Where the Water Goes Around is a biblical and political reading of Detroit over the course of three decades by an activist pastor. Detroit is a place where one can take the temperature of the world. Think on the rise of Fordism and auto-love, the Arsenal of Democracy, the practice of the sit-down strike, or the invention of the expressway and suburban mall. Consider more recently the rebellion of 1967, the deindustrialization of a union town, the assault on democracy in this black-majority city, the structural adjustments of municipal bankruptcy, and now a struggle for water as a human right. Bill Wylie-Kellermann tells the story of working out his "place-based vocation" with a simultaneous commitment to gospel nonviolence. He evokes the place Anishinabe peoples tread lightly the banks of Wawiatanong, "where the waters go round." One narrative thread walks a procession through the streets, a contemporary "stations of the cross," to the locations of crucifixion today. It names the occupying principalities and their outposts on the ground. Another tells the story of resurrection in struggle and human community. Herein are public disruptions, liturgical direct actions, and courtroom trials. In resistance and risk, this book proclaims gospel in context.
Seasons of Faith and Conscience challenges religious activists and the wider church with an answer to the question: What is the connection between faith and politics? "Every act of worship," Kellermann says, "every occasion where the sovereignty of the word of God is acknowledged, is always and everywhere expressly political." In a profound biblical and theological reflection, Kellermann begins by investigating the political implications of worship and liturgy, both in the Hebrew Bible and in the New Testament. He goes on to review the history of "confessional politics," those situations in which Christians have felt their historical situation to be so grave as to call into question the very identity of the church. Recent examples include the Confessing Church in Nazi Germany and the Kairos document from South Africa. Kellermann explores analogies in our own situation--the continuing arms buildup, the international debt system, and the "war against the poor" in the Third World. Seasons of Faith and Conscience concludes with a series of moving meditations on the key seasons and events of the liturgical calendar: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.
If the 1960s were a watershed in American politics, they were no less formative a period in political theology, as figures like Jacques Ellul, Karl Barth, Walter Wink, Daniel and Philip Berrigan, and William Stringfellow shed new light on the biblical language of "the powers." In these essays, activist pastor Bill Wylie-Kellermann critically appreciates the legacy of these figures and gives an urgent specificity to the theology of the powers, relating biblical concepts to contemporary struggles for civil rights, clean air, fair housing, safe affordable water, public education, and civic responsibility after the 2016 election, highlighting throughout the vital importance of a community of struggle connected through time and across space. The books uniqueness lies in its practicality, as biblical and theological analyses arise from, and are addressed to, particular historical moments and given ecclesial and movement struggles. Appendixes present resources for teaching and training people in movement organizing and for thinking through the presence of the powers in our life and ministry.
A loving memoir about the life, illness, death and resurrection freedom of Christian wife, mother, writer and community activist Jeanie Wylie-Kellermann. The first half focuses on her inspiring life; the second half follows her diagnosis with glioblastoma brain cancer, when Jeanie chose a process of "dying well" involving family and community.
Daniel Berrigan (+2016+) is most notorious for dramatic anti-war actions at a Catonsville draft board and a Pennsylvania nuclear weapons plant in the '60s and '80s. Indeed, with friends, he was practically devising what's been called "liturgical direct action." Berrigan was also teacher, pastor, and friend to author Bill Wylie-Kellermann. Celebrant's Flame is a well-researched, but personal book, a debt of gratitude--in the end a tome of love to his mentor. Reflecting on aspects of Berrigan's person and work--from poet, prophet, prisoner, priest, and more, Wylie-Kellermann sketches this warm portrait of a figure whose impact on church and movement only deepens in the present moment. The book includes considerable material by Berrigan himself, some previously unpublished--a wedding homily, a long poem, a controversial speech, plus much in the way of personal letters, poetry, and memoir. Written with Berrigan's hundredth birthday in mind, these reflections help keep the flame of this beloved celebrant burning for the stunning new movement generation arising among us.
Daniel Berrigan (+2016+) is most notorious for dramatic anti-war actions at a Catonsville draft board and a Pennsylvania nuclear weapons plant in the ‘60s and ‘80s. Indeed, with friends, he was practically devising what’s been called “liturgical direct action.” Berrigan was also teacher, pastor, and friend to author Bill Wylie-Kellermann. Celebrant’s Flame is a well-researched, but personal book, a debt of gratitude—in the end a tome of love to his mentor. Reflecting on aspects of Berrigan’s person and work—from poet, prophet, prisoner, priest, and more, Wylie-Kellermann sketches this warm portrait of a figure whose impact on church and movement only deepens in the present moment. The book includes considerable material by Berrigan himself, some previously unpublished—a wedding homily, a long poem, a controversial speech, plus much in the way of personal letters, poetry, and memoir. Written with Berrigan’s hundredth birthday in mind, these reflections help keep the flame of this beloved celebrant burning for the stunning new movement generation arising among us.
Where the Water Goes Around is a biblical and political reading of Detroit over the course of three decades by an activist pastor. Detroit is a place where one can take the temperature of the world. Think on the rise of Fordism and auto-love, the Arsenal of Democracy, the practice of the sit-down strike, or the invention of the expressway and suburban mall. Consider more recently the rebellion of 1967, the deindustrialization of a union town, the assault on democracy in this black-majority city, the structural adjustments of municipal bankruptcy, and now a struggle for water as a human right. Bill Wylie-Kellermann tells the story of working out his "place-based vocation" with a simultaneous commitment to gospel nonviolence. He evokes the place Anishinabe peoples tread lightly the banks of Wawiatanong, "where the waters go round." One narrative thread walks a procession through the streets, a contemporary "stations of the cross," to the locations of crucifixion today. It names the occupying principalities and their outposts on the ground. Another tells the story of resurrection in struggle and human community. Herein are public disruptions, liturgical direct actions, and courtroom trials. In resistance and risk, this book proclaims gospel in context.
If the 1960s were a watershed in American politics, they were no less formative a period in political theology, as figures like Jacques Ellul, Karl Barth, Walter Wink, Daniel and Philip Berrigan, and William Stringfellow shed new light on the biblical language of "the powers." In these essays, activist pastor Bill Wylie-Kellermann critically appreciates the legacy of these figures and gives an urgent specificity to the theology of the powers, relating biblical concepts to contemporary struggles for civil rights, clean air, fair housing, safe affordable water, public education, and civic responsibility after the 2016 election, highlighting throughout the vital importance of a community of struggle connected through time and across space. The books uniqueness lies in its practicality, as biblical and theological analyses arise from, and are addressed to, particular historical moments and given ecclesial and movement struggles. Appendixes present resources for teaching and training people in movement organizing and for thinking through the presence of the powers in our life and ministry.
Seasons of Faith and Conscience challenges religious activists and the wider church with an answer to the question: What is the connection between faith and politics? Every act of worship, Kellermann says, every occasion where the sovereignty of the word of God is acknowledged, is always and everywhere expressly political. In a profound biblical and theological reflection, Kellermann begins by investigating the political implications of worship and liturgy, both in the Hebrew Bible and in the New Testament. He goes on to review the history of confessional politics, those situations in which Christians have felt their historical situation to be so grave as to call into question the very identity of the church. Recent examples include the Confessing Church in Nazi Germany and the Kairos document from South Africa. Kellermann explores analogies in our own situation--the continuing arms buildup, the international debt system, and the war against the poor in the Third World. Seasons of Faith and Conscience concludes with a series of moving meditations on the key seasons and events of the liturgical calendar: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.
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