Education for Mission

Reading Program 2000

ACROSS BOUNDARIES: THE JOURNEY OF A SOUTH AFRICAN WOMAN LEADER

Difficult reading
The Feminist Press, 1995
244 pages
Mamphela Ramphele
Hardcover/#3026/$14.95

Born Black and female in apartheid-ruled South Africa, Mamphela Ramphele became a leading political activist, physician and advisor to Nelson Mandela. This is her autobiography.

BEYOND THE WHITE NOISE: MISSION IN A MULTICULTURAL WORLD

Chalice Press, 1997
136 pages
Tom Montgomery-Fate #3036/$15.00

A former missionary to the Philippines shares how we can replace the neocolonial model of mission with a model based on compassionate listening. He tells how he learned to listen and understand "the healing language of the heart." A resource for the 1999-2000 mission study on "Mission in the 21st Century."

BOSNIA: HOPE IN THE ASHES

Paraclete Press, 1996
184 pages
David Manuel #3035/$12.95

This is the personal story of a Christian writer's visits to Bosnia to understand that country and to find out what role God played in the hearts of individual Muslims, Croats and Serbs. The author uncovers hope in the lives of ordinary people and their stories of faith and in survival.

CHRISTMAS STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD: HONORING JESUS IN MANY LANDS (Easy reading)

Hope Publishing House, 1997
136 pages
J. Lawrence Driskill, editor #3039/$11.95

Missionaries from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America share the simplicity and beauty of the story and celebration of Christ’s birth as seen through the eyes of Christians around the world.

THE COMFORT WOMEN: JAPAN’S BRUTAL REGIME OF ENFORCED PROSTITUTION IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR

W.W. Norton & Company, 1997
303 pages
George Hicks #3041/$13.00

More than 100,000 women, most Korean, were forced by the Japanese Imperial Forces to provide sex to soldiers during World War II. The victims of this hidden war crime tell their own stories powerfully and poignantly. Warning: This book contains sexually-explicit descriptions of the treatment endured by the women.

FALLING LEAVES

Broadway Books, 1999
304 pages
Adeline Yen Mah #3048/$13.00

This is the autobiography of the painful childhood of a Chinese girl told against the background of 20th century social, political and cultural upheaval. Buoyed by an indomitable spirit, she finds independence and fulfillment in adulthood.

FORCED TO GROW

Interlink Books, 1998
232 pages
Sindiwe Magona #3053/$12.95

With vibrancy and intimacy, Ms. Magona describes her experiences as a South African woman left alone to raise three children. She tells of her struggles against apartheid and her studies in the United States. The author retains a sharp sense of humor when describing the hardships and crises of her life.

HIS PROMISED LAND: AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOHN P. PARKER, A FORMER SLAVE AND CONDUCTOR ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

W.W. Norton & Company, 1998
165 pages
John P. Parker #3059/$10.00

This is the autobiography of John P. Parker, who was born into slavery in 1827. Against enormous odds, Mr. Parker obtained his freedom, then worked in the Underground Railway to help free others.

IF SADDLEBAGS COULD TALK: METHODIST STORIES AND ANECDOTES

(Easy reading)
Providence House Publishers, 1998
116 pages
Frederick E. Maser and Robert Drew Simpson #3060/$11.95

This collection of stories about early Methodism introduces us to circuit riders, bishops, and laywomen and men "who thrived or sometimes suffered" under their leadership. Stories portray John Wesley, Francis Asbury, women in the church, camp meetings and mission.

IMAGES OF THE CHURCH IN MISSION

(Study & discussion)
Herald Press, 1997
240 pages
John Driver #3061/$14.95

The author examines 12 biblical images that inspire the church to be in harmony with God's missionary purpose. It is a resource for the 1999-2000 mission study on "Mission in the 21st Century."

A LIGHT ON THE HILL: TAMPA UNITED METHODIST CENTERS IN THE MODERN ERA

(Easy reading)
Tampa United Methodist Centers, 1998
152 pages
Harry Rissetto #3068/$9.95

This is a collection of stories of people whose lives have been touched by Tampa United Methodist Centers, a national mission institution founded by the predecessors of United Methodist Women. The work begun in 1892 by Rosa Valdez, a Cuban, continues the struggle against poverty, racism and injustice.

MOTHER TERESA: LOVE STAYS

The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1998
140 pages
Christian Feldman
Hardcover/#3076/$12.95

This biography of Mother Teresa covers her birth in Albania in 1910, her work with the Missionaries of Charity in India and her death in 1997. Eyewitness reports and Mother Teresa's own words challenge readers to be in mission with the poorest of the poor.

MY CALLING TO FULFILL: DEACONESSES IN THE UNITED METHODIST TRADITION

Women's Division, General Board of Global Ministries, 1997
298 pages
Mary Agnes Dougherty #2656/$9.95

Brought alive by photos, the history of the deaconess movement in the denominations that form today’s United Methodist Church is recounted from its beginnings in 1888 to the present.

PUSHING THE BEAR: A NOVEL OF THE TRAIL OF TEARS

Harcourt Brace and Company, 1998
252 pages
Diane Glancy #3082/$12.00

This novel tells the story of the Trail of Tears, the forced removal by the U.S. government of 13,000 Cherokee who walked from their Southeastern lands 900 miles to Oklahoma. A tale of the struggle for survival, this book uncovers moral and spiritual strengths that helped the Cherokee people endure.