Douglas Firs and Apple Trees
by Bill Palmer and Ellyn Sanna

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Douglas Firs and Apple Trees </br>by Bill Palmer and Ellyn Sanna

My Christmas tree this year is a beautiful Frasier fir, for which I paid a whopping $45 at Kodey’s Tree Farm on the first Sunday of December. It meets my late father’s minimum requirement that it scrapes the ceiling of my living room. But in honor of my Dad, there’s no way it could have come into the house until it was almost Christmas (my family followed a now-almost-extinct tradition that the tree did not go up until Christmas Eve because the preceding weeks of Advent were a time of spiritual preparation for the Big Day and very much NOT part of the Christmas Season). 

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The Meaning of Hope by Ellyn Sanna

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The Meaning of Hope by Ellyn Sanna

The Advent season is a time of hope—but many of us are feeling as though our hopes have been trampled into the mud. It’s hard to hope for anything now. The future looks dark, terrifying. To continue to hope seems like whistling in the dark. It almost seems safer, less risky, to abandon all hope, batten the hatches, and prepare for the worst.

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The Otherworld by Ellyn Sanna

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The Otherworld by Ellyn Sanna

The miracles Jesus performs in the Gospels may strain our modern credulity. The Celts, however, were quite comfortable with stories of the impossible being possible. They lived in a world where the Otherworld was so interwoven with this world that nothing surprised them. Another reality could easily overlap with everyday reality, causing all sorts of strange things to happen.

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Advice from Pema Chödrön by Ellyn Sanna

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Advice from Pema Chödrön by Ellyn Sanna

Pema Chödrön’s book When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times has become one of my go-to resources when my life seems unbearable. This week, I’ve been re-reading it yet again, within the context of this week’s events. I have little wisdom of my own to offer today, no musings that fill me with joy and wonder—but I thought I’d share with you instead some of Pema’s thoughts. These are not easy, comforting words. But her briskness, her challenge to get my head out of the gloom, is perhaps what I need most to hear.

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Hopi Harvest Thoughts by Ellyn Sanna

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Hopi Harvest Thoughts by Ellyn Sanna

I got up early this morning, anxious about all the work that needs to be done today, the many responsibilities that go into earning my living. I nearly skipped my morning reading—but I picked up a short article from the American Indian Quarterly titled “People of the Corn,” thinking that it would be a connection to the Samhain spirituality Meg Llewellyn described yesterday, and that I could skim through it quickly. That quick skim lingered with me as I began my work today, and now I find it’s opened up inside me with a challenge for my day.

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Called to Be Friends? by Ellyn Sanna

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Called to Be Friends? by Ellyn Sanna

We chose the word “anamchara” for the name of our company because it means “soul friend”—and we believe that the word “friendship” is essential to our mission: “to build bridges between spiritual perspectives and religious traditions; between the wisdom of the past and the demands of modern life; between ourselves and the Earth; and between ourselves and the Divine.” The connection between friendship and “bridges” is hopefully obvious. Included in that is the sense that friendship does not judge; it is accessible and accepting; it has a “Beginner’s Mind” that is willing to let go of old paradigms and learn new things from others.

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Images of God: The Peacock's Tail Feathers
by Ellyn Sanna

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Images of God: The Peacock's Tail Feathers </br>by Ellyn Sanna

Sometimes, I confess, God seems far too intangible and abstract to be of much practical use to me in a world where friends die, politics terrify, wars threaten. This God-concept is one I like to play with intellectually; the notion intrigues me, and theology fascinates me. But are my ideas about God “real”—or merely imaginary? 

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Reading the Celtic Way by Ellyn Sanna

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Reading the Celtic Way by Ellyn Sanna

In Reading the Bible the Celtic Way: The Peacock’s Tail Feathers, Ken McIntosh explores the way in which the early Christian Celts considered the Bible and Nature to be equally the Word of God. Many of us find that concept attractive, both because of the value it puts on the natural world and because it indicates a new balance for biblical literalism. But from our modern perspective, it’s a metaphor. I don’t think we totally grasp the metaphor—because we don’t really get how the medieval mind thought about reading.

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The Celtic Study Bible and Rebellion:
A Sustaining Torrent by Ellyn Sanna

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The Celtic Study Bible and Rebellion: </br>A Sustaining Torrent by Ellyn Sanna

Here at Anamchara Books, we’ve been impressed (and thrilled) by the overwhelming positive response to our release of the first installment of The Celtic Study Bible—Reading the Bible the Celtic Way: The Peacock’s Tail Feathers by Kenneth McIntosh. Personally, I’m both excited and grateful that this serendipitous idea (which came while exploring Devon and Cornwall with Ken and his wife Marsha) is bearing fruit—and that it’s clearly answering a felt need for many of you. But it’s made me wonder—why? Why are so many of us attracted to “Celtic spirituality”?

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The Feast Day of St. Ciarán the Younger
by Ellyn Sanna

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The Feast Day of St. Ciarán the Younger </br> by Ellyn Sanna

Those of us who think of ourselves as “Celtic Followers of Christ” often like to idealize the ancient Celtic saints. The truth is, the early Celtic Christ-followers were a mixed bag (just like today’s). Many of them affirmed women’s spiritual roles—but some were downright misogynists. Some were tolerant of other beliefs and traditions—and others were as narrow-minded as any of today’s most intolerant conservatives. But one thing they all truly had in common—something that sets them apart and endears them to me—is this: they all loved animals. 

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