About this item
The New York Times bestselling author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and Jesus: A Pilgrimage turns his attention to the relationship between LGBT Catholics and the Church in this loving, inclusive, and revolutionary book.On the day after the Orlando nightclub shooting, James Martin S.J. posted a video on Facebook in which he called for solidarity with our LGBT brothers and sisters. "The largest mass shooting in US history took place at a gay club and the LGBT community has been profoundly affected," he began. He then implored his fellow Catholics - and people everywhere - to "stand not only with the people of Orlando but also with their LGBT brothers and sisters." A powerful call for tolerance, acceptance, and support - and a reminder of Jesus' message for us to love one another - Father Martin's post went viral and was viewed more than 1.6 million times.Now, Martin expands on his reflections in this moving and inspiring book, offering a powerful, loving, and much-needed voice in a time marked by anger, prejudice, and divisiveness. Adapted from an address he gave to New Ways Ministry, a group that ministers to and advocates for LGBT Catholics, Building a Bridge provides a roadmap for repairing and strengthening the bonds that unite all of us as God's children. Martin uses the image of a two-way bridge to enable LGBT Catholics and the Church to come together in a call to end the "us" versus "them" mentality. Turning to the Catechism, he draws on the three criteria at the heart of the Christian ministry - "respect, compassion, and sensitivity" - as a model for how the Catholic Church should relate to the LGBT community.
About the Author
James Martin has written and photographed professionally since 1989 with articles and photographs appearing in Sports Illustrated, Summit, Smithsonian, Outside, Backpacker, Climbing, Outdoor and Travel Photography, Boys' Life, Ranger Rick, Outdoor Photographer, Destination, Blue, Audubon, and Rock & Ice.
He wrote Digital Photography Outdoors, 2nd edition (Mountaineer Books) . He recently completed Planet Ice, a survey of ice that elucidates the relationship between climate and ice, and the action of ice on the landscape. In the course of shooting he hiked to Everest Base Camp, soloed across the Andes, climbed Kilimanjaro and the mountains of the moon, visited Greenland twice, and led trips to Antarctica. See www.planeticebook.com.
He wrote Masters of Disguise: the natural history of chameleons, the first comprehensive book on chameleons in English. Sasquatch Press published a series of his coffee table books on the mountains of the West, including The North Cascades Crest, Mount Rainier, and Sierra. Extreme Alpinism (Mountaineer Press) , written and photographed with Mark Twight, concerns techniques for climbing and surviving the most difficult mountains. The book won the Outdoor Retailer Award and the Banff Mountain Festival Award in 1999.
He has written books for children on natural history, including Hiding Out: camouflage in the wild and Dragons in the Trees (both published by Crown) , each declared an Outstanding Science Trade Book by the National Science Teacher's Association and distinguished as Selectors' Choices. They were also Booklist Editor's Choices, American Library Association Best Book selections, and ALA Notable Books for Children. Dragons in the Trees was named the 1992 Outstanding Nature Book for children by the John Burroughs Association and a recommended book for children by the Children's Literature Center of the Library of Congress. Crown published Living Fossils and Frogs in 1997.
Getty Images represents his photography. His travels led him to Africa, Madagascar, Antarctica, Europe, Borneo, Indonesia, and S.E. Asia. He leads photography tours around the world for Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris. He currently acts as executive director of Art Wolfe Inc. Over the last three decades he has hiked thousands of miles and climbed extensively.
