Bücher von Jann Aldredge-Clanton

Jann Aldredge-Clanton didn't start out as a reformer. When she was a pre-teen, she almost starved herself to death trying to fit into the culture's feminine mold. In high school she felt inadequate because she never won a beauty crown, even though she graduated at the top of her class. Slowly, she began waking up to her own voice, and became one of the first women ever to be ordained as a Baptist minister in the South. It has not been an easy road. She almost lost her job as a professor at a Baptist university because she refused to sign a fundamentalist statement of beliefs. She was labeled a "heretic" for calling God "She" and "Mother." Others said she couldn't be an ordained minister because it would be "unbiblical." The controversy over women's roles in religion was just another example of the glass ceiling women too often face in American society. Called "Waco's Give 'Em Hell Minister" for her outspoken opinions and action on social issues, Jann divulges in Breaking Free how she discovered her mission of freeing people, including herself, from sexism and other injustices. Breaking Free is a remarkable memoir that shows the liberating power of faith combined with feminism. It will inspire readers of all ages to find the freedom to become all God created them to be.

Music has great power to spread the good news of peace, justice, liberation, and abundant life for all people. This new song collection proclaims this good news with lyrics inclusive in gender and race and with themes of social justice and peacemaking. The title of this collection, Inclusive Songs from the Heart of Gospel, comes from our choice of gospel music tunes for most of our texts. This title is likewise appropriate for our songs set to other familiar hymn tunes because we draw from the meaning of the Greek New Testament word for "gospel," euangelion, also translated as "good news." We reclaim these gospel tunes and other tunes we love with inclusive lyrics to sound the good news that transforms our world. The songs in this collection bring good news for all races and all genders, celebrating the sacredness of all people and all creation. They name Deity as female, male, nonbinary, and more to support the foundational biblical truth that all people are created equally in the divine image. This collection includes all new songs for use in worship services, small groups, retreats, music camps, activist gatherings, and individual meditation. Many of the songs are appropriate for multifaith and multigenerational settings.

Words we sing in worship have great power to shape our beliefs and actions. This is the second collection of hymns by Jann Aldredge-Clanton with composer Larry E. Schultz. These hymns, like those in the first collection, will contribute to an expansive theology and an ethic of equality and justice in human relationships. Inclusive Hymns for Liberation, Peace, and Justice will empower people to take prophetic action on gender, race, interfaith cooperation, sexual orientation, ecology, and other social justice issues. These hymns include female and male divine images to support the foundational biblical truth that all people are created equally in the divine image (Genesis 1:27). Inclusive Hymns for Liberation, Peace, and Justice will instill belief in the sacredness of all people and all creation. The predominant themes of social justice, peace, liberation, care of creation, partnership in relationships, and unity in diversity come from the prophetic tradition in Scripture. This collection also includes hymns of lament and hymns that celebrate special occasions. Many of the hymns are appropriate for interfaith settings. Most of the hymns are set to widely known tunes, many with fresh arrangements.

Through the fascinating stories of pioneering ministers, this book reveals a unique picture of progressive changes occurring in the Christian tradition. Meeting challenges and overcoming obstacles, these twelve diverse ministers are changing the church as they take prophetic stands on gender, race, interfaith cooperation, ecology, sexual orientation, economic opportunity, and other social justice issues. Believing in the power of sacred symbolism to shape social reality and to provide a foundation for justice and freedom for all people, these ministers lead worship with inclusive language and imagery for humanity and divinity. They include multicultural female and male images of the Divine. Their stories affirm the connection between this expansive theology and an ethic of justice and equality in human relationships. In working from within to change the church, these ministers have risked censure by denominational authorities, loss of opportunities for promotion to larger congregations or to prestigious denominational positions, and even loss of their jobs. They have found creative ways to balance advocating for change and working to support the church, using their positions as ordained clergy to bring liberating change to the church and the wider culture.""I know of no other book like this. Jann Aldredge-Clanton not only convincingly shows why our language and imagery for God must include the feminine as well as the masculine, but she also shows how such inclusiveness can be introduced and implemented in our churches. And she does it through wonderful real-life stories.Wholeheartedly recommended.""-Letha Dawson ScanzoniEditor of Christian Feminism Todayco-author of All We''re Meant to Be: Biblical Feminism for Today""These are stories that need to be told, that have been waiting to be told, so that women and men embarking on this journey know that others have been there before them, have faced some of the same challenges and struggles, and have found ways to be both faithful and emancipating. But most of all, we need to know these stories so that women''s history in the church is not, once again, lost and forgotten and denied.""-Marjorie Procter-SmithPerkins School of Theologyauthor of The Church in Her House: A Feminist Emancipatory Prayer Book of Christian Communities""What does it mean to transform Christian language for prayer and liturgy to really include female symbols for the divine? This is the question Jann Aldredge-Clanton asked in writing this book. To answer this question she did interviews with twelve innovative ministers from seven denominations. These interviews give compelling testimony of the transformation that happens for religious communities when language for God is really affirmed in both genders.""-Rosemary Radford RuetherClaremont Graduate Universityauthor of Integrating Ecofeminism, Globalization, and World ReligionsJann Aldredge-Clanton, PhD, ordained minister and chaplain, is an adjunct professor at Perkins School of Theology and at Richland Community College in Dallas, Texas. She is the author of numerous books, including Inclusive Hymns for Liberating Christians (2006); Seeking Wisdom: Inclusive Blessings and Prayers for Public Occasions (2010); Praying with Christ-Sophia: Services for Healing and Renewal (2007); and God, a Word for Girls and Boys (2007).

Seeking Wisdom: Inclusive Blessings and Prayers for Public Occasions provides clergy and laypersons with a unique resource to use in community settings, healthcare institutions, and faith communities. These blessings and prayers respect people from diverse religious traditions and use gender-inclusive language for humanity and divinity. Predominant themes are peace, justice, healing, hope, liberation, partnership in relationships, and caring for the earth. This collection includes blessings for such events as community Thanksgiving services, Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations, Women's History Month celebrations, Holocaust Remembrance Day services, breast cancer survivors celebrations, transplant survivors celebrations, chapel dedications, memorial services, lay ministers dedications, baby dedications, pastoral prayers, invocations, calls to worship, offertory prayers, benedictions, a lament for violence against women and girls, and a lament for other forms of injustice. This book also includes pastoral prayers, invocations, calls to worship, offertory prayers, benedictions, a lament for violence against women and girls, and a lament for other forms of injustice. Seeking Wisdom includes more than two hundred inclusive, interfaith blessings and prayers for public occasions. These blessings and prayers can be adapted or combined to fit specific occasions, providing a valuable resource for clergy and laypersons.

Few moments are as devastating as when one hears a diagnosis of cancer, and one out of three Americans will hear this diagnosis in their lifetimes. In this book, Jann Aldredge-Clanton brings a perspective from a theology of hope for people struggling with cancer. She believes that in the midst of a frightening illness, our spiritual task is to...