Mystics in Action

Overview

Journey with a dozen 20th-century religious figures—including Albert Schweitzer, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Simone Weil, Rufus Jones, Dag Hammarskjöld, Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Joshua Heschel, Peace Pilgrim, Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, and Thich Nhat Hanh, and see how a deep spirituality and commitment to justice can change the world.

Here are the stories of twelve activist mystics who awaken us to our own calling as mystics, people who encounter God in life-changing ways, and then go out to change the world. The author provides spiritual practices to promote our own experiences of holistic, “heavenly minded, and earthly good” spirituality. The future of the world depends on the commitments of mystics who are “earthly good,” who care for the earth and its peoples and seek to do, as St. Teresa of Calcutta counsels, something beautiful for God.

Bruce G. Epperly is senior pastor of South Congregational Church, Centerville, MA, and a professor in the doctoral program of Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC. A pastor, theologian, and spiritual guide, he has written over fifty books on theology, spirituality, scripture, healing and wholeness, and ministerial excellence. He lives on Cape Cod with his wife and his two young grandchildren.