A resource for worshipers today looking to change hardened worship patterns that stand in the way of everyday spirituality.
All too often, those who attend church or synagogue find themselves bored or baffled by the service. Their predominant thought is how slowly the time ticks by—and that the service never seems to end.
Written for laypeople and clergy of any denomination, The Art of Public Prayer examines how and why religious ritual works—and why it often doesn't work.
The Art of Public Prayer uses psychology, social science, theology and common sense to explain the key roles played by ritual, symbolism, liturgy and song in services. Each chapter features "conversation points" designed to get you and your faith community thinking and talking about your own worship patterns—where they succeed, and where they need improvement.
The Art of Public Prayer can help you and your fellow congregants revitalize your worship service by allowing you to organize and direct your own worship, making it a meaningful and fulfilling part of your life.

The Art of Public Prayer: Not for Clergy Only

Religion & Spirituality

Hoffman, Lawrence A.

Christian Books & Bibles

Skylight Paths Pub

Discover how this transitional season can reveal both the abundance and the limitations of our everyday lives.
Autumn, with all its traditional images of colorful trees, frost-covered pumpkins, and piles of wood stored up against winter's cold, can be a season filled with anticipation. The harvest, the imminent onset of cold and snow, the resumption of old routines, and the beginning of the school year all require preparation and planning. If summer has been something of a pause, autumn helps us to see the passage of time more clearly.
Autumn is a season of fruition and reaping, of thanksgiving and celebration of abundance and goodness of the earth. But it is also a season that starkly and realistically encourages us to see our own limitations.
Warm and stirring pieces by E. B. White, Anne Lamott, P. D. James, Julian of Norwich, May Sarton, Kimiko Hahn, and many others in this beautiful book rejoice in autumn as a time of preparation and reflection, when the results of hard labor are ripe for harvest.

Autumn: A Spiritual Biography of the Season

Literature & Fiction

Literary

Spring: A Spiritual Biography of the Season

A delightful collection reveals how nature celebrates rebirth and renewal, exploring the delicate balance between the new and the ancient and evoking the sense that springtime is a time of poignant renewal, youth merged with age, and giddy joy tempered by wisdom.

Summer: A Spiritual Biography of the Season

Organized around themes of time and people's response to it, a lush collection of essays, poems, and meditations by great writers explores the rich vibrancy of summer and its spiritual meanings. Original.

As winter's austere power begins to fade, we notice the first signs of vigor and life returning to the world: delicate crocuses pushing through the damp earth; frogs croaking in the barely thawed ponds; the year's first warm breeze on our faces. 
 These first sure signs of spring bolster our spirits and remind us of the eternal cycle of death and rebirth, and also--more poignantly--of the steady march of time and our own advancing years. With each successive spring, it seems, we cherish the promise of renewed life more and more. 
 These thoughtfully chosen writings, poems and meditations--from Robert Frost, Lisa Couturier, William Blake and Lady Sarashina to the eighth-century Chinese poet Tu Fu and many others--both celebrate spring's re-emergence of life and evoke the season's delicate balance of growth and decay, youth and maturity, innocence and experience.

Gary Schmidt

Poetry

Hearing the Call across Traditions: Readings on Faith and Service

An inspiring collection of readings that will raise deep questions about service and its roots in faith.
"There is a deep yearning among the vast majority of people of all religious and philosophical traditions to make real their most enduring shared principles—to care for creation, to serve others with compassion, and to protect and enhance the gift of life…. We believe that reflecting on these principles strengthens our capacity to embody them." —from the Introduction
Explore the connections between faith, service, and social justice through the prose, verse, and sacred texts of the world's great faith traditions—Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and more. Drawing from diverse literary genres, religious and philosophical perspectives and historical periods, these short and provocative readings cut to the heart of the many obstacles and joys that accompany lives devoted to faith and service:
Why do I serve? • Whom do I serve? • How do I serve?
This rich collection will create a platform for discussing and understanding the faith-based service of others as well as inspire you to reflect on the meaning behind your own commitment to improving the world.
Contributors: 
Umar Faruq Abd-Allah • Jane Addams • Sholom Aleichem • Bidpai • Cesar Chavez • Chuang-Tzu • Dorothy Day • Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni • Mahatma Gandhi • Linda Gregg • Hafiz • Hamzayusuf • Thich Nhat Hanh • Mark Helprin • Abraham Joshua Heschel • Gerard Manley Hopkins • Kabir • Martin Luther King Jr. • The Dalai Lama • Anne Lamott • Lao-Tzu • Abraham Lincoln • Maimonides • Valerie Martin • Gabriela Mistral • Mikhail Naimy • Friedrich Nietzsche • Tim O'Brien • Flannery O’Connor • Mary Oliver • George Orwell • John Oskison • Eboo Patel • Peggy Payne • I. L. Peretz • Rumi • Ryokan • Tayeb Salih • Harold M. Schulweis • Leslie Marmon Silko • Anna Swir • Rabindranath Tagore • William Trevor • Shih Te • Swami Vivekananda • Walt Whitman

