Face to the Rising Sun
Winner of a 2023 Illumination Award for Devotional!
Spirituals, songs of abiding faith passed down by African Americans through the centuries, offer a remarkable view of resilience, courage, and love. Formed in the crucible of fire, these songs express the suffering and horror of slavery as well as the love of God and the promise of a better future.
Author Mark Bozzuti-Jones explores the modern-day lessons of these Spirituals with scripture readings, daily devotions, and questions for reflection. With 31 days of devotions, Face to the Rising Sun offers a path forward, a way to repent and name the evils of racism and to learn and grow together in God's love.
Spirituals Playlist
Click here to listen to the Spirituals as you read and meditate on the lyrics. As Fr. Mark says, "...as with songs handed down over the centuries, the words may be different in your memory. Sing them as you learned them, for they are prayers of the heart."
“Mark Bozutti-Jones has done something quite remarkable with this new devotional. Not only does he offer us poignant reflections grounded in scripture and thoroughly practical. He also makes the experiences and voices of those African-American slaves who gave us these spirituals come alive in the here and now, as healing balm to help us face the hurts and injustices of our own time.”
—The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, 27th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, and author of Love is the Way and Songs My Grandma Sang
"A vivid, gripping and challenging new book that invites the reader, through Scripture and the Spirituals alike, to think deeply about the sin of racism, and to explore ways of living God’s justice and mercy in our world. Mark Bozzuti-Jones, a gifted theologian, preacher and writer, is a perfect guide for what might seem like a daunting journey, but which is actually a journey that leads to shalom—peace, fullness, wholeness—for both the individual believer, for the worshiping community and for the world at large."
—James Martin, SJ, author of Learning to Pray
"Mark Bozzuti-Jones has provided not a book to be read but a guide for keeping faith in a world rife with injustice and suffering. The songs and scriptures he mines here sustained our enslaved ancestors, and they could unlock the way to freedom and wholeness in our time. I needed the wise spiritual companionship and fierce call to action Bozzuti-Jones shares in Face to the Rising Sun. Maybe, today, we all do."
—The Reverend Canon Stephanie Spellers, Canon to the Presiding Bishop for Evangelism, Reconciliation and Creation Care
