Threads: pulling meaning from the tangled mess

Pastor and author Nancy Kraft writes: “The time we spend on this earth is more than a series of events marking our lives like headstones in a cemetery. Beneath our stories lies a depth of meaning waiting to be uncovered. And beyond that meaning lies an even deeper truth that connects us to the divine Story we share with one another and all creation.”

Kraft is a self-proclaimed "meaning-maker" who is always sifting through the tangled mess of her life to find threads of meaning. That tangled mess includes the trauma of viewing her father’s corpse when she was six years old, a disastrous marriage to a bigamist, and pastoring a congregation committed to boldly supporting LGBT folks in the buckle of the Bible Belt. More than simply recounting events from her past, Kraft pulls meaning from her experiences, both the marvelous and the mundane, all within the context of her relationship with God, often drawing from the Biblical story to inform her own story.

A surprisingly honest spiritual memoir, Threads follows Kraft as she struggles through her sometimes naïve (and often just plain stupid!) mistakes and learns the power of forgiving herself, embracing community, and choosing to love instead of judge.

Tackling topics like homophobia, racism, aging, and atheism, this book paints a grace-drenched portrait of what it means to be authentically human as it inspires you to examine your own life story for the deeper meaning it holds.

Nancy Kraft has been an ordained Lutheran pastor for thirty-six years. She currently serves at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, a progressive congregation in Charlotte, North Carolina with the mission of "Loving Not Judging." In 2014, she was a plaintiff in the legal case that brought marriage equality to same-sex couples in North Carolina. That same year she was honored by Charlotte Pride as their Outstanding Ally.