Description
How can we love and serve God with gladness and singleness of heart?
For more than a decade, Episcopal priest Christopher H. Martin has studied and explored this question. Building upon a renewal movement he founded within the church called The Restoration Project, Martin has crafted a series of gentle practices to help people embrace a new and ancient way of being a Christian in the world, body and soul.
This approach invites a focus on daily prayer and weekly worship along with gentle practices—slight shifts in perspective and action that help us to live more fully into God’s call for our everyday lives. Martin turns to scripture, theologians and poets, and experience from fellow faith pilgrims to develop this guide for modern-day disciples seeking to move through their ordinary days with gladness and singleness of heart.
Also available on the Amazon Kindle and at the iTunes store.
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This title is also available at Amazon.com and Bookshop.org. However, when you purchase directly from Forward Movement your purchase supports our ministry to provide free books and devotionals to prisons, nursing homes, hospitals, and military bases. Plus, our reduced bulk prices are often the best option for churches and groups, and you can always call us for special discounts for very large orders.
Join Christopher Martin's 5 week Lenten curriculum, With Gladness: 5 Weeks of Holy Practices for Disciples. Available for individuals and groups.
Editorial Reviews
In With Gladness: Answering God’s Call in Our Everyday Lives, Christopher Martin doesn’t just talk about growing in holiness or growing closer to God; rather, he provides simple, gentle ways to do both. Martin engages imagination, scripture, and time-tested spiritual wisdom to layer practices that will help us over time adjust our gaze and our hearts so that we might hear and follow God’s call for us. I am eager to introduce this to others in my parish! —The Rev'd E. Suzanne Wille, Rector at All Saints, Indianapolis
Father Christopher’s Martin’s latest book, With Gladness: Answering God’s Call in our Daily Lives, is an accessible and practical roadmap for Christians who desire deepen their walk of faith and strengthen their relationship with Jesus. Drawing on wisdom from scripture, poetry, philosophy and his own long experience as a follower of Jesus and a parish priest, Father Martin presents five “gentle practices” which any reader can immediately begin applying to their daily life in order to more faithfully respond to God’s call on their life “with gladness.” Short chapters and clear directions for engaging with its content make this work an especially attractive option for Christian book clubs or seasonal church formation activities. Packed with ancient wisdom presented in a clear and generous way, With Gladness is a real treasure for today’s Church! —The Rt. Rev. J. Scott Barker, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska
A perfect read for pandemic-time, Christopher shows us how to take the most mundane daily rhythms and turn them into prayer. Deepen your understanding of the work God calls you to do each moment with this rich and thoughtful book. —The Very Rev. Kate Moorehead, Dean of St. John's Cathedral, Jacksonville, Florida
Rooted in the scriptures and a rich well of Christian liturgical and contemplative traditions, With Gladness leads readers into a series of gentle practices that help to open us to God’s presence and action both within our lives already and within the next things that God would have us do. Along the way, Fr Christopher Martin weaves in a memorable cast of interlocutors from fourth century monks to nineteenth century poets and philosophers to members of Fr Christopher’s own parish. This is a book that issues from a living experience of our ancient faith and will help to renew it in our own day. – Jacob Holsinger Sherman, Professor and Chair of Philosophy and Religion, California Institute of Integral Studies, author of Partakers of the Divine: Contemplation and the Practice of Philosophy