Rochelle Melander - The Spiritual Leaders Guide to Self-Care

Anders, Isabel. Simple Blessings for Sacred Moments. Liguori, Mo.: Liguori/Triumph, 1998. Anders has collected these blessings to be used for daily living, transitional moments, and seasonal celebrations.

Frank, Ann Wall. Bless This House. Lincolnwood, Ill.: NTC Contemporary Publishing House, 1996. This book offers home-dwellers (be it in an apartment, house, or houseboat) a ritual for blessing their dwellings.

Skinner, Susan. Blessings for Today. Nashville, Tenn.: Dimensions for Living, 2001. Skinner has collected graces and blessings for lifes many occasions, both large and small.

www.christiancoaching.com. Offers a database for persons interested in finding a Christian coach.

www.coachfederation.org. This Web site is the organization responsible for credentialing coaches, and offers a database of coaches.

www.coachu.com. One of the primary organizations that trains coaches, this Web site offers information on free seminars as well as a free coach referral service.

Leonard, Thomas J. The Portable Coach: 28 Surefire Strategies for Business and Personal Success. New York: Scribner, 1998. Leonard (www.thomasleonard.com), founder of Coach University (www.coachuniversity.com), presents his strategies for success. The book includes helpful checklists and self-tests.

Hestenes, Roberta. Turning Committees into Communities. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1991. This slim volume provides helpful information on how to recruit volunteers for committees.

Melander, Rochelle, and Harold Eppley. Growing Together: Spiritual Exercises for Church Committees. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1998. Offers a simple small group process that you can apply to any committee, task force, or group meeting. Each of the 50 thematic exercises contains a prayer, community building time, Bible reading, and questions for reflection.

Olsen, Charles M. Transforming Church Boards into Communities of Spiritual Leaders. Bethesda, Md.: The Alban Institute, 1995. Olsen provides practical and inspiring suggestions for helping church boards deepen their faith and develop their leadership abilities.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1979. Bonhoeffers classic exploration of Christian community provides a lasting vision of how Christians can live together.

Burns, Olive Ann. Cold Sassy Tree. New York: Dell, 1986. Fourteen-year-old Willy Tweedy tells the story of his grandfathers hasty remarriage to a younger woman in this novel set in a Georgia community where nothings a secret for long.

Fleischman, Paul. Seedfolk. New York: HarperCollins, 1999. An inner-city community builds a garden and new relationships in this young adult novel.

Giardina, Denise. Storming Heaven. New York: Fawcett Books, 1987. Four people tell about their battle to unionize the coal companies around 1900.

Hassler, Jon. The Deans List. New York: Ballantine Books, 1997.

---.Rookery Blues. New York: Ballantine Books, 1995. In these two novels, Hassler follows a group of professors through their professional and personal lives at an isolated fictitious state college in Minnesota.

Knight, Mary Burns. Welcoming Babies. Gardiner, Maine: Tilbury House Publishers, 1994. This picture book illustrates the ways various cultures and faith traditions welcome babies, and includes helpful notes for parents.

Landvik, Loma. The Tall Pine Polka. New York: Ballantine, 2001. A small, tight-knit northern Minnesota community is turned upside down when a Hollywood movie company decides to film on location, using one of the locals as the star.

Letts, Billie. Where the Heart Is. New York: Warner Books, 1995. Ayoung woman, pregnant and homeless, lives in a small-town Wal-Mart store until locals step in to care for her.

Mirvis, Tova. The Ladies Auxiliary. New York: Ballantine Books, 1999. A tight-knit community of orthodox Jews is challenged by the arrival of a new and more free-spirited member to their community.

Day, Katie. Difficult Conversations: Taking Risks, Acting with Integrity. Bethesda, Md.: The Alban Institute, 2001. Day presents the reasons conversations become difficult and describes models for true dialogue.

Haugk, Kenneth C. Antagonists in the Church: How to Identify and Deal with Destructive Conflict. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1988. In this practical book, Haugk teaches about healthy and unhealthy conflict and provides solutions for coping with antagonism.

www.christosministries.org. This counseling service for clergy and their families offers a toll free help line: (888) 879-3000.

www.ministrydevelopment.org. This Web site is the home of a national network of accredited centers providing resources for clergy and other church workers, denominational leadership, and local churches. The centers are located in a variety of cities in the United States and many have their own Web sites linked to this site.

Burns, David D. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. New York: Avon Books, 1980. Burns explains how those living with depression can find help by revising their thought processes.

Gregg-Schroeder, Susan. In the Shadow of Gods Wings: Grace in the Midst of Depression. Nashville: Upper Room Books, 1997. A United Methodist pastor shares her own journey through clinical depression and in the process provides insights about community and spirituality.

Brussat, Frederic, and Mary Ann Brussat. Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life. New York: Scribner, 1996. The Brussats have collected quotes from a variety of religious traditions under an alphabet of themes. The book includes spiritual exercises, rituals, journal questions, and activities.

Jones, Alan W. Passion for Pilgrimage: Notes for the Journey Home. Harrisburg, Pa.: Morehouse Publishing, 1999. Jones ponders the Christians search for God as he considers the Passion and Easter stories.

LEngle, Madeleine, and Carol F. Chase, ed. Glimpses of Grace: Daily Thoughts and Reflections. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996. LEngle writes fiction for young adults and spiritual essays for adults. This book collects excerpts of her writings for the devotional reader to use each day.

Melander, Rochelle, and Harold Eppley. Timeouts with God: Meditations for Parents. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2001. This collection of 101 devotions is aimed at busy, harried parents who need to hear Gods words of enduring grace.

Mild, Mary L., ed. Women at the Well: Meditations on Healing and Wholeness. Valley Forge, Pa.: Judson Press, 1996. This book contains a year of meditations written by women and centered around the themes of health, healing, and wholeness.

Peterson, Eugene H. Praying with Jesus: A Year of Daily Prayers and Reflections on the Words and Actions of Jesus. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993. Daily readings and prayers help readers to deepen their relationship with Jesus.

Richardson, Jan L. In Wisdoms Path: Discovering the Sacred in Every Season. Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2000. Richardson uses essays, poetry, and cut-paper artwork to explore the liturgical seasons and themes of community and inclusivity.

---. Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas. Cleveland: United Church Press, 1998. Essays, prayers, and original artwork lead the reader to a deeper reflection upon the meaning of this holiday season.