Scott W. AlexanderCritiques

Unitarian Universalist Strategies for Sharing Faith and Growing Congregations

Simple Pathways for Enriching Your Life

About the editor, quoting from the book's back cover: "Scott W. Alexander is the editor of [other books including] 'Salted With Fire: Strategies for Sharing Faith and Growing Congregations,' and 'AIDS and Your Religious Community' . . .He currently serves as minister at River Road Unitarian Church in Bethesda, Maryland." The Rev. Beth Graham of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington, New York said of this work, "This book is not simply about finding the sacred in the everyday. Rather, this accessible collection gives tips on how to make the everyday more sacred. By the end of 'Everyday Spiritual Practice,' I felt deeply thankful that so many people from my faith tradition have so much to offer about living life more appreciatively." This work is divided into such divergent topics as engaging the mind: contemplation and engaging the will: right action. A list of resources is included.

The Reverend Mary J. Harrington of the Unitarian Universalist Church at Marblehead, MA said of this book, "I cannot imagine a more inspiring, morally compelling and practical resource. It is the envy of my colleagues, Jewish and Christian. Welcome to the second edition with rejoicing and gratitude." This work includes 14 workshops, with complete instruction for program leaders.

Think of this book as a sampler platter of spiritual practices. While each activity described is part of somebody's spiritual life, some will be more familiar to the reader than others. For example, I'm guessing most people reading this book won't be surprised to find chapters on prayer, sacred reading, or meditation, but the chapters on marriage, quilting, and recycling may be unexpected. And somehow I doubt taking up yoga or a martial art would be as "simple" as the subtitle suggests!

I like the range of activities covered in this book. but this really is a sampler platter: to incorporate any one of most of these activities into your own spiritual practice, you're going to have to do more research elsewhere. And as is probably inevitable in a book with this many contributors, some chapters are more engaging than others. Still, it's a good introductory guide to practices both on and off the beaten path.