books by members & friends
God is a Black Woman
In this timely, much-needed book, theologian, social psychologist, and activist Christena Cleveland recounts her personal journey to dismantle the cultural “whitemalegod” and uncover the Sacred Black Feminine, introducing a Black Female God who imbues us with hope, healing, and liberating presence.
For years, Christena Cleveland spoke about racial reconciliation to congregations, justice organizations, and colleges. But she increasingly felt she could no longer trust in the God she’d been implicitly taught to worship—a white male God who preferentially empowered white men despite his claim to love all people. A God who clearly did not relate to, advocate for, or affirm a Black woman like Christena.
Her crisis of faith sent her on an intellectual and spiritual journey through history and across France, on a 400-mile walking pilgrimage to the ancient shrines of Black Madonnas to find healing in the Sacred Black Feminine. God Is a Black Woman is the chronicle of her liberating transformation and a critique of a society shaped by white patriarchal Christianity and culture. Christena reveals how America’s collective idea of God as a white man has perpetuated hurt, hopelessness, and racial and gender oppression. Integrating her powerful personal story, womanist ideology, as well as theological, historical, and social science research, she invites us to take seriously the truth that God is not white nor male and gives us a new and hopeful path for connecting with the divine and honoring the sacredness of all Black people.
while eating oysters
This book of bite-sized poems by herchurch poet-in-residence Kit Kennedy is available for sale directly through the
author and for purchase at A Woman’s Eye Gallery at herchurch.
Kit also co-authored Inconvenience (Litoral Press, Berkeley) and Constellations (Co-Lab Press, San Francisco), both with Susan Gangel. Her poems Beyond the Human Voice: 7 Poems Inspired by the Art of Susan Black are available as an e-book. Kit blogs at poetrybites.blogspot.com.
Birthing God
Available at herchurch: Lana Dalberg’s new book, Birthing God: Women’s Experience of the Divine, in which 40 women of faith describe inspirational, Spirit-filled moments: a midwife celebrates Goddess birthing the world again; a South Korean student feels divine hands supporting her despite excruciating torture; a grieving pastor walks a labyrinth and rediscovers the Rock of her existence.
Diverse and compelling, the women’s stories inspire readers to reflect and deepen their own spiritual practices. Visit Lana’s blog at www.womenspiritandfaith.com.
Order Birthing God at Skylight Paths Publishing
Changing Church
How are faith communities who include multicultural images of the Divine Feminine changing church and society? Through the fascinating stories of pioneering ministers and faith communities, Changing Church reveals a unique picture of progressive changes occurring in the Christian tradition. Stacy Boorn, pastor of herchurch in San Francisco, is among the ministers featured in this book. Visit author Dr. Jann Aldredge-Clanton’s website for more details.
Other important works by Jann Aldredge-Clanton include Inclusive Hymns for Liberating Christians and Inclusive Hymns for Liberation, Peace, and Justice. Words we sing in worship have great power to shape our beliefs and actions. The hymns in Dr. Jann Aldredge-Clanton’s collections contribute to an expansive theo/alogy and ethic of equality and justice in human relationships. Most of the hymns are set to widely-known tunes, many with fresh arrangements.
Individuals and communities wishing to find and rediscover the Divine Feminine and female personifications of God that have been hidden but not fully erased from the Judeo-Christian writings, practices, theologies, and spirituality will find Jann’s “I Whose Image” and “In Search of Christ-Sophia” powerful resources.
Open Road: A Goddess-Biker Guidebook
San Francisco author Jennifer Bair’s book embraces the feminine divine and has been called “the new Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance for our times.” Open Road: A Goddess-Biker Guidebook is available at amazon.com.
Also, see our Recommended Reading page.
Queerly Lutheran
Author and Bishop Megan Rohrer reexamines sexual orientations and gender identities in the Lutheran tradition in her book Queerly Lutheran, available at amazon.com.
Early Women Architects
of the San Francisco Bay Area: The Lives and Work of Fifty Professionals, 1890-1951
Inge Schaeffer Horton’s book chronicles the lives and careers of trailblazing female architects in the San Francisco Bay Area. The book is available at amazon.com.
Inge clearly presents the lives, careers, and work of fifty largely unknown pioneers. It chronicles the triumphs and challenges these path-breaking women faced in their pursuit of entering and claiming space in the male-dominated field of architecture. Each biography offers vital data, a description of the career, a list of known buildings and work, and a bibliography. Included are photographs of buildings, portraits of the architects, and some architectural drawings.
