Nancy C. James
Copyright (c) 2005
This spiritual autobiography focuses on James's tumultuous tenure as a rector of two rural Episcopal parishes in Virginia
after working at a Washington, D.C. jail and teaching at Lorton Reformatory.
Initially, both of James's parishes support her charitable idea of inviting homeless African American individuals from
Washington, D.C. to periodically join them for picnics. However, this acceptance quickly changes to a malicious plot
of a few parishioners who begin to mercilessly harass her, kill her pets, damage her property, and even attempt to arrange
her "accidental" death. Some members of local law enforcement even take bribes, turning their backs on her cries for
help.
As a counterbalance to these horrific experiences, James finds solace and spiritual strength both in fondly looking back
upon her childhood in Alaska and in the mystical theology of Madam Guyon, incarcerated by Louis XIV for being a female religious
thinker.
www.pilgrimpress.com
|
 |
|
|
"A gripping and uplifting story, passionately told. Part devotional manual, part history, and part mystery
thriller..." (more)
Carlos Eire, author of "Waiting for Snow in Havana"
"Nancy James intricately weaves the primeval, primordial, transcendent beauty of her protected Alaskan childhood
of the magical shimmering Northern Lights with that of the neglected, abused poor whom she counsels and teaches English, into
the plaid fabric of Medieval mystics like Catherine of Sienna and Madame Jeanne Guyon of the 17th Century..." (more)
John Bryson Chane, Episcopal Bishop of Washington, D.C.
"Nancy James has written a brave and much-needed book for all Christians documenting how evil can become manifest
in congregations..." (more)
Penelope Duckworth, author of "Mary: The Imagination of Her Heart"
"It’s impossible to read Standing in the Whirlwind and not have admiration for Nancy James..." (more)
E. Ethelbert Miller, poet |
|
|
|
|
Nancy C. James
Copyright (c) 2007
In seventeenth-century France,
Madame Guyon wrote about the concept of "pure love." "Love pure and holy, is a deathless fire," she wrote, and is "ethereal
fare." Her popular books spread quickly through Europe and the New World, drawing the attention of Louis XIV and the court
at Versailles. The Inquisition attacked her writing and concepts resulting in her decade long incarceration including years
in the Bastille. Archbishop Fénelon defended Guyon while the leading cleric, Bishop Bossuet, demanded that the Vatican condemn
Fénelon and Guyon as heretics.
A contemporaneous historian wrote a history of the "Great Conflict" between Guyon, Bossuet,
Fénelon, and the Vatican entitled Supplement to the Life of Madame Guyon, which is regarded as having been written
in the eighteenth-century. Professor Nancy C. James's translation of this manuscript from the Bodleian Library at Oxford University
is featured in this book coupled with an analysis of the powerful theology of Guyon that influenced both the growth of the
Quakers and Romanticism. This history addresses roots of our social conflicts as individual consciences struggle against destructive
political power.
University Press of America
About The Author
Nancy C. James is a Priest
Associate at St. John's, Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. and at Grace Episcopal in Georgetown. She received her
M.Div. from Virginia Theological Seminary and her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. She is currently working on
several new books and invites your comments. (more)
Apperances, Lectures, Seminars (more)
|
|
|
|
|
