Wonder and Other Life Skills explores the human need for community, non-threatening ways to create community in multi-faith environments, the implications of the statement that people are created in the image of God, connections among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and the use of creative arts as tools to open the minds of young adults to ingenuity, innovation and imagination to help them connect with the Divine. Subsequent chapters provide detailed outlines for eight spiritual retreats for young adults, itemized instructions for including creative arts activities, and recommendations for use of this material by campus ministers, youth pastors, and the church at large. This combination of the theoretical and the practical makes this volume a necessity for those in youth ministry and for seminarians and students of pastoral theology.
B. Kathleen Fannin is the chaplain of Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois.
Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Chapter 1. Our Need for a New Paradigm: Self-Absorbed Individualism vs. Community in an Age of Moral Ambiguity Chapter 3 Chapter 2. Creating Community in an Interfaith Environment Chapter 4 Chapter 3. The Divine Choice Chapter 5 Chapter 4. Created to Relate and to Create Chapter 6 Chapter 5. Multifaith Spiritual Life Retreats for College Students Chapter 7 Chapter 6. Actual Retreat Experiences: Two Examples Chapter 8 Chapter 7. Additional Retreat Outlines Chapter 9 Chapter 8. Creative Arts and Activities for Retreats Chapter 10 Chapter 9. Insights, Understandings, and Recommendations
Creative spiritual formation joins a vision of God and practices that enable persons to experience God in their lives. Wonder and Other Life Skills is an invaluable contribution to young adult spirituality. The book provides a solid understanding of young adult and college student spirituality, practices for spiritual transformation, and ready to hand models for spiritual life retreats. Grounded in ecumenical Christian theology, the text embraces today's post-modern, interfaith, and global spirituality. Wonder and Other Life Skills provides religious leaders and students with the tools for the life-transforming integration of spiritual growth, technological experience, and global awareness. -- Bruce Epperly, Professor of Practical Theology and Director of Continuing Education, Lancaster Theological Seminary A gifted college chaplain and guide for young adults, Kathleen Fannin provides a vital resource for those who work not only with young adults but also for any who are called to offer guidance and nurture to those on a spiritual journey. In these pages, she offers a solid theological grounding for this ministry and argues persuasively for the need to draw on the creative arts to help open ourselves to the presence of God in our lives. The detailed descriptions of the spiritual life retreats and the very practical resources she provides make this book an important tool for those engaged on college and university campuses, in seminaries, and in congregations in the work of spiritual nurture. -- Karen B. Tye, professor of Christian Education, Eden Theological Seminary To counter the self-absorbed individualism preached by mainstream American culture, Fannin wants to bring young adults of many religious traditions together through retreats that emphasize expressing and responding to their own and others' stories and practices of faith. She creatively combines the arts and classical spiritual disciplines to equip college students for moral leadership in the 21st century. Her method is solidly rooted in contemporary philosophical and theological reflection and her 'how to' sections provide models well worth emulating. -- Karen-Marie Yust, Union Theological Seminary & Presbyterian School of Christian Education Bringing together incisive cultural analysis, profound theological sensitivity, and the wisdom gained from ten years as a college chaplain, Fannin provides everything that one needs in order to plan and lead an engaging and transformative retreat-topics, themes, outlines, schedules, descriptions of art projects, lists of supplies and resources, evaluation forms, Bible study guidelines, menus, and more! This volume will be an extraordinarily valuable resource for college chaplains, religious educators, pastors, and advisors to faith-oriented student groups-in short, to anyone who works in a religious setting with older youth and/or young adults. -- J. Clinton McCann, Jr., Evangelical Professor of Biblical Interpretation, Eden Theological Seminary Wonder and Other Life Skills is an excellent guide based on solid theology and healthy spirituality. Fannin's practical, creative suggestions provide excellent resource materials for anyone engaged in ministry with young adults. I highly recommend this resource. -- Joyce Rupp, OSM, author of Inviting God In Extensive notes, lists of works cited and index round out this valuable reference. The Living Church, March 2008 There is so much more in this wonderful book on [Wonder] that I have not been able to include in this abbreviated review. The term "treasure trove" comes to mind. That is what we have here in Kathleen's fine book. The step-by-step section on the making prayer shawls with spray-on fabric dye was a gem...Just the detailed retreat schedules, sample menus and food lists...these alone are worth the inexpensive price of this book...Its wonder-full. -- Rev. Paul C. Walley, Recently retired Ecumenical Campus Pastor of the Student Christian Center, State Univ. New York The research is well-rounded, and she includes a works cited and additional works consulted... The descriptions and practical information about the practice of leading retreats is really valuable. The Christian Librarian, Fall 2009
