Lancaster Theological Seminary Library

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Lancaster Theological Seminary Library

Actively engaging in and supporting the curation, creation, and exploration of religious and theological information

05/06/2026

📚SUMMER BOOK CLUB: Theology in an age of Epstein, Pelicot, and

What does theology have to offer in this present moment of scandal, abuse, and cover-up?

Recent headlines and social media platforms are filled with new revelations and intense speculation regarding Jeffrey Epstein and his network of collaborators. The world was shocked by the case of Gisèle Pelicot, who was a victim of dozens of rapes by strangers after her husband drugged her to facilitate the assaults. The Church has repeatedly failed to safeguard against abuse, with these systemic failures spanning various denominations and geographic locations.

Moravian University School of Theology invites you to read along and join the conversation together during our Summer Book Club as we grapple with some of the most pressing and painful issues of our time.

Abuse is not just a Catholic problem or a political bargaining chip. The goal of this six-week summer reading group is to move beyond moral outrage to a space of honest reflection, taking stock of the theologies — both inside and outside the Church — that enable abuse and the resources that can guide us forward.

“Epstein, coverups, abuse — these things are all over the news. And how are we supposed to process this as Christians?” says book club facilitator Dr. Michael Toy. “How are we supposed to make sense of this as Christians? Especially when the church’s track record on these things is so blemished?”

Registration is free, and gatherings are 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. EDT on Mondays, June 8, June 22, and July 6 on ZOOM.

REGISTER HERE: https://moravian.zoom.us/meeting/register/8QiEpT1-TJi3VMSYq_-UDg #/registration

📚All 3 books are available on reserve in LTS and Reeves Libraries, with a 3-day checkout period.

04/17/2026

Pentecost is coming up on May 24th! 🕊️🔥
As you plan your services for the Church's birthday (or if you just want to learn more about this special observance) visit our resources table in the library. All materials are available for checkout.

04/14/2026

📚BOOK REVIEW📚

FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS: AN EMERGENCY DEVOTIONAL
by Dr. Hanna Reichel

For Such a Time as This by Hanna Reichel is a timely and theologically rich devotional that invites readers into disciplined Christian witness amid social and spiritual crisis. Rather than offering simplistic encouragement, Reichel draws deeply from Scripture, historical theology, and voices such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Karl Barth to frame faith as an active, communal, and often costly practice.

The text is structured devotionally yet functions as a practical theological guide, equipping readers to discern truth in an age of distorted language, resist dehumanizing narratives, and embody solidarity with the most vulnerable. Particularly compelling is Reichel’s emphasis on language as a site of ethical formation, their call to “stand their G-d stands” alongside the marginalized, and their insistence that silence is never neutral. The work challenges readers to reject both quietism and naïve optimism, instead cultivating what might be described as a rigorous, eschatologically grounded hope.

For theological libraries, this book is especially well-suited for group study, clergy formation, and courses engaging political theology, ethics, or contemporary discipleship. Its integration of confessional texts such as the Barmen Declaration and catechetical traditions with present-day concerns makes it both historically grounded and contextually urgent. While some readers may desire more explicit engagement with specific contemporary events, the book’s broader theological framing allows for adaptable use across diverse contexts

Overall, For Such a Time as This is a substantive and pastoral resource that calls the church not merely to reflection, but to courageous, sustained participation in the work of justice, even when the outcomes remain uncertain.

Reviewed by Rev. Dr. Chynaah Maryoung-Cooke🌈

04/07/2026

📚BOOK REVIEW📚

TRAUMA-INFORMED CHRISTIAN ETHICS (2026)
by Rev. Dr. Darryl W. Stephens

Stephens argues that trauma disrupts moral perception, making ethics inseparable from lived experience. He calls for practices of attentiveness, lament, and repair, and critiques rule-based approaches that ignore how trauma constrains choice and fractures relationships. Emphasizing communal healing, he draws on confession, repentance, and reconciliation to center compassion, accountability, and justice over punishment.

He also highlights the role of churches in producing trauma through systems like colonialism and white supremacy, urging institutional transformation. Stephens states it best when he says, “Moral community is forged in the collective struggles of everyday life and when we bear witness to someone else’s suffering, we enter into a relationship with that person in community.” Ultimately, Stephens reframes Christian ethics as a practice of communal healing, ethical humility, and restorative justice.

Reviewed by Rev. Dr. Chynaah Maryoung-Cooke🌈

03/28/2026

Lancaster Theological Seminary Library will be closed from Good Friday (4/3) through Easter Sunday (4/5). For the rest of Holy Week, we will be open as usual. Students, enjoy your break!

