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PT Media Picks: Books |
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Marry a Pregnant Virgin: Unusual Bible Stories for New and Curious Christians
By Frank G. Honeycutt (Augsburg, 2008; 256 pages; $15.99, paper)
 Marry a Pregnant Virgin is a collection of 44 meditations, each of which explores Scripture that may appear rather alien to 21st-century readers. Honeycutt, pastor of Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Columbia, S.C., writes in clear language, often calling on contemporary examples, to uncover insights and teachings in ancient and sometimes confusing Scripture passages. The essays are organized according to the liturgical year. Individuals or small groups can read each essay as a stand-alone meditation. Honeycutt particularly recommends these essays to groups such as sessions that are responsible for leading faith formation in congregations. As he puts it, “Long-time church members sometimes forget how strange and confusing biblical narrative can be for newcomers.”
— Anitra Kitts, Santa Rosa, Calif.
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See More Media Picks
See all the Media Picks book reviewHow to start a health ministry
Health Ministries
by Deborah L. Patterson (Pilgrim Press, 2008; 127 pages; $12, paper)
Here’s a road map with great directions for forming a health program in your church, complete with a rationale for why any church would create such a program and a history of church-based health care. Since baby boomers are reportedly less healthy than their parents at the same age, and many Americans lack adequate health coverage, it seems likely that the parish nurse programs will need to expand.
 Patterson, an ordained minister and executive director of the International Parish Nurse Resource Center, describes how Granger Wesberg began the parish nurse program in Chicago. After completing work in clinical pastoral education, Wesberg saw a need to bring health care back to the parish where it had existed until modern times. Patterson has included several interesting case studies. She chronicles a year in the life of a new parish nurse and offers a checklist of do’s and don’ts for health ministries.
This small book is highly recommended for any church investigating or implementing a parish nursing program.
— Beverly Rehfeldt, chaplain resident, Aspirus Wausau Hospital, Wausau, Wis. |
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Fair trade study guide
Fair Trade: Using Our Purchasing Power for Justice and Hope: A Bible Study
 by Judy Hoffhine and Ruth Farrell (Partners for Just Trade, 2008; 21-page booklet, $5 each, with discounts for purchase of multiple copies)
The movement to end global poverty isn’t just about charity or foreign aid. It’s about all of us paying a fair price for goods and services from around the world. Partners for Just Trade is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating people about fair trade and marketing products from around the world in a way that compensates the artisans fairly and justly.
This Bible study booklet, developed by a Presbyterian pastor and a former mission worker, is intended to help church groups better understand how the First World contributes to worldwide poverty, and how we can use our purchasing power in better ways. The study covers what fair trade means, what a fair price entails and how a commitment to fair trade empowers people (especially women) in developing countries and strengthens international relationships. There is no better resource for equipping church members to respond to the call of the prophets to “let justice roll down like water.”
— Teresa Blythe
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