First Presbyterian Church of Ham

First Presbyterian Church of Hamilton Square, NJ

3550 Nottingham Way Hamilton Square, NJ 08690 ▪ 609.587.3683 ▪ fax 609.587.9459

We are pleased to report that the library now has a PC of its own. The PC has some basic software and is accessible to anyone who drops by. In the next few months we hope to put together a searchable database that will help anyone find materials we have in the library. Thanks to Jim Drumheller and J. T. and John Thomas for getting this up and running, and to the Administration Committee for working with us. We hope the PC will be one more tool for finding and using good Christian resources.

As promised, our library has new reading material on the missional church. These books will follow-up on material presented by Dr. Darrell Guder in February, and can serve as an introduction to those who missed the event. The new books can be found on the main table in the library. Check them out!

Be My Witnesses, by Darrell Guder. This book is an introduction to the biblical theme of church and its mission. Drawing on language from Jesus’ “great commission”, and stories from the early church in the book of Acts, Guder draws important and daring conclusions regarding the purpose of the church. This book combines theological themes interwoven with explication of Scripture. While this book is a somewhat difficult read, it is worth the effort, as Guder makes observations that will lead the missional church movement for years to come.

The End of Christendom and the Future of Christianity, by Douglas John Hall. Hall’s short work discusses the possibility – indeed, the realization – that Christendom is over. Christianity is no longer enjoys majority status and the privileges associated with it. For Hall, this presents exciting new possibilities for the church. We now exist as a minority, the way the early church did, and can live the sort of risky call to mission and evangelism that is the signature of Christ’s ministry. This book was the primary inspiration for Pastor Doug’s sermon entitled “Minority Report”, given in February of this year. A somewhat easy read, and not too lengthy.

Foolishness to the Greeks, by Lesslie Newbigin. Newbigin presents a seminal work on mission in the Western world. Though written decades ago, this book still holds its place as the textbook on understanding the modern Western world as a new mission field. Newbigin spends early chapters helping the reader understand the Western context, and particularly its relationship to enlightenment thought. He then moves on to practical theory on how to bring the transformative Gospel to the mission field in our own backyard. Though this is a fairly short book, it is a somewhat difficult read.

Missional Church, edited by Darrell Guder. This work became the textbook for missional church studies. Some chapters are easy to read, some very difficult. Missional theologians who are some of the premier thinkers in the field present each chapter. Overall, this is a somewhat difficult read, but great for just copying a chapter or two out to take with you.

Spirituality and Liberation, by Robert McAfee Brown. This book, or the Hall book above, is probably the place to start if you are a novice to thinking on the missional church. Brown worries that many people see service, mission, and liberation as being distinct or segmented from spirituality. He convincingly suggests that the two are more connected than most people think. This book is both moving on a devotional level, and inspiring on a missional level – reinforcing his main point. A pretty easy/quick read.

Hope you have time to check these out, and be on the lookout for a few more in coming months! Peace, Doug

Thanks to Pastor Doug for being this month’s guest reviewer. Also, thanks to Becki Weltmann for pitching in to shelve returned books.

The library has lots of resources for children. Judging by the cards people have left who’ve borrowed books for their children, this is not news to everyone. But for those to whom it is news, here are some of the things in the collection that might interest children.

Veggie Tales is an imaginative series of videos for young children to help them with the kinds of problems children face everyday. For example, “Where’s God When I’m Scared” features Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber, helping Junior Asparagus to cope with his fear of the spooky dark places that suddenly appear in his room after bedtime. Bob and Larry (who are members of what amounts to a repertory company of vegetables) tell Junior that God is bigger than any monster that ever existed—bigger even than the very scary Frankencelery--and that since He loves everyone Junior has no reason to fear the dark or anything else. On the same video Larry also plays the role of Daniel, who survives the lion’s den because of God’s love. The stories are direct and to the point, well aimed at small children, musical, funny and serious all at the same time. Others in the group the church owns include “Dave and the Giant Pickle,” a Veggie Tales retelling of the story of David and Goliath.

Find the children’s videos just inside the library’s door, to the left, in a cabinet labeled. . . Videos! There’s a notebook open on top of the cabinet. Write your name and phone number and the title(s) of what you borrow, and the date you borrow. There are many more things in that cabinet than Veggie Tales.

There are lots of books for children of all ages, books for children to read, books for you to read to them.

Bibles include The Beginner’s Bible: Timeless Children’s Stories, as told by Karen Henley (Questar, 1989; 95 stories from the Old and New Testaments); Every Day with God: A Child’s Daily Bible. Selections from the International Children’s Bible (a story a day for 52 weeks, Genesis through Revelation); and The Children’s Bible (Golden Press, 1965; a longer book, more words, closer to the language of adult Bible translations).

There is a series of Bible Heroes Storybooks, three stories to a colorful volume, well illustrated, easy to read, though maybe not exactly right for very early readers. One volume (on the low table in the center of the library right now) includes the stories of Zacchaeus the tax collector, Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and His resurrection.

Arch Books (Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis) has produced a series called Quality Religious Books for Children. Authors retell stories from the Bible, usually in verse, including: Alice Bergey, The World God Made: The Story of Creation (Genesis 1 and 2). Carol Greene, Proverbs—Important Things to Know, recasts quotations from the Book of Proverbs into modern language suitable for young readers. For example, Proverbs 11:13 (The New Jerusalem Bible, Standard Edition) says: A tittle-tattler lets secrets out, the trustworthy keeps things hidden. Greene’s version (using a grandmother character to carry the messages of the verses she paraphrases): A tittle-tattler always tells, Said Grandma with a smile. But wise girls can keep secrets And folks trust them a mile.
Robert E. Mitchell, Abraham, Sarah and the Promised Son (Genesis 17, 18:1-15, 21: 1-7). At the end of each book the series’ editor restates for parents its main points and recommends other readings for parents and children. This one, about faith and God’s faithfulness, redirects readers to Hebrews 11.

Finally, there is What God is Like, by Darlene Hamilton and Beverly Schultz Mullins (Philadelphia: Lutheran Church Press, 1966). The authors divided their book into four sections: “God created our world,” “God cares for his people,” “God is with us when we talk with him,” and “God loves and forgives us.” The sections contain stories from the Bible—“God Takes Care of Joseph” and “The Lame Man and the Friends of Jesus,” for example—and stories that help children see God at work in the world around us and in everyone’s daily life, such as “Paul’s Promise” or “Cathy’s Bad Day.” At 128 pages it may be a little long for a child to read at one sitting, but its organization into groups of stories makes it ideal for a parent to read to or with a child a little bit at a time.

And there’s a lot more for children and parents to read in the church library. You already know what to do to borrow a book, but the library is an especially good place to visit on a rainy day.

The library is open every Sunday morning and weekdays when the church is open. If you stop in during the week, please check in with Carol or the Pastor(s) to let them know there is someone in that section of the building. We also ask that you turn off the lights and close the door when you leave.