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    Lessons in Belonging from a Church-Going Commitment Phobe
    Unavailable
    Lessons in Belonging from a Church-Going Commitment Phobe
    Unavailable
    Lessons in Belonging from a Church-Going Commitment Phobe
    Ebook275 pages3 hours

    Lessons in Belonging from a Church-Going Commitment Phobe

    By Erin S. Lane and Parker J. Palmer

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    • RELEVANT's
    • Englewood Review of Books Best Books of 2015, Praxis
    none.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherIVP Books
    Release dateJan 28, 2015
    ISBN9780830897629
    Unavailable
    Lessons in Belonging from a Church-Going Commitment Phobe

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    Reviews for Lessons in Belonging from a Church-Going Commitment Phobe

    4.5/5

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    • 4/5
      More than a decade of Catholic school failed to cultivate anything but atheism in me. I love a good memoir though, and the cover of Erin Lane’s book intrigued me when I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. As I glanced over the table of contents and skimmed the foreword, I thought to myself “What was I thinking? I’m not even religious! I’m not going to be able to read this book.”

      I’m slightly surprised to report that I really enjoyed it! I read the entire thing on one of those lazy rainy days when leaving the couch seems like an impossibility. It is a book about religion. Mostly, however, it’s one woman’s story of her own quest to find a place to belong within the world of her faith. She never struggles with her belief in God but questions how it fits within tangible day to day life among other believers. Reflections on Christianity and biblical verses are seamlessly integrated with tales of the places she’s lived, communities she’s a part of, and her marriage and family.

      Lane very nearly manages to never come across as preachy thanks to her willingness to expose her own quirks and flaws. She has a hard time committing to the idea of weekly attendance at church. On this she says “I believe in being the church. I believe in attending a church. I just don’t like to do it.” Her feminist views also infuse a bit of humor, such as when she mentions changing all the he’s to her’s and the Father’s to Mother’s while singing hymns “in order to enact a dose of liturgical affirmative action on behalf of the female sex.”

      If I had to offer one criticism, and it’s a very small one, it would be that the timeline is challenging to follow. It’s sometimes unclear whether something she describes happened in the past, perhaps when she was living in a different city, or more recently. This ultimately has very little impact on the narrative because her stories aren’t dependent on a sense of time or place.

      I think you may need to have some interest in or history of experience with religion to really appreciate this book, because a substantial part of it is an exploration of faith. I never felt like the author was trying to convert the reader or push her viewpoint, however, and I found this book smart, beautifully written, and immensely enjoyable.