Hope Is Here!: Spiritual Practices for Pursuing Justice and Beloved Community by Luther E. Smith Jr.

Joyful and daunting opportunities to live into God's dream of justice and beloved community are compelling and available. Hope, says Luther Smith Jr., is essential to the needed personal and social transformations that prepare us for such sacred opportunities. Yet genuine hope is often confused as merely wish fulfillment, optimism, or perceiving better tomorrows. In Hope Is Here! Smith describes how we truly perceive and join "the work of hope" enlivening us to a life that is oriented toward immediate and future experiences of personal fulfillment, justice, and beloved community. Interpreting five spiritual practices for individuals and congregations to experience the power of hope, this book prepares us to engage racism, mass incarceration, environmental crises, divisive politics, and indifference that imperil justice and beloved community. It delivers the inner resources necessary to work for change through its interpretation of hope.

Additionally, each chapter ends with questions that prompt readers to examine their experiences and their readiness to journey with hope. Written for Christians who want to commit themselves to justice and beloved community, this book will provide helpful guidance for a life sustained by God's gifts of hope and love. Hope is here for our "responsibility" and "response-ability" to live the fulfilling life that God dreams for us.

This book is designed for congregational, communal, or small-group use. To assist groups using the book, the publisher has developed a free, downloadable congregational guide, which includes reflections on the lessons in the book; Scripture references from the Old and New Testaments and prayers, which can be used in study, devotion, or preaching opportunities; practical applications of the spiritual practices found in the book; and space to work together to create congregational commitments. Access the Congregational Guide at www.wjkbooks.com/HopeIsHere.

• Softcover
• 210 Pages