wfn.org | Book offers Christian visions through centuries

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Feb. 8 1999	Contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York    10-71B{073}

By United Methodist News Service

Can insights from such Christian thinkers as Augustine in the fifth century,
Julian of Norwich in the 14th century, and Charles and John Wesley in the
18th century offer a vision for the next thousand years?

Janice Grana and the Conference of Secretaries of Christian World Communions
believe they can. The result is 2000 Years Since Bethlehem: Images of Christ
Through the Centuries, a new book published by the United Methodist Church's
Upper Room.

The idea was to create a devotional resource that would both draw from the
past and provide spiritual direction for the future. Grana, the former
publisher of the Upper Room and now its executive book editor, compiled the
book with assistance from a Conference of Secretaries advisory group.

That group included leaders in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican,
Lutheran, Baptist, Reformed, Presbyterian and Methodist communions, as well
as the Salvation Army.
 
The selected writings "call us into action," said the Rev. Joe Hale, top
staff executive of the World Methodist Council, in the book's foreword.
"Many living today have not clearly heard the witness of those who see Jesus
Christ as the defining fact of their lives."

He considers the book an important ecumenical effort "to try consciously to
acknowledge that we all are one around the manger of Bethlehem," he said.

2000 Years Since Bethlehem is intended for daily devotions. The excerpts
from various writers could serve as a source of prayer for the day, Grana
said, giving the reader "an opportunity to think about what a difference
Christ has made throughout history."

Grana spent about a year working on the book. She began by reviewing a
volume on general church history. "In the early centuries, there really
aren't huge numbers of persons whose writings we still have," she said.

Other resources included a book that listed people who have most
significantly affected the church through their writing, along with several
"classics" series on church writing and history. "Then it was a matter of
quite a lot of reading," she explained. "We had a specific focus for the
book. I was trying to find excerpts that reflected these writers' personal
statements about the impact of Christ in their lives."

Some excerpts were more difficult to track down than others.  For example,
Teresa of Avila, from the 16th century, often used metaphors in her writing.
Grana couldn't find a work describing Teresa's own relationship with Christ
until she read her autobiography. 

Grana said she was most impressed with "what appeared to be a real
deliberate seeking for new words and new images to somehow convey the
person's passion" for the difference Christ had made in his or her life.

"There's such a radical shift in language and tone across the centuries,"
she added.

Her own favorite selections in the book are by Julian of Norwich and are the
earliest existing Christian writings by a woman in the English language.
Julian, known all over England, led a secluded life of prayer in a small
room adjacent to a cathedral in Norwich. "People came to her window and she
prayed with them," Grana said.

2000 Years Since Bethlehem is available at Cokesbury stores and by calling
the Upper Room's toll-free number, (800) 972-0433. 

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