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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Practice makes perfect..., May 4, 2003
We used this book for my very first seminary class, and it has served to set the tone for my entire seminary experience. This book is one of those very rare finds, that you wish would be infinite in length because both the content and feeling of the book leaves you wanting more. Bass and her team of contributors have managed to speak uniformly in diversity -- it is evident there was much conversation going on here. The book is divided into chapters devoted to particular practices of faith (as opposed to practices of religion); faith practices can be religious practices, and vice versa (in fact, one hopes!) but this volume is written broadly enough to appeal to a wide range of 'faithful' readers, and indeed, to those who are looking for a faith-full way of acting and being. Chapters are devoted to such topics as singing, hospitality, illness, discernment; I cannot think of a major life topic or event that isn't covered here. The writing and reflections are personal and broad-based simultaneously, a rare achievement. This book would make an excellent guide for a spiritual workshop; indeed, our course, entitled 'Spirituality, Autobiography & Ministry' is intended at our seminary to give a divers collection of people an introduction into ways of examining their own practices. I was fortunate enough to be a teaching assistant for this course during different years of seminary (and thus got to use the books several times, with different groups of people). Currently the Practicing Our Faith project is developing separate texts on each of the topics covered by chapters in this book, so groups that use this as a base text for spirituality groups can choose which areas to develop, and stay within the overall culture of this text. I cannot praise this book too highly. There is a genuine spirituality that permeates the book and expresses itself so well to the reader who devotes attention to the practices.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiring!, October 9, 1998
We are using this book currently for a class at my seminary entitled Spirituality, Autobiography & Ministry. The care and depth of thought that permeates this book is apparent from the first pages, and it has been a struggle to resist the urge to "read ahead" of the rest of the class in this book. While the chapters are written by different individuals, it is apparent that they have a common understanding and it is quite an achievement that they speak in this book with a common voice. If you read no other book this year, read this one!
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A personal owner's manual for living your faith, March 18, 2005
Three cheers for Dorothy C. Bass and her marvelous book, Practicing Our Faith. I selected this book as a reading assignment for a class at seminary because I was captured and intrigued by a question the author posed, "Instead of just being a Christian, how can one bring the meaningfulness of Christianity into one's life?" I'm pleased to say this book is like a personal owner's manual or guide for anyone longing to practice their faith in everyday life.
As the author states, this book is intended for "seekers on journeys of the spirit, committed Christians searching for ways to practice their faith more fully, people of every faith who are concerned about human flourishing and educators concerned about bridging the gap between theory and practice." In other words, it's an individual guide for living a life of integrity. Bass invites eleven theologians to share practices in their lives, families and institutions. The chapters and practices are rich and bold - focusing on many of the basic human activities and needs of our lives - hospitality, saying yes and no, forgiveness and dying well.
If you yearn to live your faith throughout your life and not just in church on Sundays, this book will be an inspiration and guide for doing just that. As the author states, this book will "encourage you to reflect on how you spent your weekends, how you pray, how you offer care to others, and much else." This book is like being held in the warm and loving embrace of a grandparent as they share their wisdom and knowledge. It's warm, encouraging, inspiring and touches the heart.
One of my favorite saying is that each of us are only one decision away from changing our lives. Make reading this book one of those decisions - change your life by practicing your faith each and every day.
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