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radagast_the_brown's review
emotional
reflective
4.75
i don't think i've ever read something that has made me feel nostalgic for the god of my childhood until now. i bought this book to reread again (and again) in future
readsewknit's review against another edition
4.0
Cole Arthur Riley writes with such deepness and heart, cutting away chaff to leave genuinely impactful lessons.
The first half of BLACK LITURGIES offers liturgies grouped by story (touching on place, wonder, lament, doubt, rage, secrets, and more), and the second half offers blessings grouped around time (both time of day -- such as dawn and dusk -- and time of liturgical year -- such as Pentecost, Lent, and Kwanzaa). To close, the book contains longer liturgies which can be adapted for communal use, plus a framework for drafting your own liturgies.
Riley follows a formula for each chapter: she opens with quotes from black artists and authors, pens a letter, then a poem and specific prayers for the chapter's theme follow, for it to close with breath prayers, a confession, forgiveness, a benediction, and questions for contemplation.
This book helps illustrate intersectionality; this book is not meant specifically for me, but it still connects. As a woman, a people pleaser, a perfectionist, time and again this book offered a release from those pressures. Riley's vulnerability helps model what it is to be genuine in our faith and our community. This is a book I would welcome on my shelves, to flip through to locate just the blessing needed for specific instances.
(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)
The first half of BLACK LITURGIES offers liturgies grouped by story (touching on place, wonder, lament, doubt, rage, secrets, and more), and the second half offers blessings grouped around time (both time of day -- such as dawn and dusk -- and time of liturgical year -- such as Pentecost, Lent, and Kwanzaa). To close, the book contains longer liturgies which can be adapted for communal use, plus a framework for drafting your own liturgies.
Riley follows a formula for each chapter: she opens with quotes from black artists and authors, pens a letter, then a poem and specific prayers for the chapter's theme follow, for it to close with breath prayers, a confession, forgiveness, a benediction, and questions for contemplation.
This book helps illustrate intersectionality; this book is not meant specifically for me, but it still connects. As a woman, a people pleaser, a perfectionist, time and again this book offered a release from those pressures. Riley's vulnerability helps model what it is to be genuine in our faith and our community. This is a book I would welcome on my shelves, to flip through to locate just the blessing needed for specific instances.
(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)
drone232's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
A book of prayers, liturgies, and sermons that are deeply thoughtful and cover a wide variety of subjects. I enjoyed listening to them all. They made me think about mY own life, history, and actions.