The Spirit of Adoption

Description

The Spirit of Adoption explores many of the complexities inherent in adoption and its relationship to spirituality, challenging us to move beyond the common mythologies about adoption to consider the more difficult questions adoption raises about the nature of God, family, culture, loss, and joy. Rather than hearing from experts in adoption, this collection uses the narratives of birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees themselves, bearing witness to the ways adoption shapes its participants' spiritual lives. By allowing others to narrate their spiritual journeys through adoption, we hope to proclaim that adoption can be a wonderful, powerful, hopeful experience, and one that is difficult, painful, despairing--and that these paradoxes of adoption might be held together in God's hand.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Ethics in religion
• Spirituality
• Ethics
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Wipf and Stock Publishers
• Date de parution: 14 octobre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781630875190
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Spirit of Adoption
Writers on Religion, Adoption, Faith, and More






edited by
Melanie Springer Mock,
Martha Kalnin Diede,
and Jeremiah Webster

foreword by
John J. Meske













The Spirit of Adoption
Writers on Religion, Adoption, Faith, and More
Copyright © 2014 Wipf and Stock Publishers. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8 th Ave., Suite 3 , Eugene, OR 97401 .
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isbn 13 : 978-1-62564-076-5
eisbn 13:
Cataloguing-in-Publication data:
The spirit of adoption : writers on religion, adoption, faith, and more / edited by Melanie Springer Mock, Martha Kalnin Diede, and Jeremiah Webster ; foreword by John J. Meske.
xx + 148 pp. ; 23 cm. Includes bibliographical references.
isbn 13 : 978-1-62564-076-5
1 . Adoption—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Mock, Melanie Springer, 1968 –. II. Diede, Martha Kalnin. IV. Webster, Jeremiah. V. Meske, John J. VI. Title.
BT165 .S68 2014
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
“Kiki,” by Kohleun Adamson, was previously published in Relief 3 . 2 ( 2009 ) and is used by permission of its author.
“Dumb Questions about Adoption,” by Klarissa I. Clark, was previously published in Viewpoint (Fall 2012 ) and is used by permission of its author.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973 , 1978 , 1984 , 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.



