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In 1996 Bishop Martin Lönnebo (1930–2023), recently retired after fifteen years as Lutheran Bishop of Linköping in Sweden, was exploring the Aegean when his boat was overtaken by a storm and he and his fellow-passengers had to take refuge on a tiny island with a single guest house. While the storm blew itself out Bishop Martin set about designing what he described as a ‘prayer ribbon’ that could summarize the message of the Christian faith. The result was a bracelet known as Frälsarkransen. The word means ‘life-belt’—hence the sub-title for this short book, which provides an introduction to Bishop Martin’s thinking behind the beads, and suggestions for using them for prayer and contemplation.

Fairacres Publication 194 The poems of George Herbert (1593–1633) have nurtured the faith of countless Anglican Christians, and others, since their posthumous publication in 1633. Described by the poet as ‘a picture of the many spiritual conflicts that have passed between God and my soul, before I could subject mine to the will of Jesus my Master’, Herbert’s poetry weaves together recognition of the glory and diversity of God’s creation and of the ingenuity of human beings in their attempts to map and control that creation, awareness of human frailty and sinfulness, and awed realisation of the infinite love of God. The themes of frailty and forgiveness underlying Herbert’s poetry also mark the season of Lent. In recognition of this, Tony Dickinson takes eight of the poems that tackle these great themes (relevant as much to the twenty-first century as to the seventeenth) and week by week through Lent, from Ash Wednesday to Easter Day, unpacks the language in which George Herbert explores them; language that often appears direct and simple, but whose simplicity frequently conceals a depth and density of meaning that few other writers can match.

Fairacres Publications 195 Most of us live, in our prayers and our worship, and in our understanding of Christian discipleship, with one Passion story. We take incidents from the four Gospel accounts of the suffering and death of Jesus and weave them into a single ‘harmonized’ whole. In this essay, Tony Dickinson unravels these four narrative strands to reveal an understanding of the events that shape each one. He also examines how each account is influenced by the sacred writings of Israel, especially the Psalms.

Fairacres Publication 191 This book is the fruit of nearly six decades of engagement with the Divine Comedy, a poem that has captured and held the imagination of Christians for seven hundred years. The author describes how Dante’s journey through the three realms, Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso maps onto the inner spiritual journey of all Christians. The dark wood in which the poem begins sums up Dante’s own mid-life crisis—moral, political and financial—and the beginning of a sometimes humiliating journey to self-knowledge. The questions that Dante addresses, attempting to explain the consequences of the death and resurrection of Jesus, are questions that still concern us today. This book accompanies us on our quest to a greater understanding of the relationship between Christian faith and human life.

At a time when surveys reveal that Americans know less and less about our past, Tony Williams provides entertaining and informative descriptions of 50 of the most important and dramatic events from the colonial and Revolutionary period—some known and some forgotten—from the Mayflower Compact to the Annapolis Convention. Published in association with The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, America's Beginnings takes the reader throughout the American colonies and introduces many leading figures, from John Smith and John Winthrop to the Founding Fathers. Along the way, Williams examines the principles that led colonists to come to America and succeeding generations to become a free and independent nation. Read individually or from cover to cover, these stories illuminate the founding principles and heroic struggles that established the country and shaped the American character.

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the 2012 EP Hello, It's Mz Hyde and its ensuing LP, The Strange Case Of?, the Hyde Manor graphic novel depicts the members of Halestorm encountering sinister doppelgangers of themselves. Within the decrepit halls of Hyde Manor, mirror reflections independently talk back and photographs transform to reveal sordid prophecies, leading the band to slowly succumb to madness while recording a new album. The tale creaks and twists with doom-filled revelations, perfectly tied to Halestorm's scorching discography.

An exploration of the writer's craft through a series of short, linked personal essays. Each chapter features an anecdote from the author's development as a writer that illustrates craft elements central to his body of work. An exploration of the writer's craft through a series of short, linked personal essays. Each chapter features an anecdote from the author's development as a writer that illustrates craft elements central to his body of work. CRAFT: A MEMOIR is an effort to understand craft through discussions of the direct experience of writing itself--through stories of how Trigilio became a writer. When we talk about "craft" as writers, we frequently focus on clinical, literary-dictionary terms such as language, narrative, structure, image, tone, and voice, among others. "In CRAFT, Tony Trigilio provides an inside look into his progression as a poet--from a 'middling, utilitarian, rust-belt' childhood to an accomplished professor of creative writing. With side steps into journalism and music, Trigilio's true north remains poetry. He learns about craft and persistence from his teachers (Mrs. Omark--4th grade) and his college profs and his grad school roommate Mitch Evich whose rigorous routine allows him to finish his novel. Trigilio continues to practice discipline and time-management alongside his wife Liz, also a writer. He meditates and keeps a journal. As he chronicles his own projects--from pop culture to history--Trigilio gives us an behind-the-desk view of one of our most celebrated American poets. A fascinating read."--Denise Duhamel Literary Nonfiction. Poetics. Essays. Memoir.

It is 1947 in Belhaven, North Carolina, a small cotton textile mill town on the outer shoulders of Charlotte. While growing up within a strict Baptist working-class family and a segregated South, twelve-year-old Tobe Stanhope never sees a single colored student in school. But little does he know that the old South is on the verge of a civil rights movement that will change everything. Tobes journey from childhood into adulthood is a perilous one as he struggles with fundamental questions about his religion and male-female relationships. As he wrestles with his identity, independence, intellectual growth, social conscience, a spiritual crisis, and the search for truth and meaning, Toby encounters the greatest shock of his young life. Now he must draw upon his years of overcoming a variety of struggles as he clings to his beliefs about love and attempts to understand who is really in charge of his life and his future. In this poignant tale, a young man embarks on a journey of self-discovery as he grows into adulthood, faces challenges, falls in love, and searches for his true potential amid an ever-changing South.