Destination Bethlehem: Daily Meditations, Prayers, and Poems to Light the Way to the Mange

This book is intended as a devotional guide for the Advent season. Through the mediums of meditations, poetry, and prayer, it offers a spiritual resource for readers seeking to explore the many dimensions of this beloved season, and to deepen their appreciation of its mystery and wonder. Each day the reader is provided with either a prose meditation, based in Scripture, or a selection of poems, composed around the traditional themes of Advent/Christmas. The overall effect is that of a journey--a journey which moves, devotionally, through the days and weeks of December, toward Bethlehem, the stable, and the manger. Images, incidents, impressions, and items from the daily news are woven together to form a rich and rewarding tapestry, a pathway leading onward, an open door into the quiet places of the soul. Christmas Eve and Day are given special treatment, followed by a final section covering New Year's Day and the twelve days of Christmas. The book also provides a source of creative imagery and language for clergy, and other worship leaders, as they face the challenges of speaking traditional truths in a new and inviting way. Yet another use would be as a small group study guide for Advent.

The Reverend Dr. J. Barrie Shepherd, a native of Great Britain, retired as Minister Emeritus from The First Presbyterian Church in New York City. Prior to that he was senior minister of Swarthmore Presbyterian Church for sixteen years and served in college and university chaplaincy and teaching. He has preached and lectured at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke and other universities and colleges and many of the major seminaries, as well as in distinguished pulpits across the USA and in the UK, Europe and Africa.

The author is an avid saltwater fisherman and sailor. He enjoys swimming, walking, gardening and playing the euphonium in community bands. He and his wife Mhairi have four daughters and three granddaughters.