Funeral for a Stranger: Thoughts on Life and Love - Softcover

Stevens, Becca

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1426702442 ISBN 13: 9781426702440

Publisher: Abingdon Press, 2009

Synopsis

I have seen water move rocks. I have seen thistles break through boulders.

If water and flowers can move stones, surely love can.

Becca Stevens, from Funeral for a Stranger

In this meditation on living and dying, Becca Stevens shares moving and hilarious stories about her life, love, friends, and our many families. 

This delicately formed narrative is also a window into the soul of a priest. I loved it and will hold it in my heart with gratitude for years to come.

-Phyllis Tickle, author of The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why

         

Loneliness finds connections, depair meets celebration, and fear discovers faith. Join Becca on her journey to a funeral for a stranger. God will be there.
-Don Schlitz, Hall of Fame songwriter of The Gambler

 

With elegant simplicity Becca Stevens escorts the reader to the banks of the deepest spiritual wellspring.   Surely she ranks among our most gifted teachers on the things that matter most of all.

-Stephen Bauman, author of Simple Truths: On Values, Civility, and Our Common Good

About this title

About the Author:

Becca Stevens books have grown out of her work as chaplain of St. Augustine's Chapel at Vanderbilt University, and as founder and director of Magdalene, a residential community for women with a criminal history of drug abuse and prostitution. Her work with Magdalene has earned national attention and spawned both a cottage industry, Thistle Farms, and related programs here and overseas.

To date, she has raised nearly $13 million and gained nationwide press coverage for the organizations she supports. She has won numerous awards from organizations including the Frist Foundation and the Academy of Women in Achievement. She has been named the "Alumnus of the Year" by the School of Theology at the University of the South, "Nashvillian of the Year" by the Nashville Scene and "Tennessean of the Year" by The Tennessean. In October 2011, she was recognized as a "Champion of Change" by the Obama White House. She has written a number of articles, is a widely traveled speaker, and has both a blog and podcasts available online at www.beccastevens.org. She lives in Nashville with her husband, Grammy-winning songwriter Marcus Hummon, and their three sons, Levi, Caney, and Moses.

From Publishers Weekly:

As a minister who simply cannot say no, Stevens (Find Your Way Home), an Episcopal priest in Nashville, suddenly and unexpectedly finds herself officiating at the funeral of a woman she knows nothing about. Beginning with her initial decision to accept and ending as she leaves the grave site, the book progresses through a clear narrative structure. Stevens's personal meditations, memories and musings on such an uncommon opportunity shape themselves into more than simply an inspirational memoir. It is also a parable with two themes, using the framework of the funeral to illuminate two difficult steps on the journey of belief: confronting the inevitability of death and finding compassion for the strangers around us. Each brief chapter offers a precise perspective on either theme, sometimes musing on the funeral itself but more often drawing from the author's past experiences, the voices of others and biblical theology. In discussing loss and grief, Stevens's sincerity and insight lends the slim volume a deep, comforting strength, although her discussions on charity for others only offer a hint of their potential. Overall, however, the book will be loving, spiritual balm to those who, regardless of Christian denomination, feel the pangs of loneliness and loss. (Aug.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1426702442
• ISBN 13: 9781426702440
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128