Dear Church Family and Friends,
I am delighted to announce that the people and ministries of our church have made it possible for a new book to be published. On the cover of this book, I am listed as a coauthor along with the Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith, Sr., but the truth is that each member of our church was a coauthor because the book is largely about our social justice ministries. The title of the book is Sounding the Trumpet: How Churches Can Answer God’s Call to Justice. Thanks largely to the connections of my coauthor, a number of public figures have read the book and given it an early endorsement. Below you will find three brief endorsements of the book. More can be found on the book’s website at: www.soundingthetrumpet.org. Each endorsement of the book is truly praise for our congregation which has been so extraordinary in its undertakings. Thank you for all that you have done!
Your Brother in Christ,
Pastor Brooks
“J. Alfred Smith—my intellectual Godfather in the ministry—and Brooks Berndt—his prophetic student and interlocutor—have produced a masterpiece. It is full of deep spiritual truths and genuine Christian wrestling with our prophetic vocation in this difficult moment. Smith is a great chocolate giant and Berndt is a grand vanilla witness—both true to the tradition of Howard Thurman and William Sloan Coffin and, most importantly, the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
—Cornel West, Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice, Union Theological Seminary
“Based on their hard fought struggles to help the hurting and helpless, Pastors Smith and Berndt have written with wisdom and spiritual depth about the imperative of justice.”
—Barbara Lee, Congresswoman
“A book to read, and re-read, and cherish, and pass on.”
—Allan Boesak, The Desmond Tutu Chair of Peace, Global Justice, and Reconciliation at Christian Theological Seminary and Butler University
(Copies of the book are available for sale in the main office of the church.)