Day Mattar's Springing from the Pews is an explosive pamphlet which explores an episode of sexual violence through a verse play interwoven with confessions and journal entries. Mattar's poetry is eloquent, with a dark intensity underlying the sugary surface, with echoes of Frank O'Hara and Sharon Olds. A breathtaking read, Mattar's splenetic energy gushes out like water from a fire hydrant.
A reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle is returning to Montana in a blizzard out of Salt Lake City, and more turbulence over mountains of the West, to be at the bedside of her beloved grandmother, Rebecca, who is dying. Valerie (Val) Dorothy DLacey, relying on little sleeper pills, as she calls them, to get her through her depression, and double whiskies with beer to sustain her throughout the ordeal of the flight, threads her way into the Logan Airfield terminal in Billings, Montana. She stumbles to a bar where she waits for her mischievous childhood friend, Tomas Damon. He will take her to see her grandmother, Rebecca Egan, who is at deaths door. Val, we discover, is three-months pregnant with her married lovers child. Tomas Damon, her friend since their high school days, brings her up-to-date on events in the town of Plains where they grew up together. He mentions the Spring Tender, a mythical character who chooses likable people to succeed in Montana, while gravely informing her that her grandmother, Rebecca, is not going to live. He drives her to see her grandmother, with the hope that she will arrive in time. Vals grandmother is in a coma and dies. A very sad Val returns to San Francisco - but with the deed to her grandmothers ranch and a journal/story that her grandmother wrote for her. Her grandmothers story and deep love for Montana give Val something that only a Spring Tender could have imagined. Clear, flowing water for her parched spirit. The Spring Tender is an unusual love story, flowing from the western prairie where the author, born in 1916, received her love for Montana from her own parents who homesteaded on that prairie, where she also grew up.
A young man with an extraordinary gift. A zealous commune isolated from the world. What could possibly go wrong? Fifteen-year-old Joshua Moses has spent his life nestled in the cradle of the Eternal Spring. His commune family doesn’t know he harbors a dark and powerful secret. If they find out, they might hail him as a prophet—or cast him out forever. The Spring is all Joshua has ever known, and he believes in its message with his whole heart. However, he senses it stands in jeopardy because of a terrible secret the Reverend has been hiding from his flock. Marshall Hudson is an Army sergeant with a stellar career history and intuition he’s learned never to ignore. As he nears retirement, strange dreams summon him to the south. What lies ahead for him there is unknown, but Marshall has never shied away from danger. He hangs up his uniform and heads to the place in his visions. What he discovers is unlike anything he expected. There is a darkness hidden in Eternal Spring, one hungry for them all. Marshall and Joshua are the only ones capable of stopping this imminent danger. And Joshua has a plan to keep the commune alive. One that uses his power at any cost.
To grow and remain vital, churches need to attract families. But the cultural landscape has changed and any church may have two-parent families with children, blended families, boomerang families, adult children of divorce and their families or lack of families, single adults whose family is the church, grandparents parenting again, childless families, co-habitation families, and children with three legal parents. What ministries are helpful in attracting and keeping families active and engaged in the life and mission of the church? This book will help church pastors and leaders navigate the changing tides in ministry to become the kind of church that families want to attend, where the church’s dynamic faith invites families who may then bring their friends.This means reaching out to all kinds of families, some with needs that only a church family can fulfill. With practical helps and suggestions for ministries, worship, small groups, and even facilities, author and family expert Linda Ranson Jacobs will help you create a welcoming place for everyone.
