The Heartbeat of God: Finding the Sacred in the Middle of Everything

by Katharine Jefferts Schori, Joan Chittister OSB (Foreword by)

Overview

Insights from a pioneering leader in world religion, on the intersections of the sacred & the secular.

"As Christians—indeed as people of faith of any tradition—we are called to tend to the needs of the least among us. Our response to them must be the response of faith. God gives us a new heart to do this work, and every time we gather to do it, God offers a pacemaker jolt to tweak our heart's rhythm. The challenge is this: will our hearts respond with a strengthened beat, in tune with God's own heartbeat, sending more life out into the world?"
—from the Introduction

Explore our connections—as human beings with each other, as one nation with all other nations, as the human species with the whole of our environment—through the lens of faith. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church, examines these connections as she looks at the intersections of faith with the major issues of our day:

• How does faith speak to poverty, climate change, the economy, health care, and what is the faith response?
• How can believers from many faith traditions find common ground while honoring the Divine, serving one another, and creating deeper community?
• How do we best use the resources of faith to connect us to the hearts of our
  neighbors and to the heart of God?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594732928
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	10/01/2010
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori is the presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church. She became the Anglican Communion's first female primate in 2006. She is the author of The Heartbeat of God: Finding the Sacred in the Middle of Everything, Gathering at God's Table: The Meaning of Mission in the Feast of Faith (both SkyLight Paths) and other books.

Joan Chittister, OSB, is an international lecturer and award-winning author of more than thirty-five books, including The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully. She is founder and executive director of Benetvision, a resource and research center for contemporary spirituality located in Erie, Pennsylvania. She serves as co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women and the Network of Spiritual Progressives.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii

Part One
Connecting with the Margins 1
Serving the Poor 3
Healing for All 20
Listening for the Voice of God 25
Creative Survival 30
Opening Doors to Women 35
Seeking Our Roots 41
Peace Work 46

Part Two
Connecting Faith with Public Life 51
Immigration and Faith 53
Salt of the Earth 57
Heaven on Earth 62
Blessed Are the Change Makers 67
Provoking Love 72
Interrupting Business as Usual 77
Mission Possible 82
Ubuntu 87

Part Three
Connecting with Creation 93
God on the Gulf Coast 95
Science and Faith 99
The Ecology of Faith 106
Good Shepherd 112

Part Four
Connecting with the Heart of God 117
Who Is Jesus in the World Today? 119
Finding Our Way Home 127
Stardust 131
The Dream of God 134
Called by Name 139
The Web of Life 143
Saints and Superheroes 148
Holy Conversation 153

Part Five
Healing Broken Connections 159
Practicing Peace 161
Pentecost Continues 166
Living the Questions 172
High Anxiety 177
Pushing the Boundaries 182
Go Forth for God 187
Fossils 192
A Moveable Feast 196
Healing Division 201
Finding God in Dissent 206

Notes 211
Suggestions for Further Reading 213

Editorial Reviews

"Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, with her elegant, light touch, shows how an authentic Christianity demands a concern for, and an involvement with, thoroughly mundane issues such as ending poverty and hunger, providing health care, and dealing with climate change, gender equality, and crime. In her version of reality, everything is sacred except sin."
—The Rt. Rev. Desmond Tutu

"By meditations on scripture and personal anecdotes, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori calls the Church to love our neighbor as ourselves and gives examples of how to do so."
—John C. Danforth, Episcopal priest; former U.S. senator from Missouri; special envoy for peace in Sudan; U.S. ambassador to the United Nations

“A down to earth, heartfelt exposition of biblical truth for everyday life—from a remarkable, barrier-breaking woman.”
—Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, director of religion, Chautauqua Institution; author, Living into Hope: A Call to Spiritual Action for Such a Time as This

“With a sense of proportion informed by hope ... gives us a great gift: the sound of a voice of calm in the midst of seemingly perpetual storm.”
—Jon Meacham, author, American Gospel; winner of the Pulitzer Prize

“Uses a sensitive spiritual stethoscope to detect the 'heartbeat of God' among people crying out for justice…. A wonderful invitation to join Bishop Katharine in a powerful and prayerful twenty-first-century reflection.”
—Maureen Fiedler, host of Interfaith Voices (a public radio show); editor, Breaking Through the Stained Glass Ceiling: Women Religious Leaders in Their Own Words

“Bishop Jefferts Schori wrestles—sincerely and fearlessly—with the call of the gospel and with every kind of impediment we have to a vibrant response to that call. Her exploration of the core teachings of Christian texts will challenge and illuminate people far beyond the Episcopal world.”
—Andrea Cohen-Kiener, author, Claiming Earth as Common Ground: The Ecological Crisis through the Lens of Faith

From the Publisher

Katherine Jefferts Schori, [former] bishop of the Episcopal Church, presents readers an excellent challenge by using the theme of "connection."

She succinctly examines current social issues, including environmental and economic concerns. In an intertwining manner, she asks and suggests solutions on how the church can integrate our faith and the power of the gospel to address these issues and concerns.

All chaplains, clergy and laypeople can benefit by learning about these connections and searching their hearts for their personal and collective answers to her questions. In so doing, they can gain compassion to further their ministries. Reading The Heartbeat of God could enrich each staff member of churches, hospitals, hospices and the like.

For Jefferts Schori, her connection is inclusive. Listening to the heartbeat of God means searching, everywhere. She includes marginal people, public life and all of creation. Taking a deep, inward look at our connection with the heart of God, she invites us to examine our inner life, offering prescriptions for healing broken relationships.

Jefferts Schori emphasizes our universal connection. She profoundly calls us to care for the least of those among us, reminding us of God's promise as we respond to these critical needs and, together, take steps to obliterate them: "God follows with a metonoia—a new mind and a new heart" (xvi—Introduction).

Led as a workshop or seminar, this book could provide continuing education for a group. The strength of The Heartbeat of God is the poignant reflection questions that follow each chapter. While read individually, the questions create personal insight. However, when considering the questions in a group, they may stimulate deep thought and rich discussion that would enhance the reading experience. Jefferts Schori aptly provides resources that would complement this book at its conclusion.

The author attains her object: to invite readers to hear, to listen and to respond to the beat of God's heart. It is up to us, individually and together, to do so—to sustain these connections that she presents.

Association of Professional Chaplains - Dorothy Jaeger Vopat-Crockett