A Heart At Leisure From Itself

A truly remarkable person, Caroline Macdonald (1874-1931) was a Canadian woman who spent almost her entire working life in Japan and who played a significant role there in both the establishment of the YWCA and in prison reform. A native of Wingham, Ontario, she was one of the first women to attend the University of Toronto, where in 1901 she graduated with honours in mathematics and physics. But rather than follow an academic career, she opted in 1904, through her connections with the Presbyterian Church and the YWCA in Canada and the United States, to move to Tokyo to work as a lay missionary and social worker. During the 1920s, she was the best-known foreign woman in Tokyo. In A Heart at Leisure from Itself Margaret Prang follows Caroline Macdonald's life and career, focusing on her work in Japan on behalf of incarcerated criminals. Working mostly with male prisoners and their families, Macdonald became an international interpreter of the movement for prison reform work for which she is still warmly remembered in Japan. She regarded herself as a missionary but was also highly critical of much missionary endeavour, her own work being more in the practical than spiritual realm. Her death in 1931 elicited tributes from all over the world, particularly from Japan. Perhaps the most fitting came from Arima Shirosuke, the prison governor with whom Macdonald worked most closely. Reflecting on her life, Arima observed that he thought it was her absolute conviction that every human being was a child of God and her 'effortless' practice of that faith that placed Macdonald 'beyond every prejudice' of religion, race, or class. She was, he said, 'a heart at leisure from itself.' This book throws light on Japanese-Canadian relations in the first few decades of this century. Macdonald's career reveals the cross-cultural influence of the YWCA in Japan, the role of the Protestant churches there, and the evolution of prison reform in Japan and the people involved in it.

This substantial volume includes more than fifty never-before-published expository sermons on John 4 from one of the twentieth century's greatest preachers. It was just a conversation between two people by the side of a well in Samaria. One, a local woman, came to perform her daily task of drawing water. Another, a Jewish man tired from traveling, sat down for a drink. But he wasn't just any Jewish man, and this wasn't just any conversation. The man, Jesus, revealed himself as the Messiah, leading to the conversion of not only the Samaritan woman but many from her town. Now, for the first time, fifty-six sermons by Martyn Lloyd-Jones on this passage of Scripture are available in Living Water. Lloyd-Jones, known for his ability to clearly communicate profound theological concepts, digs into this familiar passage from the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John, exposing fresh layers of truth. His perceptive analysis is helpful for all who thirst for the living water that only Jesus can provide.

In this provocative new book, Tony Blackshaw argues that Leisure Studies is in a quiet but deep state of crisis. The twenty-first century has brought profound change to all aspects of society, including a plurality of new leisure worlds, and traditional concepts of Leisure Studies fail to capture this richness. This book aims to re-invigorate Leisure Studies by revealing and unpacking these leisure worlds, thereby changing the way we think about leisure and the way we do Leisure Studies. Both trivial and serious in its implications, it is precisely this paradox that makes leisure such a fascinating subject of study. Re-Imagining Leisure Studies presents a new and radical set of methodological rules for studying leisure trends and cultures in contemporary society. It discusses the critical issues that underpin recent developments in leisure theory and explores the key themes of social class, community, politics, freedom and globalization. Marking a turning point in the reception and understanding of Leisure Studies, this book is vital reading for all students and scholars with a social scientific interest in leisure.