Urban Leaders Network Meeting, Oct. 24 to 25, 2008 - “Breaking through urban concrete: agents of good news infiltrating hierarchies of power” is the theme for the ULN meeting. Invited by the New York City Council of Mennonite Churches, we will be meeting in Manhattan, New York, at the Manhattan Country School. Urban leaders, pastors and others with an urban interest are welcome to participate in the meeting. Workshops led by people from the local NYC area, a concluding message from James R. Krabill, senior executive for global ministries at Mennonite Mission Network, and warm hospitality from NYC congregations comprise the program. The meeting begins with registration at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 24 and continues Oct. 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Two optional events include: networking in small groups while dining together Saturday evening; worship with a local congregation on Sunday morning. Mark your calendars and look for more information in the future. Contact: Becky Tyson at BeckyT@MennoniteMission.net or 574-523-3076.

Beyond the Law Living the Sermon on the Mount “The tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, drove Philip Clemens back to a close reading of the Sermon on the Mount, which resulted in what he terms a ‘pastoral meditation’ on themes of righteousness, community and blessing. Clemens uses effective analogies, stories and illustrations, and also includes discussion guides at the close of each chapter, making Beyond the Law a useful book for sermon preparation, small group studies and spiritual reading.”
—Mennonite Brethren Herald
Paper, 224 pages, $13.99

Blessed Are the Pacifists The Beatitudes and Just War Theory “Thomas Trzyna draws on far different sensibilities while considering the competing claims of the just war tradition and the Beatitudes. These differences bring a welcome freshness to his treatment of the Beatitudes as a ‘pacifist manual.’ Trzyna’s emphasis on peace as a way of life that can be found over generations rather than by quick action is well taken.”
—Mennonite Brethren Herald
Paper, 136 pages, $11.99

A Precarious Peace Yoderian Explorations on Theology, Knowledge, and Identity“Chris Huebner engages in ‘Yoderian’ explorations of theology, knowledge and identity by copying the master’s style through broad engagements with contemporary philosophy, theology and social theory. Huebner’s overarching concern is to unsettle or complexify precisely those notions that are prematurely or illegitimately settled in the minds of Christians in the wider church. He is especially concerned to call peace churches to continually question the very notions of peace they hold dear; since to consider such notions as settled may itself be violent—an attempt to control people and events. By doing so, he helps us rethink tightly held notions of martyrdom, the nature of violence, ecumenism and identity. The importance of this book should not be underestimated, since it is often the areas in which we are most confident that we need the most reconsideration.”
—Mennonite Brethren Herald
Paper, 250 pages, $18.99