Resources for Sabbath
Books
Baab, Lynne M., Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest, (InterVarsity Press: 2005)
Bass, Dorothy, Receiving the Day: Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000)
Bill, J. Brent, Holy Silence: The Gift of Quaker Spirituality, (Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2005)
Brenda, Eric, Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology (New York: Harper, 2004)
Dawn, Marva J., Keeping the Sabbath Wholly: Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989)
Edwards, Tilden, Sabbath Time: Understanding and Practice for Contemporary Christians (Nashville: Upper Room, 2003)
Fink, Nan. Stranger in the Midst (1997. This is the novel Lauren Winner reads and finds inspiration for her book, Mudhouse Sabbath.)
Foster, Richard J. The Celebration of Discipline: Paths to Spiritual Growth. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978.
Gilbert, Elizabeth. Eat, Pray, Love (New York: Viking, 2003)
Grade, Chaim. My Mother’s Sabbath Days: A Memoir. Trans Channa Kleinerman Goldstein and Inna Hecker Grade. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986.
Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man (New Your: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1951)
Honore, Carl. In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 2004)
Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees (Penguin: 2003)
Pohl, Christine. Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999)
Schaper, Donna. Sabbath Sense: A Spiritual Antidote for the Overworked (Cowley Publications, 1999)
Winner, Lauren F. Mudhouse Sabbath (Paraclete Press: 2003)
Wirzba, Norman. Living the Sabbath, (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2006)
Wolterstorff, Nicholas. Until Justice and Peace Embrace. (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1983)
Articles
Davis, Ellen. “Slaves or Sabbath-Keepers? A Biblical Perspective on Human Work,” (Anglican Theological Review, Winter 2001)
Monke, Lowell. “Charlotte’s Webpage: Why Children Shouldn’t Have the World at Their Fingertips.” Orion, September/October 2005
Peterson, Eugene H. “Confessions of a Former Sabbath Breaker”. Christianity Today, 2 Sept. 1988.
Peterson, Eugene H. "The Pastor's Sabbath." Leadership (Spring, 1985), 52-58
“Try Shabbas” (editorial). Tikkun 3 (Jan./Feb. 1988)
Film
What movies come to mind that speak of rest, refreshment, feasting, re-creation, and sabbath-keeping? Are there movies that have touched you in ways that inspire sabbath-keeping, or movies that illustrate the perils of sabbath-breaking? Here are just a few that come to my mind:
Babette’s Feast
The Bonfire of the Vanities
Crash
Fried Green Tomatoes
How to Make an American Quilt (a better book than movie!)
Places in the Heart
The Trip to Bountiful
Waiting to Exhale
Music
I shared music by one of my favorite singers and songwriters, Carrie Newcomer. Carrie’s Quaker-ism shines through in quieting yet stirring songs like “There’s A Gathering of Spirits,” “Geods,” and “Holy as a Day is Spent.” Of course, you’ll have your own favorite hymns, songs, composers, and singers.
Poetry
Most of the individual poems can be found on one of the many poetry websites.
Berry, Wendell. A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems, 1979-1997 (Washington, DC: Counterpoint, 1998)
Cambridge, Ada. “The Dawn of God’s Sabbath”
Dickinson, Emily. “Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church”
Disch, Thomas. “A Sabbath Prayer”
Yehuda Halevi (1086-1145). “Sabbath, My Love”
Stafford, William. “Ask Me”
Wingate, Walter. “Sabbath”
Websites
Practicing Our Faith
This familiar website contains a variety of resources on “Receiving the Day,” including ways that local congregations have grown in their understanding and practice of sabbath-keeping.
Congregational Resource Guide: Resources for Congregations
This website of the Alban Institute and Indianapolis Center for Congregations lists ten resources when you search “Sabbath.”