Hearing the Call Across Traditions: Readings on Faith and Service

Recommended by Booklist for addition to library's core collection for general works on religion.
A straightforward guide to the rituals and celebrations of the major religions and denominations in the United States and Canada from the perspective of an interested guest of any other faith. How to Be a Perfect Stranger is based on information obtained from authorities of each religion.
These easy-to-use guidebooks help the well-meaning guest of any other faith feel at ease, participate to the fullest extent possible, and avoid violating anyone's religious principles―while enriching their own spiritual understanding.
What will happen? What do I do? What do I wear? What do I say? When is it OK to leave? What should I avoid doing, wearing, or saying? What are their basic beliefs? Should I bring a gift?
These are just a few of the basic questions answered in How to Be a Perfect Stranger, Vols. 1 and 2, two books that belong in every living room, library, and office. Originally published in hardcover by Jewish Lights Publishing, these updated and expanded trade paperback editions now include information for the Canadian branches of each faith, plus an added chapter on the largest Protestant denomination in Canada, The United Church of Canada.

How to Be a Perfect Stranger: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People's Religious Ceremonies

Reference

Encyclopedias & Subject Guides

A life changing resource for re-imagining your spiritual life -- with help from today's most inspiring spiritual teachers.
Contributors include Karen Armstrong, Andrew Weil, Sylvia Boorstein.

The New Millennium Spiritual Journey: Change Your Life-Develop Your Spirtual Priorities With Help from Today's Most Inspiring Spiritual Teachers

The Editors at SkyLight Paths

Your Spiritual Identity is an undeniable part of who you are whether you’ve thought much about it or not, and whether you consider yourself religious or not. Spirituality is not just about what you believe or don’t believe, it’s about how you believe—how you approach the ultimate questions and mystery of life, and what you think those questions are. We are similar in what we desire, but not in how we find it. Spiritual Type + Tradition Indicator = Spiritual Identity 
ST + TI = SI And, when you learn more about your Spiritual Identity from the results of the self-test, you can continue your search by using the descriptions of 28 different spiritual traditions followed in America today—from Buddhism to Roman Catholicism, from Sufism to New Consciousness. For each of them, there are “People You Should Know” who are representative of that tradition, specific suggestions for further exploration, and contact information. Here is a guide to help you walk the path that is your way. If you think you know your spiritual side, you may be surprised by what this book can show you. And if you’ve put off your spiritual search because you feel overwhelmed by the options available, Who Is My God? is just what you need to get started.

Who Is My God?: An Innovative Guide to Finding Your Spiritual Identity

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Skylight Paths Pub publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Skylight Paths Pub

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Skylight Paths Pub publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Art of Public Prayer: Not for Clergy Only

Autumn: A Spiritual Biography of the Season

Spring: A Spiritual Biography of the Season

Autumn: A Spiritual Biography of the Season

Summer: A Spiritual Biography of the Season

Spring: A Spiritual Biography of the Season

Hearing the Call Across Traditions: Readings on Faith and Service

How to Be a Perfect Stranger: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People's Religious Ceremonies

The New Millennium Spiritual Journey: Change Your Life-Develop Your Spirtual Priorities With Help from Today's Most Inspiring Spiritual Teachers

Who Is My God?: An Innovative Guide to Finding Your Spiritual Identity