Contributors
Kohleun Adamson grew up in Washington and Arizona before heading to Oregon to attend George Fox University where she studied philosophy and designed costumes for theater. After graduate school in the UK, Kohleun taught English at the college level. She currently lives in Oregon, working as a florist and freelance costume designer and editor, while developing cookie recipes and writing in her “spare time.” She has tried to cut back on coffee.
Klarissa I. Clark is a young author of fiction and nonfiction mostly focused on mystery and climatic betrayal. At the age of nine, she published for the first time in Viewpoint magazine. She lives in San Diego with her parents and little brothers and is currently going into Dana Middle School. Klarissa wants to be a biologist after earning honors at Point Loma Nazarene University and write for fun when she grows up.
Michael Dean Clark is an author of fiction and nonfiction focused on loss and grace and redemption that doesn’t look like we think it should. His work has appeared in Fast Forward , Relief , Coach’s Midnight Diner , and elsewhere. Formerly an award winning journalist and high school English teacher, Clark now lives and writes in San Diego, California, with his wife and three children and works as a professor of writing at Point Loma Nazarene University.
Jeremy Cook is currently a Foundation and Corporate Development Specialist at Landesa, a Seattle nonprofit that works with governments to secure land rights for the world’s poorest people. Previously he served for nine years with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, first at Georgetown University and then in Kenya and France. His deep desire is to pastor a local church sometime in the next few years, so the next step is seminary, hopefully in Kenya, where he and his wife expect to help their adopted children further explore their story as transracially adopted children. Jeremy holds a BA in Political Science from The George Washington University and an MA in International Care & Community Development from Northwest University. He is an avid reader, podcast junkie, and slightly obsessed fan of the Washington Nationals.
Martha Kalnin Diede is a Senior Faculty Developer at the Coulter Faculty Commons at Western Carolina University. She published her first book, Shakespeare’s Knowledgeable Body , upon invitation from Peter Lang, and her essays have appeared in journals and collections including Christianity and Literary Theory and The WILLA Journal among others. Her most recent essay appeared early in 2013 as part of a collection titled Overcoming Adversity in Academe . She has also produced three plays. She lives in Waynesville, North Carolina, with her husband and daughter, adopted from China at thirteen months. She is eagerly awaiting news on a pending adoption from Japan.
Kimberly Claassen Felton lives in Oregon with her husband and daughter. At the time of writing this essay, they were eager for the next Felton baby—waiting for a birth mom to choose them. Rather than fearing open adoption as she did the first time around, Kimberly now anticipates befriending the birth mom who chooses to entrust her with another child. Kimberly is a freelance writer and blogs regularly at NewlywedNoLonger.com.
Jacqueline N. Gustafson is Associate Professor and Dean of the School of Behavioral Sciences at California Baptist University. In addition, she leads study abroad courses throughout Europe. Her areas of scholarship include globalization and higher education, internationalization of curriculum, and study abroad. She is an avid global explorer and, along with her husband, she also enjoys exploring and creating world cuisines for family and friends.
Kelli Hall has a master’s degree in social work and is a licensed social worker. She is passionate about her vocation as a mental health therapist specializing in adoption, foster care, and trauma related issues. Kelli lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two children.
Moses Harris has been married for forty-one years to Ruby Jeanne Harris. He is an Ordained Elder with the Church of God in Christ and State Evangelist President for the Washington State Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ, and he runs his own 503(c) evangelistic association online where he provides weekly lessons and word studies in multiple languages at http://www.mosesharrisevangelisticassociation.org. In 1961, he graduated from Lincoln High School in Ruston, Louisiana. In 1976, he earned his PhD from the University of Washington in Romance Languages. In addition to his church leadership and his evangelistic association, he is also Professor of Modern Languages at Northwest University and has written several books. Importantly, he is also father to Lizette.
David Michael Haslet enjoys traveling, gardening, and martial arts. He can be found sword fighting with his son, singing “Baby Beluga” with his daughter, and hiking with his wife of eight years. Haslet currently teaches public high school art and engineering design, keeping a working suburban homestead with fruit trees, vegetable garden, and two egg-laying hens. He lives with his wife and two children in the Bay Area of California.
Elizabeth Huston is an early career professional. She currently resides in the Seattle area and is surrounded by great friends with whom she has found a great fit. She calls them her family by choice.
Forrest Inslee is first and foremost a dad to his daughter, Kayra Grace. He is also a professor and chair of the Master of Arts in International Care and Community Development at Northwest University, where he is privileged to invest in the lives of young graduate students with a passion for social justice. Forrest holds an MA and PhD in Communication from Northwestern University, and an MA in Theological Studies from Regent College.
Maggie Lalich lives in the Clear Lake area of Houston, Texas. She is a mother of two, married to Andy Lalich, and currently teaches pre-K in Pearland, Texas. Mrs. Lalich loves gardening, traveling, and singing.
Melanie Springer Mock is a Professor of English at George Fox University, Newberg, Oregon. Her essays and reviews have appeared in Christian Feminism Today , Adoptive Families , The Chronicle of Higher Education , and Mennonite World Review , among other places. Her most recent book is Just Moms: Conveying Justice in an Unjust World ( 2011 ). She blogs about (and deconstructs) images of women embedded in evangelical popular culture at Ain’t I a Woman ? and at FemFaith . She lives in Dundee, Oregon, with her husband and two ten-year-old sons: Benjamin Quan, adopted from Vietnam at seven months, and Samuel Saraubh, adopted from India at three years.
Russ Richter was born in rural San Antonio, Texas in 1964 , the third of four sons. In 1976 , he and his family moved to Houston. He graduated from Sam Houston State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and moved back to Houston where he began his career in the IT industry with a large computer corporation. He met Julie in 1998 , and they married in 2001 . They adopted their first daughter from China in 2 005 and their second in 2010 . They are members of Cinco Ranch Church of Christ in Katy, Texas.
Douglas Webster mentors future pastors at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. He and his wife Virginia have served churches in Toronto, Bloomington, Denver, San Diego, and Manhattan. Their three children are married, and they have two grandchi