pentecost. Each season opens a door to deeper understanding and formation in faith. Accessible, readable and personable, The Circle of Seasons is a way forward for our time." -- --Adele Calhoun, copastor, Redeemer Community Church, Wellesley, Massachusetts, and author of Spiritual Disciplines Handbook

"In a nanosecond world we need sane rhythms that slow us down enough to notice God in our lives. Kimberlee Conway Ireton guides the reader to a simple annual pathway--the church year. The Circle of Seasons takes a practical look at how the church journeys with Jesus through Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Ordinary Time, Lent, Easter and Pentecost. Each season opens a door to deeper understanding and formation in faith. Accessible, readable and personable, The Circle of Seasons is a way forward for our time." -- --Adele Calhoun, copastor, Redeemer Community Church, Wellesley, Massachusetts, and author of Spiritual Disciplines Handbook

"Most people (like me) are bone tired of our own little stories. We are fatigued by our incessant consumption and by the suffocating pressure to produce something or feel something. We crave to move beyond our smallness and into the wide, bright story of God. Kimberlee Conway Ireton offers a gracious gift by reminding us that we don't have to look far for help, that the simple rhythms the church has practiced most of its history provide us precisely the delightful, healing, communal, earthy spiritual cadence our soul needs. If you want to breathe fresh air and drink in much grace, these beautifully crafted words offer you a feast." --Winn Collier, author of Restless Faith and Holy Curiosity: Encountering Jesus' Provocative Questions

"Only rarely does an introductory volume on Christian liturgy manage to cover its assigned subject with both detail and grace, but this one most assuredly does just that. In her deftly written book, Conway Ireton provides all of us a very accessible and enormously appealing overview of the church's liturgical year." --Phyllis Tickle, compiler of The Divine Hours

Review

"Only rarely does an introductory volume on Christian liturgy manage to cover its assigned subject with both detail and grace, but this one most assuredly does just that. In her deftly written book, Conway Ireton provides all of us a very accessible and enormously appealing overview of the church's liturgical year."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 138 pages
• Publisher: Intervarsity Press (November 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 083083625X
• ISBN-13: 978-0830836253
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #172,449 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wise, deep and eloquent, November 18, 2008

By	Lynne M. Baab (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Kimberlee Conway Ireton is a beautiful writer, evocative and poetic. Her book is lovely that way; her use of words is exemplary and wonderful. She does a great job explaining the background of the seasons of the church year, and she vividly illustrates the themes of the church year with stories from everyday life. For people who have never understood why observing the seasons of the church year has any value, her book lays an excellent foundation for grasping the significance of the church seasons. For those who already understand the church year, her stories and suggestions will bring depth to the experience of the circle of the seasons. The rhythm of the church year affirms the variety of experiences that are a part of the Christian life, and Ireton does a wonderful job describing the value of all the different moods that connect us with Christian truth.

I like the way Ireton writes about all the holy days and seasons. My favorite chapter is the one on ordinary time. She describes those moments in ordinary life when we get glimpses of God's glory, and she ruefully acknowledges the way we want to hold on to them, contain them, even control them. The way she illuminates those glimpses makes me more willing to receive them with joy and thank God for them, without needing to know when the next one is going to come. Kimberlee Conway Ireton thinks deeply, and her depth and wisdom come through so clearly in her writing.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a wonderful book!, November 20, 2008

By	Sarah Boyle Webber (Mount Laurel, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is ideal introduction to the cycle of the church year, especially for those who, like myself, grew up in a church that only marked Christmas and Easter. Now that I'm older, I find myself wanting to follow the pattern set by the church in ages past as I now find value in the structure of a time of waiting (Advent, Lent) before the usual celebrations of Christmas and Easter. I appreciated the author's use of examples from her own life to illustrate what might otherwise be a dry description of a portion of the calendar. But what I loved best were the pages she spent describing Ordinary Time, which is "a profound way of recognizing that the daily, ordinary rhythms of our lives are sacred; that there is something holy to be found in the midst of what often feels like the daily grind, that God is just as present in the grittiness (and the glory) or an ordinary day as in the great celebrations of Christmas or Easter or Pentecost.

"The promise of Ordinary Time is that God is present in the midst of such daily activities as my interactions with my husband and children, with my friends and neighbors; in my caring for the needs of my body; in my work for the day, whether it be writing a book or sweeping a floor. Because God is present and active in the midst of the very tasks that often seem pointless, these tasks can, if I'm paying attention, become means of grace--and of growth in my relationship with God."

Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Resource, Enjoyable to Read, November 16, 2008

By	M. Royston - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is a wonderful resource for every person interested in growing and deepening their faith through practical and theologically sound applications. The explanations of the Church seasons and of the traditions around them are helpful and informative. More than a few times I found myself saying, "Oh, that's why the Church does that!"

Ireton's writing style is approachable, while at the same time profound. She balances information with applications, blowing life into what can often be seen as dry and irrelevant religiosity. The stories she uses are well told and appropriate, consistently pointing us toward the ways in which God's presence surprises us as we intentionally practice looking for Him.

Most importantly, this book has given my family a number of practical ideas for us to see God more in the seasons of the calendar, and I would certainly recommend it.