"Things Seen and Unseen: A Year Lived in Faith", by Nora Gallagher
"I
came to this church five years ago as a tourist and ended up a pilgrim,"
writes Nora Gallagher, speaking of her year at Trinity Episcopal Church in
Santa Barbara. It started with an occasional Sunday visit, a shy toe dip into
the Episcopal Church. Eventually she delved into a yearlong journey to discover
her faith and a relationship with God, using the Christian calendar as her
compass. What Kathleen Norris did for the language of the
church in Amazing
Grace, Gallagher does for the Christian calendar--finding
contemporary meaning in an ancient calendar that is often misunderstood or
overshadowed with oppressive dogma.
Starting
with the chapter titled "Advent," and ending with "Ordinary
Time," Gallagher speaks to the biblical and historical themes of the
church's calendar, then offers a translation for living in America at the end
of the millennium. Most touching is her raw honesty, whether writing about
feeding the homeless in the Community Kitchen or the unglamorous job of caring
for a friend with AIDS. Indeed, it is Gallagher's humble interpretations of
faith that make her seasonal wisdom so trustworthy. "I learned something
about faith, its mucky nature, how it lies down in the mud with the pigs and the
rabble," she says when writing about the darkness of Advent. "...God
is not too good to hang out with jet-lagged women with cat-litter boxes in
their dining rooms, or men dying of AIDS, or, for that matter, someone nailed
in humiliation to a cross."
Our book club member enjoyed this book, but in particular were interested in the challenges that this church faced in creating and sustaining a Community Kitchen. We were inspired by the dedication and compassion with which the church faced the difficult realities of running this ministry in a residential area and with incomplete support by the community and congregation. We discussed how God is calling our own church to step outside its comfort zone in mission and outreach to our particular community.
See below for an additional review of this book by "Christian Book Review":
Our book club member enjoyed this book, but in particular were interested in the challenges that this church faced in creating and sustaining a Community Kitchen. We were inspired by the dedication and compassion with which the church faced the difficult realities of running this ministry in a residential area and with incomplete support by the community and congregation. We discussed how God is calling our own church to step outside its comfort zone in mission and outreach to our particular community.
See below for an additional review of this book by "Christian Book Review":