HOLY WEEK LIBRARY HOURS
3/30 Monday, 9:00 AM - 6:30 PM
3/31 Tuesday, 9:00 AM - 6:30 PM
4/1 Wednesday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
4/2 Thursday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
4/3 Friday, CLOSED
4/4 Saturday, CLOSED
4/5 Sunday, CLOSED

03/26/2026

Looking for more resources to enrich your Lent and Easter season? Check out Preaching God's Transforming Justice, edited by Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm, Ronald J. Allen, and Dale P. Andrews.

"This is the final volume in a unique new commentary series that helps the preacher identify and reflect on the social implications of the biblical readings in the Revised Common Lectionary. The essays concentrate on the themes of social justice in the weekly texts and how those themes can be teachable moments for preaching social justice in the church. In addition to the lectionary days, there are essays for twenty-two 'Holy Days of Justice,' including Martin Luther King Day, Earth Day, World AIDS Day, and Children’s Sabbath. These days are intended to enlarge the church’s awareness of God’s call for justice and of the many ways that call comes to the church and world today."

03/23/2026

Today we're highlighting one of the many resources from our Lent and Easter collection! The Lenten Labyrinth by Edward Hays contains a series of daily readings for Lent.

"The journeys of Lent and of life are seldom straight roads, but are usually like complicated mazes or labyrinths. While we often can feel lost along the complex twisting patterns of the labyrinth path, to travel the maze of the Way is the greatest of all adventures. This guidebook of daily reflections for this journey of transformation has the power to change 'to radically enrich' our way of thinking, loving and believing."

03/19/2026

🌿 Still working on developing your services for Lent and Holy Week? We have resources for you! Come check out our table at LTS Library. All resources are available for check out. 🌿

03/11/2026

The seminary might be on spring break this week, but the library is still open! Come by and check out a book to read outside as the weather gets warmer. Spring is nearly here! 🌱

02/26/2026

Black History Month at Lancaster Theological Seminary Library would be incomplete if we didn't take a moment to honor one of our own staff, Rev. Dr. Chynaah Maryoung-Cooke.

Rev. Dr. Chynaah Maryoung-Cooke, also affectionately known as “The Keeper of the Library,” is a Black, q***r, womanist scholar and theological library associate here at Lancaster Theological Seminary. Her work sits at the intersection of theological librarianship, Black women’s mental health, and the African philosophy of Ubuntu—the belief that we are made whole through one another. (And if you’ve ever stopped by our library to browse our curated collections for Black History Month or other special observances, you have Chynaah to thank for those thoughtful, educational displays!)

Of her work at the seminary, Chynaah says, “Being at LTS has taught me that libraries are not neutral spaces; they are living sites of belonging, memory, and power. That conviction informs how I curate collections, engage students, and imagine libraries as places of refuge, healing, and intellectual freedom.”

Chynaah’s current book project with the Religious Education Association (REA) centers Black women’s mental health through a theological and communal lens, drawing on Ubuntu to challenge individualistic frameworks that have long shaped both academic theology and library practice. She asks what it means for theological libraries to move beyond access alone toward belonging—especially for those whose bodies, stories, and spiritual wisdom have been marginalized or erased. Her lived experience as a Black, q***r, womanist scholar and community-rooted theologian is not separate from her research; it is the ground from which it grows.

Chynaah notes, “These are undeniably frightening times for educators, librarians, and truth-tellers. Yet it is precisely in moments like this that our voices, our scholarship, and our collective memory matter most. I understand my work as both an act of care and resistance—preserving stories, nurturing imagination, and insisting that Black women’s lives, minds, and spiritual well-being belong at the center of theological inquiry.”

02/23/2026

It's Black History Month! This month, we're highlighting just a few of the many vibrant Black voices on our bookshelves.

James H. Cone is the author of The Cross and the Lynching Tree.

"The Cross and the Lynching Tree are the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African American community. In this powerful new work, theologian James H. Cone explores these symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of black folk. Both the cross and the lynching tree represent the worst in human beings and at the same time a thirst for life that refuses to let the worst determine our final meaning. While the lynching tree symbolized white power and black death, the cross symbolizes divine power and black life God overcoming the power of sin and death. For African Americans, the image of Jesus, hung on a tree to die, powerfully grounded their faith that God was with them, even in the suffering of the lynching era."

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Telephone

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https://lancasterlibrary.moravian.edu/

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