Two More Books
Well...this has been my week for reading books that I couldn't put down!
Last Friday, I began reading Take This Bread: The Spiritual Memoir of a Twenty-First Century Christian by Sara Miles. That book lasted until Tuesday.
Wednesday I began, Sundays in America: A Yearlong Road Trip in Search of Christian Faith by Suzanne Strempek Shea, which carried me through until just a few minutes ago.
These writers begin from different places -- Miles, raised in an a-religious household, Shea in a devoutly Roman Catholic one. Miles begins her faith journey in a moment of Eucharistic hospitality at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco ( http://saramiles.net/ ).
Shea' exploration of Protestantism begins after witnessing Pope John Paul II's funeral and struggling with the abuse scandals that have rocked American Catholicism. ( http://suzannestrempekshea.com/sss/ )
Miles writes about the food pantry she begins at St. Gregory's and the way in which all of the assorted characters drawn to that ministry become "church"...and the challenges that being placed in proximity to real people dealing with real problems places upon anyone who would be idealistic about "ministry".
Shea writes about the ways in which "church" happens from the standpoint of a perpetual visitor. Through her eyes, the reader catches a glimpse of all that church is and isn't...and in her seeking, the reader is invited to examine her/his own assumptions about what constitutes "church".
Both are drawn toward the active side of faith -- how is faith lived out in the real world? Both are skeptical of faith that too easily judges others. Both are convinced that invitation and inclusion are greater values than doctrinal certainty and exclusivity. Both are much more "this-worldly" than "other-worldly" in their embrace of the Christian message.
In these two books, I was challenged to keep my eyes on the ways in which God is constantly at work...constantly drawing us into the Kingdom that is for everyone. These two authors poignantly reminded me of the wonder of the local church -- a community that is embodied in real time in real places by real (and sometimes difficult) people...a community in which (hopefully) all are fed and no one is left behind.
Well...this has been my week for reading books that I couldn't put down!
Last Friday, I began reading Take This Bread: The Spiritual Memoir of a Twenty-First Century Christian by Sara Miles. That book lasted until Tuesday.
Wednesday I began, Sundays in America: A Yearlong Road Trip in Search of Christian Faith by Suzanne Strempek Shea, which carried me through until just a few minutes ago.
These writers begin from different places -- Miles, raised in an a-religious household, Shea in a devoutly Roman Catholic one. Miles begins her faith journey in a moment of Eucharistic hospitality at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco ( http://saramiles.net/ ).
Shea' exploration of Protestantism begins after witnessing Pope John Paul II's funeral and struggling with the abuse scandals that have rocked American Catholicism. ( http://suzannestrempekshea.com/sss/ )
Miles writes about the food pantry she begins at St. Gregory's and the way in which all of the assorted characters drawn to that ministry become "church"...and the challenges that being placed in proximity to real people dealing with real problems places upon anyone who would be idealistic about "ministry".
Shea writes about the ways in which "church" happens from the standpoint of a perpetual visitor. Through her eyes, the reader catches a glimpse of all that church is and isn't...and in her seeking, the reader is invited to examine her/his own assumptions about what constitutes "church".
Both are drawn toward the active side of faith -- how is faith lived out in the real world? Both are skeptical of faith that too easily judges others. Both are convinced that invitation and inclusion are greater values than doctrinal certainty and exclusivity. Both are much more "this-worldly" than "other-worldly" in their embrace of the Christian message.
In these two books, I was challenged to keep my eyes on the ways in which God is constantly at work...constantly drawing us into the Kingdom that is for everyone. These two authors poignantly reminded me of the wonder of the local church -- a community that is embodied in real time in real places by real (and sometimes difficult) people...a community in which (hopefully) all are fed and no one is left behind.
posted by FrGaryB | 8:15 PM
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