Light for the Way: Seeking Simplicity, Connection, and Repair in a Broken World

Light for the Way: Seeking Simplicity, Connection, and Repair in a Broken World

Explore the work of beloved writers from Sojourners magazine on spiritual thriving, living simply, and engaging with our communities. For five decades, Sojourners magazine has been deeply engaged with the world while calling its readers to a new kind of life and faith rooted in justice and peace. This legacy stands in stark contrast to our culture, which too often links a person's value to the amount they produce or consume, pushing each of us to do and be more, fraying our connections and deadening our souls. As Christian nationalism and authoritarianism gain more and more cultural power, we don't need less soul, but more. We need a more resilient faith that can resist power and principalities and prophetically imagine an alternative world, centered in justice and love. Integral to this kind of prophetic faith is a commitment to simple spiritual practices and communal connections. Even in the most dire and demoralizing times, practices of contemplation, sabbath rest, and community offer sustenance and power. Light for the Way is a powerful, yet meditative collection of pieces from the last fifty years of Sojourners magazine, exploring how contemplative practices, rest, simplicity, environmental engagement, and communal care are essential for sustaining our resistance and repairing our world. And Sojourners continues that work today. With essays from beloved spiritual writers, including Julia Alvarez, Margaret Atwood, Walter Brueggemann, Kaitlin Curtice, Rosemarie Freeney Harding, and Richard Rohr, Light for the Way is a soulful companion. "At the moment, I cannot think of a better tonic for the spirit than this new collection from Sojourners , which has been in the business of encouragement for as long as some of us have been alive. Whether you are ready for refreshment from some of your favorite authors or on the lookout for new sources of inspiration, you will find them here." -- Barbara Brown Taylor , New York Times bestselling author of An Altar in the World , Learning to Walk in the Dark , and Holy Envy "In a world teetering on the edge of division, injustice, and despair, Light for the Way is the kind of book we need now more than ever--a guide and companion on the journey toward repair, renewal, and a justice revival. In these pages, you will find not just theological reflection but a morally rooted call to action, inviting us to practice as we preach and to learn as we lead. Light for the Way is a timely and essential read for all those looking to cultivate a faith that is both deeply personal and powerfully collective, for the sake of the world and the flourishing of all God's people." -- Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis , author of We Pray Freedom: Liturgies and Rituals from the Freedom Church of the Poor and You Only Get What You're Organized to Take: Lessons from the Movement to End Poverty " Sojourners is one of the most important Christian publications in America today, and reading this anthology of writings from the magazine is like listening to a greatest-hits playlist from one of your favorite bands. More than once, as I was reading this book, I would finish one of the essays and think, 'That article alone is worth the price of the book.' In other words, there are numerous treasures here to both nurture and challenge your Mary heart and Martha hands. A lot of people nowadays like to pay lip service to the importance of linking contemplation to action-- Light for the Way shows you how it's done." -- Carl McColman , author of Read the Bible like a Mystic and Eternal Heart "For more than fifty years, Sojourners has been a source of wisdom and inspiration for the world. Light for the Way is a treasure trove of articles--contemplative, pragmatic, and prophetic--that are as timely today as when they were written. Covering a variety of themes, they offer guideposts to faith in action in these fraught times." -- Leah Rampy , author of Earth and Soul: Reconnecting amid Climate Chaos ; coauthor of Discovering the Spiritual Wisdom of Trees Sojourners is an independent, award-winning print and online magazine of faith, culture, and politics. The mission of Sojourners is to articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and faith-rooted action. Rev. Adam Russell Taylor is president of Sojourners, an ecumenical Christian organization that works to advance justice and peace. He previously led the Faith Initiative at the World Bank Group, served as Vice President of Advocacy at World Vision U.S., was cofounder and executive director of Global Justice, and was selected as a White House Fellow under the Obama administration. A graduate of the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Taylor is ordained in the American Baptist Church and the Progressive National Baptist Convention and serves at the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia. Rose Marie Berger , author of Bending the Arch: P