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PRESBYTERIAN WRITERS
PRESBYTERIAN
11
presbyterian.ca
WINTER 2018
So, Tell Me a Story
new stories in this collection and a fresh way of understanding the art of storytelling in service of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Farris reminds his readers of the power of stories. He invites preach- ers and teachers to carefully consider how to best unleash that power. Such a skill requires proper interpretation and framing (but not overinterpreta- tion, which can ruin any story!). A preacher must ensure that the story accentuates or illustrates sound scrip- tural exegesis and solid theological reflection rather than allow it to be twisted to fit a sermon or stealing the limelight. He teaches that things such as oration, timing, details and positioning are central to the art of storytelling. The Rev. Farris discusses how and when to use personal stories
along with the ethics of telling stories that are not our own. Stephen takes us on a journey through the church year, providing a wealth of stories that fit its seasons and theological themes, such as grace and the sacraments.
The stories in this book are play- ful and fun, serious and sad, hopeful and thought-provoking. Through them all, Stephen invites us to add our own stories and to engage others in the gift of telling and receiving stories. Stories are meant to delight, teach and per- suade. These three functions, as not- ed and adapted by Farris, have been the hallmarks of rhetoric for many centuries. In service of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, stories may well be unmatched in accomplishing all three. And this resource for preachers and teachers is sure to do the same.
By the Rev. Dr. Emily Bisset, Calvin Presbyterian Church in Toronto
So, Tell Me a Story: The Art of Story- telling for Preaching and Teaching Written by the Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris Cascade Books, 2018
The Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris has been shaping and forming preachers for the church for decades. While I was a doctoral student, I had the privilege of being Stephen’s teaching assistant and I heard him tell many of the sto- ries that he has gathered into this new compendium and guide to storytelling for preachers and teachers. We used to laugh, as there were times when
just as we were walking into class, Stephen would turn to me and ask, “Have I already told the story of (so and so and such and such) in this class?” As Stephen says in the intro- duction to his new book, “If a story is wor th telling once, it’s usually wor th telling again...and again.”
Students of Dr. Farris, of which there are cer tainly hundreds, will rec- ognize these stories and be happy to have this new preaching resource for the refreshment of their own preach- ing. Congregation members who have had the privilege of hearing the Rev. Farris preach, of which there are cer tainly thousands, will enjoy having them in print and being able to reflect
on them again. (Stephen even invites people who are not in the business of preaching and teaching to read the book simply by skipping from story to story.) And, for all of us, there are
A Journal of Contemplative Prayer
Road to Holiness
By the Rev. W. Alex Bisset,
Westminster and Riverdale Presbyterian Churches in Toronto
A Journal of Contemplative Prayer: 100 Prayers for Personal Devotion Written by Katherine Burgess
and A. R. Neal Mathers
Worship Resources Publishing, 2018
“Prayer,” as Katherine Burgess and Neal Mathers note in the preface to their recent book, “is a conversation with God.” The prayers these two ministers of The Presbyterian Church in Canada have compiled represent some of their own conversations with God.
Mathers and Burgess write that while some of the prayers included could be adapted for use in public worship, the book is not intended for Sunday services. The focus is on in- dividuals, not congregations. The tone is therefore more personal than what normally is heard from the pulpit, and the pronouns are “I” and “me” rather than “we” and “us.” In this way, the
The Rev. Katherine Burgess and the Rev. Dr. Neal Mathers.
book serves as a reminder that prayer is sometimes something that we do alone with God.
The prayers themselves, half of which were written by Mathers and half by Burgess, cover a wide range of topics and times: morning and even- ing, Wednesday and Sunday, win- ter and spring, Halloween and New Year’s, birth and death, back to school and graduation, work and retirement, fear and despair, joy and grace. There are prayers of confession and repent-
ance, and prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving. Some of the prayers fo- cus on the world around us, while oth- ers look deep within us. In this way, the book proclaims that everything, good and bad, big and small, every aspect of human life, is the right and proper subject of our prayers.
The authors suggest that each of the prayers be read more than once, and that where a writer’s conversa- tion with God in the printed prayer ends, the reader’s conversation with God begins. They encourage read- ers to engage God in conversation in their own words as a response to the printed prayer in the book.
Perhaps most importantly, through their emphasis on prayer as conver- sation, Burgess and Mathers encour- age each of us to approach individual prayer both as a time of speaking to God and as a time of listening for God to speak to us. They remind readers that a conversation never means that
Road to Holiness
Written by the Rev. Tijs Theijsmeijer Christian Faith Publishing, 2018
When he began working as an or- dained minister, the Rev. Tijs Thei- jsmeijer (St. Catharines, Ont.) found that helping people in the congrega- tion grow spiritually was one of the most challenging areas of work. The path to spiritual maturity is a long and complex process that takes a lifetime of work and attention. As a means of helping people find their way along the road to a rich experience of Chris- tian spiritual maturity, Theijsmeijer has written a helpful book based on the Gospel of John entitled Road to Holiness.
Theijsmeijer understands that we each begin our journey towards greater spiritual maturity with in- grained cultural and family patterns, not all of which align with Christ’s teachings. Questioning and exam- ining these practices in light of Je- sus’ teachings is an essential part of authentic and vibrant spiritual growth. As we learn new ways of thinking and behaving, Theijsmeijer explains that rich possibilities open up our lives: prayer life transforms from monologue to a dialogue with God, we learn to recognize the pres- ence and work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and we develop new spir- itual strength that helps us face and overcome obstacles that would have previously sent us running for cover. At the same time, our ability to love deepens and is enriched so that we can appreciate and enjoy God’s crea- tion and creatures in important and new ways.
Spiritual growth takes time and ef- fort, but the rewards are significant as we come to participate actively in the unfolding of the Kingdom of God
in the here-and-now of this world, while preparing us for our eventual arrival in the next.
Road to Holiness is meant to be a guide and so the book will not answer all the questions it raises. The book may be useful in a small group setting for Bible Study or spir- itual growth. Tijs wisely carves out the space for the reader to do the hard work of spiritual growth within the uniqueness and support of their Christian community.
As Theijsmeijer explains, “The idea for the book sprang out of an ecumenical Bible Study on John that I was leading in 1987. The par- ticipants encouraged me to put this material into a written form and that was one of the stimulants to begin a 30-year process. I worked on it two weeks a year for most of my min- istry while on study leave attending the tower scholar program at Knox College.”
For more information, visit christianfaithpublishing.com/ books/?book=road-to-holiness.
The Season for Strawberries
one par ty talks while the simply listens.
Let it be so. Amen.
other
par ty
The Season for Strawberries
Written by Dorothy Brown Henderson Wood Lake Publishing, 2018
The Season for Strawberries, origi- nally a self-published novel and later reissued by Wood Lake Publishing in May 2018, was written by Dorothy Brown Henderson, a long-time di- aconal minister in The Presbyterian Church in Canada. The novel is based in the fictitious village of Milburn Cor- ners in the Owen Sound area where Henderson grew up. While the char- acters are also fictitious, Henderson said that the book includes many ref-
erences to real locations in the Owen Sound area.
The book’s protagonist, Aleda, is a fiesty 42-year-old single pastor who gets herself into a number of predica- ments. The story takes place in May 2002 and, in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks, Aleda struggles with the meaning of life. “It really focuses on all the characters and challenges that make up a community,” Hender- son said. The story involves a trag- edy that shakes the village to its core.
For more information, or to order a copy, visit woodlakebooks.com.