The Sisters of the Holy Family, founded in New Orleans in 1842, were the first African American Catholics to serve as missionaries. This story of their little-known missionary efforts in Belize from 1898 to 2008 builds upon their already distinguished work, through the Archdiocese of New Orleans, of teaching slaves and free people of color, caring for orphans and the elderly, and tending to the poor and needy. Utilizing previously unpublished archival documents along with extensive personal correspondence and interviews, Edward T. Brett has produced a fascinating account of the 110-year mission of the Sisters of the Holy Family to the Garifuna people of Belize. Brett discusses the foundation and growth of the struggling order in New Orleans up to the sisters' decision in 1898 to accept a teaching commitment in the Stann Creek District of what was then British Honduras. The early history of the British Honduras mission concentrates especially on Mother Austin Jones, the superior responsible for expanding the order's work into the mission field. In examining the Belizean mission from the eve of the Second Vatican Council through the post–Vatican II years, Brett sensitively chronicles the sisters' efforts to conform to the spirit of the council and describes the creative innovations that the Holy Family community introduced into the Belizean educational system. In the final chapter he looks at the congregation's efforts to sustain its missionary work in the face of the shortage of new religious vocations. Brett’s study is more than just a chronicle of the Holy Family Sisters' accomplishments in Belize. He treats the issues of racism and gender discrimination that the African American congregation encountered both within the church and in society, demonstrating how the sisters survived and even thrived by learning how to skillfully negotiate with the white, dominant power structure.

The focus of the book is the history of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Parish and Sacred Heart Church in Montegut, Louisiana. The book follows the church-parish boundaries, including the term of each priest, and with the creation of each new parish out of Sacred Heart, St. Ann (1908), St. Joseph (1948), and St. Charles Borromeo (1971), the focus continues with the Priests of Sacred Heart. However, the book could not reflect Sacred Heart without writing about Montegut, Bourg, Little Caillou, and Pointe aux Chenes. The church has given us important roots, binding us as a church and community family, sticking us to this small place, Montegut. Sacred Heart Parish predates Sacred Heart Church by over thirty years. Pere Menard blessed the first dedicated chapel built on Dugas property at St. John the Baptist in le Terrebonne in November 1859. Sacred Heart of Jesus Church marks its founding as the creation of the parish by the Diocese of New Orleans in November 9, 1864.

Methodism played an important part in the spread of Christianity from its European heartlands to the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Pacific. From John Wesley’s initial reluctance, via haphazard ventures and over-ambitious targets, a well-organized and supported Wesleyan Society developed. Smaller branches of British Methodism undertook their own foreign missions. This book, together with a companion volume on the 20th century, offers an account of the overseas mission activity of British and Irish Methodists, its roots and fruits. John Pritchard explores many aspects of mission, ranging from Labrador to New Zealand and from Sierra Leone to Sri Lanka, from open air preaching to political engagement, from the isolation of early pioneers to the creation of self-governing churches. Tracing the nineteenth-century missionary work of the Churches with Wesleyan roots which went on to unite in 1932, Pritchard explores the shifting theologies and attitudes of missionaries who crossed cultural and geographical frontiers as well as those at home who sent and supported them. Necessarily selective in the personalities and events it describes, this book offers a comprehensive overview of a world-changing movement - a story packed with heroism, mistakes, achievements, frustrations, arguments, personalities, rascals and saints.

Threads of a Tapestry is a memoir of Laura Miller’s life: living a seemingly idyllic childhood; raising her first-born son with significant special needs, and how the Lord equipped her through this season until his death; and journeying through the triumphs and challenges of adopting five children out of foster care. Included are practical tips for raising children who suffer from depression, autism, Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), and other issues adoptive children face. Laura recounts “altar moments” of personal surrender, as when one of her daughters displayed signs of leukemia, and another daughter was critically injured in an auto accident. She reveals how God was at work through each challenge. Laura weaves in poignant vignettes from her family life and her career experiences as a pediatric nurse. This book is written for all and is especially meaningful for a parent of a special-needs child, one in the throes of raising children in foster care or through adoption. This story is raw and real, yet full of hope and encouragement.

Green & Black's is one of the best-known brands in the food world, fêted both for its quality and for its ethical credentials. Launched on a shoestring in 1991 by wholefood pioneer Craig Sams and his journalist wife Josephine Fairley, it is now an internationally renowned, award-winning brand and multi-million pound business. In this book the couple tell their story, relating early ups and downs, chronicling their work with cacao farmers in Belize and talking candidly about the challenges of running a successful ethical company in a cut-throat world. Both inspiring and entertaining, The Story of Green & Black's shows what is possible when you tear up the rule book and follow your instincts. (And your tastebuds ...)

A fundamental and well-illustrated reference collection for anyone interested in the role of women in North American religious life.