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"Extending God's Healing Grace to All"
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I have a book to suggest all NDCA members might like to read: Left to Tell, by Immaculee Ilibagiza, 2006 Immaculee tells the story of how all her family except her brother and her were killed in the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Nearly a million Rwandans were killed. Immaculee and 7 other women spent 91 days in a small bathroom of a Pastor's home and then were freed eventually. Immaculee was a woman of great faith. Unbelievable horror. She will be an inspiration for me for a long time to come. Sr. Marie Hunkler Thanks
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Full Circle: Spiritual Therapy for the Elderly by Kevin Kirkland and Howard McIlveen Haworth Press, 2000 (soft cover) 205 pages. Subjects include: Feelings, Life Review, Sensory, Special Occasions (Lent, Advent, Easter, etc.) Each topic (about 100 in the book) has suggested hymns and secular songs, scripture verses, stories, and best part - questions to stimulate discussion. I find if I ask persons one at a time in the circle one simple question, most will give some sort of coherent answer. I get so many insights from my group at Wishek, I really am blessed. I lead services twice a week in the Special Care Unit which has about ten persons. Book is available from two sources for about $20 plus S&H Wellness Reproductions and Publishing 1-800-669-9208 www.wellness-resources.com or Eldersong Publications, Inc PO Box 74 Mt. Airy, MD 21771 1-800-397-0533
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Hunter, James C. THE SERVANT ....A SIMPLE STORY ABOUT THE TRUE ESSENCE OF LEADERSHIP 187pp. ISBN 0-7615-1369-8 $22.00 (Hardback) In this absorbing talk, you watch the timeless principles of servant leadership unfold through the story of John Daily, a businessman whose outwardly successful life is spiraling out of control. He is failing miserably in each of his leadership roles as boss, husband, father, and coach. To get his life back on track, he reluctantly attends a weeklong leadership retreat at a remote Benedictine monastery. To John's surprise, the monk leading the seminar is a former business executive and Wall Street legend. Taking John under his wing, the monk guides him to a realization that is simple yet profound: The true foundation of leadership is not power, but authority, which is built upon relationships, love, service, and sacrifice. Along with John, you will learn that the principles in this book are neither new nor complex. They don't demand special talents; they are simply based on strengthening the bonds of respect, responsibility, and caring with the people around you. Perhaps this is why The Servant has touched readers from all walks of life - because its message can be applied by anyone, anywhere - at home or at work. If you are tired of books that lecture instead of teach; if you are searching for ways to improve your leadership skills; if you want to understand the timeless virtues that lead to lasting and meaningful success, then this book is one you cannot afford to miss. The author, James C. Hunter, is principal consultant of J.D. Hunter Associates, a labor relations and training consulting firm located near Detroit. He is a sought-after public speaker and trainer primarily in the areas of servant leadership and community (team) building. He resides in Michigan with his wife and daughter and can be reached online at www.jameshunter.com or at 734-692-1771. I highly recommend this intriquing quick read. The book articulates the timeless servant leadership principles and is for any leader who assumes the awesome responsibility of having human beings entrusted to their care. Burnie Kunz Chaplain at Medcenter One - Bismarck President - ND Chaplains Assn.
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de Gruchy, John W. Confessions of a Christian Humanist Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press www.augsburgfortress.org , 2006 218 pp. ISBN #0-8006-3824-7 $18.00 (Paperback) I can hear across the years, the gravelly voice of Ross Snyder who facilitated classes for me at Chicago, as he also did for de Gruchy who quotes him, "This is a book about becoming human. Something we are always about but never finish." (p.50) Yes, "Confessions of a Christian Humanist" is the story of the becoming of a person, that of a believer, that of a theologian. It is also fully a part of the struggle and the becoming of a Modern-Postmodern existence. De Gruchy is rooted in the rigid conservatism, including the ugly, evil "Christian" Apartheid in South Africa. He had the requisite, powerful adolescent religious experiences which committed him to the Church. His strong heart and mind, however, kept working with the gifts of truth in the Bible and in the hearts of such as Ireneaus, Augustine, Bonhoeffer, and Beyers Naude, as he served as pastor and theologian. To read is to travel with him, is to come to know exquisite stories and insights about what sets people free. He is not afraid of the secular. After all, it is God's secular, God's world. He experienced and recognizes the necessity of doubt and skepticism. He does not avoid the many long challenges of philosophy, e.g., in Kant and Nietzche. He learns with their honesty. He appreciates how our daunting human vulnerabilities are central to our humanity and what faith is. He sees how Erasmus and Luther, in their controversy were both wrong and right. He learns how Barth stood for the center of Christianity against Nazism at Barmen, and how existential Tillich was not relativistic. He finds the beauty and glory of art in the human in Christian theology and culture. As de Gruchy and his wife Isobel, embark on the challenge of retirement, he agrees with Bonhoeffer's prison insight: A Christian, as Bonhoeffer put it, is not a 'religious person' (homo religiosus) in this sense at all, but simply a human being as Jesus was a human being. True transcendence is not to be found somewhere beyond this world, but in Jesus 'the man for others' who lived 'out of the transcendent.' This was important because Bonhoeffer wanted to start from the premise that God shouldn't be smuggled into some last secret place, but that we should frankly recognize that the world, and people have come of age, that we shouldn't run man down in his worldliness, but confront him with God at his strongest point ... (p. 106) Were I to be again in the constructive theology classroom with seniors in seminary or now for any senior wondering what life was all about, I'd prescribe "Confessions of a Christian Humanist". It is a marvelous read. Leland Elhard Prof. of Theology, Emeritus ............................................................................................................................
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