Strength for the Journey - Softcover

Bass, Diana Butler

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0787974250 ISBN 13: 9780787974251

Publisher: John Wiley &Sons, 2004

Synopsis

In Strength for the Journey, Diana Butler Bass illustrates the dynamic strength and persistence of mainline Protestantism. While many baby boomers left the church, only to come back later in life, Bass was a "stayer" who witnessed the struggles and changes and found much there that was meaningful. Offering thought-provoking portraits of eight parishes she attended over two decades, she explores the major issues that have confronted mainline denominations, congregations, and parishioners during those years--from debates over women clergy to conflicts about diversity and community to scrimmages between tradition and innovation.

About this title

From the Publisher:

"The book you are holding in your hands is as much an amazement as a book. Though it may be--and is--gentle and unassuming, the tale told on these pages spreads in one's soul over time like a powerful music heard or a rich brandy well savored.... Strength for the Journey is a sui generis, a thing unto itself, a one-of-a-kind book." (From the foreword by Phyllis Tickle, author of The Divine Hours and The Shaping of a Life)

"Diana Bass is an astute, acute, and articulate commentator on the religious scene, with a knack for detecting the resonances between her own story and the larger story of religion and culture. A clear and witty voice, laced with humor." (Patrick Henry, executive director Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research)

"With the insights of a mystic, Diana Butler Bass recounts her spiritual pilgrimage from Methodism to evangelicalism to the benumbing diversity of the Episcopal Church, where she found a spiritual home. Along the way, she offers a guided tour of the crises and the controversies afflicting mainline Protestantism over the past several decades. For anyone looking for evidence that the glass of mainline Protestantism is half full rather than half empty, Strength for the Journey offers a persuasive case." (Randall Balmer Author of Growing Pains: Learning to Love My Father's Faith)

"A compelling intertwining of a personal spiritual journey and the recent history of Protestantism. Diana Butler-Bass makes the case that Baby Boom seekers are drawing the Church into a new, more authentic Christianity." (Nora Gallagher Author of Things Seen and Unseen: A Year Lived in Faith)

From the Back Cover:

"Bass delivers ... an account of her life in eight different Episcopal churches .... Her parish stories unfold in that riveting, better-than-fiction way .... Each chapter is more intriguing than the last ... (The book) records a soul's search for God and communion with God’s people."
—Publishers Weekly

"Throughout her journey, (Bass) remains a restless spirit with a strong Christian heart, one who, despite loving tradition and timeless values, has never settled for easy answers. The imminent death of mainline Protestantism has been greatly exaggerated, she believes, and indeed American Protestantism has entered a new period of growth and renewal. This book is, in part, her personal rebuttal of Protestantism's doom-criers."
—Booklist

"Diana Butler Bass has written a rare kind of book. Part religious travelogue, part contemporary tracing of one pilgrim's progress, part spiritual autobiography, Strength for the Journey gives us a very personal and a very acute view of what life is like for a committed Christian today."
—James P. Wind, president, The Alban Institute

"A compelling intertwining of a personal spiritual journey and the recent history of Protestantism. Diana Butler Bass makes the case that baby boom seekers are drawing the Church into a new, more authentic Christianity."
—Nora Gallagher, author, Things Seen and Unseen: A Year Lived in Faith

"With the insights of a mystic, Diana Butler Bass recounts her spiritual pilgrimage from Methodism to evangelicalism to the benumbing diversity of the Episcopal Church, where she found a spiritual home. Along the way, she offers a guided tour of the crises and the controversies afflicting mainline Protestantism over the past several decades. For anyone looking for evidence that the glass of mainline Protestantism is half full rather than half empty Strength for the Journey offers a persuasive case."
—Randall Balmer, author, Growing Pains: Learning to Love My Father's Faith

About this edition

• Publisher: John Wiley &Sons
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0787974250
• ISBN 13: 9780787974251
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 316