An Altar in the World

by Taylor, Barbara Brown

• ISBN13: 9780061370472
• ISBN10: 0061370479
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-05-03
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

In her critically acclaimed Leaving Church ("a beautiful, absorbing memoir."-Dallas Morning News), Barbara Brown Taylor wrote about leaving full-time ministry to become a professor, a decision that stretched the boundaries of her faith. Now, in her stunning follow-up, An Altar in the World, she shares how she learned to encounter God beyond the walls of any church. From simple practices such as walking, working, and getting lost to deep meditations on topics like prayer and pronouncing blessings, Taylor reveals concrete ways to discover the sacred in the small things we do and see. Something as ordinary as hanging clothes on a clothesline becomes an act of devotion if we pay attention to what we are doing and take time to attend to the sights, smells, and sounds around us. Making eye contact with the cashier at the grocery store becomes a moment of true human connection. Allowing yourself to get lost leads to new discoveries. Under Taylor's expert guidance, we come to question conventional distinctions between the sacred and the secular, learning that no physical act is too earthbound or too humble to become a path to the divine. As we incorporate these practices into our daily lives, we begin to discover altars everywhere we go, in nearly everything we do.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. xiii
The Practice of Waking Up to God Vision	p. 1
The Practice of Paying Attention Reverence	p. 17
The Practice of Wearing Skin Incarnation	p. 35
The Practice of Walking on the Earth Groundedness	p. 53
The Practice of Getting Lost Wilderness	p. 69
The Practice of Encountering Others Community	p. 87
The Practice of Living with Purpose Vocation	p. 107
The Practice of Saying No Sabbath	p. 121
The Practice of Carrying Water Physical Labor	p. 141
The Practice of Feeling Pain Breakthrough	p. 155
The Practice of Being Present to God Prayer	p. 175
The Practice of Pronouncing Blessings Benediction	p. 193
Acknowledgments	p. 211
Notes	p. 213
Permissions	p. 217
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