Seeking a Spiritual Home

All this can not be a whimsical bandwagon. It would seem people of all ages are seeking something deeper, something that offers meaning and purpose, that not only comforts and sustains, but offers something beyond the stresses and weariness of day to day living.

It's a wonderful serendipity to be doing this series right now with so much being written along these lines. It has made me acutely aware just how much good is happening in a culture that would have us believe all is not well. I hope you will be as encouraged as I am with these reading opportunities.

The Presence of Absence: On Prayers and An Epiphany by Doris Grumbach. Beacon Press, 1998. 125 pages, hardcover $18.00.

Here is reassurance, courage, honesty, despair, hope and discovery for anyone, but particularly for those for whom "church" has become wearisome and trite, Grumbach writes about a "year off" she took to look carefully at why her faith had begun to feel empty and God absent from her church experience. I found this refreshingly open and plain-speaking, a disciplined examination of prayer, scripture, liturgy and community.

Sabbath Keeping by Donna Schaper. A Cloister Book from Cowley Publications, 1999. 122 pages, paper $8.95.

This little gem presents some fresh ideas about what Sabbath really is, and reminds us of simple ways to renew our frenetic and wearying life-styles. "Sabbath living is often helped by the simple act of taking time to look at things differently," Schaper says. And she shows us how! Can the music we listen to, or sing on the way to work become a Sabbath -- refreshing time? Can reliving memories, or deliberately using leisure-time open us to the voice of God? Can merely slowing down our lives, doing what we do slowly, help us to "alter time"? In a culture that does not encourage rest, this little reminder of what Sabbath keeping can offer is especially relevant.

Go Gentle into That Good Night by Malcolm Boyd. Genesis Press, 1998. 139 pages, paper $12.95.

Those of us in our later, later years often become weary and stressed not knowing when, how and what to let go. Our active, eager culture gives little thought or energy to helping our most senior elders with these tensions, I have always liked Malcolm Boyd's books and this one is especially good. As gentle as its title, Boyd's look at how we can prepare for eternity is wonderfully reassuring and comforting. Learn now, he suggests, to live in the present, to live less materialistically, and pay extraordinary attention to our relationships. I think at any age that is good advice!

I want to mention a couple more titles, even if we do not have space for complete reviews:

Judith Duerk's two wonderfully opening and freeing books have just been reissued in tenth anniversary editions. Circle of Stones and I Sit Listening to the Wind (Innisfree Press at $13.95 each) suggest powerful ways women can slow down, take stock and examine their deepest feelings and needs.

And for those concerned about the state of the church in the future, Howard E. Frienci Jr. writes Recovering the Sacred Center: Church Renewal from the Inside Out (Judson Press, 1999, 198 pages, paper $16.00) a reflective exploration of newer models and ideas for understanding both ourselves as individuals and ourselves as "church". (You'll hear more about this book in the magazine as the year goes on.)

Last year we had a couple of "guest reviewers". Would you like to be one too? Our policy is to review books not more than a year or two old, to try to promote smaller, independent publishers, and to keep reviews somewhere in the vicinity of about one hundred words. Books should fit into the theme for the year. Send the reviews directly to me.

Ruth Butler is a retired teacher, children's literature specialist and Episcopalian from Topsfield MA.