There are very few leaders in the Anglican Church in North America who could have written a book as helpful as this. "The Rector and the Vestry" is addresses the needs, challenges, structures, canons, other important issues facing any Anglican Church of any size. Filled with wise counsel, frank discussion, and helpful illustrations, this book should be required reading for all Anglican leaders. Every Rector will want a copy of this book for every member of their Vestry. And every Vestry member will surely want a copy for their Rector.

Get to know the first five Black women to be elected diocesan bishops within the Episcopal Church. During this moment, with the #metoo movement, Black Lives Matter, and the increased feelings of division in our country, Black women clergy in the Episcopal Church have voiced a need to come together, believing that their experiences and concerns may be very different than those of other clergy. That need is answered here in This Band of Sisterhood. The five Black women bishops featured in this book can provide a compass for how to journey along these new paths. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, Carlye J. Hughes, Kimberly Lucas, Shannon MacVean-Brown, and Phoebe A. Roaf offer honest, vulnerable wisdom from their own lives that speaks to this time in American life. Both women and men will find this book invaluable in discerning how God might be calling them to use their own leadership skills.

The issue of baptism has troubled Protestants for centuries. Should infants be baptized before their faith is conscious, or does God command the baptism of babies whose parents have been baptized? Popular New Testament scholar Scot McKnight makes a biblical case for infant baptism, exploring its history, meaning, and practice and showing that infant baptism is the most historic Christian way of forming children into the faith. He explains that the church's practice of infant baptism developed straight from the Bible and argues that it must begin with the family and then extend to the church. Baptism is not just an individual profession of faith: it takes a family and a church community to nurture a child into faith over time. McKnight explains infant baptism for readers coming from a tradition that baptizes adults only, and he counters criticisms that fail to consider the role of families in the formation of faith. The book includes a foreword by Todd Hunter and an afterword by Gerald McDermott.

Historical and Theological Reflections on the Anglican Church from J. I. Packer The Anglican Church has a rich theological heritage filled with a diversity of views and practices. Like a river with a main current and several offshoot streams, Anglicanism has a main body with many distinct, smaller communities. So what constitutes mainstream Anglicanism? Influential Anglican theologian J. I. Packer makes the case that "authentic Anglicanism" is biblical, liturgical, evangelical, pastoral, episcopal (ordaining bishops), national (engaging with the culture), and ecumenical (eager to learn from other Christians). As he surveys the history and tensions within the Anglican Church, Packer casts a vision for the future that is grounded in the Scriptures, fueled by missions, guided by historical creeds and practices, and resolved to enrich its people.

Rector Transitions is the only book about Episcopal church transitions written from a lay leader's perspective. It is an invaluable, practical, and Spirit-guided road map that will help you to discern God's vision for your church and to find and establish a strong partnership with the new rector who will join you. With a foreword by The Right Reverend Frank Griswold, 25th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, this book is a call to spiritual leadership and discernment.

An indispensable and practical guide for day-to-day running of a 21st-century parish. Continuously in print since 1988, The Vestry Handbook is an essential and comprehensive guide for clergy, wardens, and vestry members. The revised third edition includes updated information on the Canon of the Church, available resources, and financial considerations, as well as new sections on safe-church training and dealing with conflict. Included in the appendices are helpful examples of contracts, purpose statement, inventory lists, a glossary of church terms, and an organizational chart. The Handbook explore among others, the following subjects: Leadership roles and organizational structure Managing parish finances Buildings and grounds Liabilities and insurance Relationships with clergy, parish staff, the diocese, and the national Church IRS considerations Meeting and elections The spiritual lives of vestry members. Since it was first published in 1988, the Handbook and its updates have sold more than 90,000 copies and continues to sell well each year.