An uplifting, relevant devotional for finding hope in darkness.
A pastor compiles his daily writings to his Brooklyn parishioners during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic in this work.
Though retired from full-time ministry, Gram agreed to serve as the interim pastor of St. John’s Reformed Church in Red Hook. The church’s full-time minister had suffered a medical emergency. Soon, what was supposed to be a brief stint in a waterfront neighborhood turned into a complicated endeavor, as the author dealt with the most tumultuous moments in the church’s history. The New York region was one of the first places in America seriously affected by a wave of Covid-19 infections. As church doors closed and home and hospital visits became impossible, the author shifted to daily meditations written for his parishioners. This timely book features minimally edited versions of those daily devotions written during the pandemic. In nearly 50 pieces, ranging from short paragraphs to lengthy essays, Gram provides readers with inspirational notes. Some of them address the holy season’s transition from a somber Lent to the hope promised by Jesus’ resurrection at Easter. There are also Covid-19 specific messages; for example, the author delivers a reminder that loving one’s neighbor includes staying indoors to limit the spread of the virus. Written just prior to George Floyd’s death, which Gram laments in his introduction, his daily musings sometimes discuss racism, particularly anti-Asian violence and rhetoric. A final essay concludes with the author’s vivid story of overcoming a genetic blood-clotting disorder. After the diagnosis, he became a prolific mountain climber and rode his bicycle from California to New Hampshire at the age of 68. Each devotion follows a predictable pattern of a relevant Scripture reference, a reflective vignette, and a prayer. Gram’s lucid writing style is that of a seasoned and intellectual yet nurturing pastor. Though the author is a mainline Protestant, he intentionally includes other faith traditions in his remarks, from Roman Catholicism to Buddhism. While the heartfelt book ends abruptly without a satisfying narrative conclusion, it will nevertheless be of great use to Christians struggling to make spiritual sense of the Covid-19 pandemic.
An uplifting, relevant devotional for finding hope in darkness.Pub Date: July 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-951937-44-7
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Epigraph Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Cogent, well-timed ideas for meeting today’s biggest challenges.
Helping liberals get out of their own way.
Klein, a New York Times columnist, and Thompson, an Atlantic staffer, lean to the left, but they aren’t interrogating the usual suspects. Aware that many conservatives have no interest in their opinions, the authors target their own side’s “pathologies.” Why do red states greenlight the kind of renewable energy projects that often languish in blue states? Why does liberal California have the nation’s most severe homelessness and housing affordability crises? One big reason: Liberal leadership has ensnared itself in a web of well-intentioned yet often onerous “goals, standards, and rules.” This “procedural kludge,” partially shaped by lawyers who pioneered a “democracy by lawsuit” strategy in the 1960s, threatens to stymie key breakthroughs. Consider the anti-pollution laws passed after World War II. In the decades since, homeowners’ groups in liberal locales have cited such statutes in lawsuits meant to stop new affordable housing. Today, these laws “block the clean energy projects” required to tackle climate change. Nuclear energy is “inarguably safer” than the fossil fuel variety, but because Washington doesn’t always “properly weigh risk,” it almost never builds new reactors. Meanwhile, technologies that may cure disease or slash the carbon footprint of cement production benefit from government support, but too often the grant process “rewards caution and punishes outsider thinking.” The authors call this style of governing “everything-bagel liberalism,” so named because of its many government mandates. Instead, they envision “a politics of abundance” that would remake travel, work, and health. This won’t happen without “changing the processes that make building and inventing so hard.” It’s time, then, to scrutinize everything from municipal zoning regulations to the paperwork requirements for scientists getting federal funding. The authors’ debut as a duo is very smart and eminently useful.
Cogent, well-timed ideas for meeting today’s biggest challenges.Pub Date: March 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781668023488
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Avid Reader Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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