Anna Redsand was sixteen when she heard her mother say of two women who’d been discovered to be lovers, “They’re living in sin. They should see a doctor.” She knew in that moment that she would have to leave the security and intimacy of family, church, and home―the only world she had ever known. As that world faded, so too did everything that had been religious or spiritual inside her. The journey was to find what she’d lost—or replace it. Was there a faith community that could accept Anna as a lesbian, a doubter, and someone committed to social justice? To Drink From the Silver Cup is the story of Anna Redsand’s quest. It took her from a devout missionary life in the Navajo Nation into the shame and exile of being unwanted in the homeland, and then beyond through the uncharted territory of different religious, spiritual, and political directions. Always striving for authenticity, continuing to long for home, forty years after taking leave, Anna embarked on a deliberate experiment to see if return was possible―or whether too much had changed in her and too little in the church. In the past, most memoirs about conflicts between fundamentalist Christianity and sexuality have been written by gay men. Few, if any, have come to the same resolution that To Drink From the Silver Cup does. This is a unique and memorable story with resonance for both seekers and those who have never challenged their held beliefs.

Can swallowing a poinsettia leaf kill you? Why do you have to cook taro before you eat it? Is cooking with oleander wood really dangerous? Poisonous Plants of Paradise, a well-researched and generously illustrated guide to potentially harmful plants in Hawai'i, answers these questions and many more in everyday language and in a user-friendly format. Of value to both medical professionals and the general public, this handbook describes each plant in words and color photos, then identifies the plant's toxins, mechanism of injury, incidence, signs and symptoms, and traditional and modern uses. The authors offer first aid recommendations and discuss advanced medical treatment based on the latest published literature. Health-care workers, naturalists, hikers, parents, and child-care providers will find Poisonous Plants of Paradise a highly useful and informative reference.

An examination of the vibrant traditional and folk arts inspired by the sacramental use of peyote by members of the Native American Church

With his eyes open, what was he planning to do in this ancient room?

This volume aims to clarify the context for the expansion of Western Europe by focusing on what had been the greatest power in early medieval Europe, the Byzantine empire, and on the continuing strengths and expansion of the Orthodox world. Byzantine 'orthodoxy' offered a format for faith, hope and fear in various combinations, involving religious beliefs and an idealised world-order. Its multifaceted nature helps explain Byzantium's success - the resilience of the earthly empire and the appeal of its religious organisation and rites to other societies. The volume reprints a set of key studies, combining classic treatments of Byzantine and Slavic history with far-reaching explorations of the extent of those worlds. Part I focuses on the empire in its heyday: some studies illustrate the sense of manifest destiny bolstering the imperial order until - and even beyond - Constantinople's fall to the fourth crusaders in 1204. The spread of the Byzantines' cult enlarged their trading zone northwards across Rus, while Byzantine-based merchants were more active than is generally realised in the Eastern Mediterranean. Part II includes an overview of the 'fragmentation' following 1204. Studies show how Byzantine rites and ideals of rulership were adopted by Serb and Bulgarian dynasts. Particular attention is paid to Rus: although subjugated by the Mongols, Rus churchmen, monks and leading princes all drew on Byzantine religious texts and imagery. From the later fifteenth century Moscow's rulers began to be portrayed as new guardians of religious correctness, even as the World's End supposedly drew nigh. The Introduction contextualises the studies included here, highlighting the significance (and not just in terms of rivalry) of the Byzantine Orthodox world for developments in Western Europe.