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Increase Awareness | Publications | SLCL
Introduction
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Simpler Living, Compassionate
Life:
A Christian Perspective
Over 20,000 copies of this award-winning book now in print!
includes study guide for groups and individuals
Not enough time? Money? Peace? Can less really be more? What really matters to you?
In a rare collection of voices, the authors of Simpler Living, Compassionate Life explore voluntary simplicity as a path to wholeness and abundance, and greater equity and meaning. Henri Nouwen, Richard Foster, Terry Tempest Williams, Cecile Andrews and eighteen other writers (Table of Contents) encourage you to listen to your own story, and to respond in a dialogue about the fundamental issues of life: time, money, food, sustainability, spirituality, and community. A diversity of voices and a helpful study guide make this an effective tool for individuals and groups ready to consider alternatives to the high-price, high-stress "Good Life": the riches of simplicity and compassion.
"In a society where ‘I shop, therefore I am’ results in a deep spiritual
poverty, Simpler Living, Compassionate Life provides a gospel-based
antidote. This wonderful collection of essays on money, time, environment,
community, and related topics offers a compelling alternative vision of
a healthy, whole, and balanced life. Used by individuals or groups,
it will stimulate honest reflection and discussion about how much is enough.”
Jim Wallis; Editor-in-Chief of Sojourners Magazine
"Simpler Living, Compassionate Life
gathers many voices into one insistent,
yet gentle call: for the sake of all we hold sacred North Americans must change
the way we live. Beyond stridency and fear these voices remind us that there is a spaciousness
to choosing ‘less’ that may bring ‘more’ real wealth into our lives. The
study curriculum is excellent, especially for people of faith.”
Vicki Robin; Coauthor with Joe Dominguez of Your Money or Your Life
“Simpler Living, Compassionate Life is an excellent resource for anyone
wishing to have a comprehensive overview of the myriad of ways living more simply has
positively affected our culture. It is also a delightful and practical guide
for creating simplicity in our own lives, our communities and for the benefit of the planet.”
Elaine St. James; Author of Simplify Your Life and Inner Simplicity
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Simpler
Living, Compassionate Life: A Christian Perspective
edited by Earth Ministry's Michael Schut
Foreword, Bill McKibben
Introduction
Introduction, Michael Schut
Overview, Michael Schut
The Sacred Journey: Seeking the Abundant Life
Introduction to The Sacred Journey, Frederick Buechner
The Good Life and The Abundant Life, Michael
Schut
Time as Commodity, Time as Sacred
Excerpt from The Overworked American, Juliet
Schor
The Spirituality of Everyday Life, Cecile
Andrews
Entering the Emptiness, Gerald May
Contemplation and Ministry, Henri Nouwen
Your Money or Your Life: The Place of Money in Modern Life
Spending Money as if Life Really Mattered,
Evy McDonald
Money, William Stringfellow
How Much Is Enough?: Lifestyles, Global Economics, and Justice
The Big Economy, The Great Economy, Michael
Schut
Christian Faith and the Degradation of Creation,
John B. Cobb, Jr.
How Much Is Enough?, Alan Durning
Word and Flesh, Wendell Berry
Social and Environmental Impacts of Everyday Food Choices
The Pleasures of Eating, Wendell Berry
The Great Hunter-Gatherer Continuum, James
T. Mulligan
Social Structures and the Politics of Simplicity
Christian Existence in a World of Limits,
John B. Cobb, Jr.
Structural Changes, Cecile Andrews
The Lifestyle of Christian Faithfulness, William
Gibson
Simplicity Is Nothing New: A Brief Historical Overview
Introduction to The Politics of Simplicity,
Jerome Segal
Epilogue from The Simple Life, David Shi
Simplicity Among the Saints, Richard J. Foster
Theology in Support Of Simplicity and Eco-Justice
Some Notes from Belshaz’zar's Feast, Timothy
Weiskel
Creation's Care and Keeping, Calvin DeWitt
The Discipline of Simplicity, Richard J. Foster
Worldviews: The Lens Through Which We See
Worldview as Inheritance, Michael Schut
Traditional Western View of Reality, Duane
Elgin
Healing Ourselves and Our Earth, Shantilal
Bhagat
Sacred Cosmology and the Ecological Crisis,
Philip Sherrard
Widening Our Circle of Community: Journey to Abundant Life
Building Community, Cecile Andrews
Winter Solstice at the Moab Slough, Terry
Tempest Williams
Epilogue
Seeing the Sacred in the Ordinary, James T.
Mulligan
Extending Our Circle of Compassion, Michael
Schut
Study Guide
by Michael Schut
The study guide (which appears at the back of the book) provides an opportunity to learn with others and develop
a community of support among participants. The material accommodates
four, six, eight or twelve weeks of group study. Leadership is shared as the
role of facilitator rotates. Facilitators need no special training or material.
Discussion questions, prayers and other meditative materials, and suggested
action steps are provided.
Meeting
One -- Storytelling: Listening to Our Lives
Two -- Worldviews: The Lens through Which We See
Three -- Simplicity is Nothing New: A Brief Historical Overview
Four -- Theology in Support of Simplicity
Five -- Theology for the Practice of Simplicity
Seven -- Your Money or Your Life
Eight -- The Big Economy, The Great Economy
Nine -- How Much is Enough?: Lifestyles, Global Economics, and Justice
Ten -- Broader Impacts of our Everyday Food Choices
Eleven -- The Politics of Simplicity
Twelve -- Widening Our Circle of Community: Journey to Abundant Life
How Small Groups are Using SLCL
Simpler Living, Compassionate Life's
study guide is designed to be user-friendly. It is also flexible and meant to fit whatever needs a particular small group may bring to their time together.Many congregations or organizations began by sponsoring a six or eight week class. Many of these groups, from what we hear, end up continuing to meet for the full twelve weeks. Some groups meet weekly, some monthly; some meet during a Sunday School hour, some gather for a longer period of time in someone's home. One particularly energized congregational-group met for 31 weeks, one for each of the book's essays!
The study guide's introduction includes a variety of suggested lengths and themes a group might pursue. Numerous congregations use the book during Lent or Advent.
Cost: $14.95 plus shipping.
Order online, print out the order form, or call Earth Ministry, (206) 632-2426.
You can also call your local bookstore. If not in stock, they will be able to order SLCL for you. ISBN Number: 1-889108-62-6.
Or, call the publisher at 1-800-824-1813.