|
Souls in the Hands of a Tender God: Stories of the Search for Home and Healing on theStreets
|
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. For decades Rennebohm, a Protestant pastor, has walked the streets of Seattle, making contact with mentally ill homeless people and slowly drawing them into circles of care so they can find safe housing, receive medical and psychological help and rejoin the human community.In this collaboration with Paul, Rennebohm interweaves themes of the Spirit working in desperate lives, the unshakable dignity of human souls and the necessity of companionship for healing as he vividly portrays the lost people he encounters.Always recognizing that medical treatment of mental illness is an essential part of the movement toward spiritual wholeness, Rennebohm is also sensitive to the vulnerability of the mentally ill to disordered religious ideas.The book's title, a response to Jonathan Edwards's famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, reflects Rennebohm's approach of gentle compassion toward people others reject.His call to find a better path leads him to Europe to study community-based approaches to treating mental illness and to initiate these in Seattle.As well as a guide to how others can help be healing presences to the mentally ill, this hopeful book is a meditation on faith in a broken world. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
Rarely has the lived experience of mental illness been expressed with such clarity and compassion. In deft, concise accounts of his relationships with people who endure mental illnesses and homelessness, Craig Rennebohm shares striking insights into their perceptions and realities. His outreach embodies a spirituality that complements and honors other approaches to homelessness and mental illness, but stands on its own as a great testament of faith. Souls in the Hands of a Tender God is an engrossing read for anyone who seeks to comprehend the needs of our brothers and sisters on the streets.—John N. Lozier, executive director, National Health Care for the Homeless Council
Here is a powerful testimonial to the work of community in healing the broken fragments of our lives. Rennebohm is focused, clear, mindful and exceedingly human in relating the medical to the religious in the care of souls."—Bishop Cabell Tennis
"A deeply affecting mosaic of stories, Souls in the Hands of a Tender God unveils the tragedy of homelessness, mental illness, and estrangement, and reveals the power of hospitality and accompaniment in the daunting journey toward home, healing, and belonging. You're unlikely to find a better portrayal of what it means to truly love your neighbor as yourself."—Ken Kraybill, training specialist, National Health Care for the Homeless Council
"Like Jesus, Rennebohm uses the stories of 'the least of these' to break the silence about mental illness. He models a ministry of presence through companionship and embraces relationship to heal the soul and reveal God's presence in the midst of our personal darkness."—Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder, United Methodist minister and coordinator of mental health ministries, author of In the Shadow of God's Wings: Grace in the Midst of Depression
"This beautifully written book is a must read for those personally affected by mental illness. It is of even greater value for those who are not."—Gunnar Christiansen, M.D., founder, FaithNet NAMI
"This book was lived before it was written. Craig Rennebohm has gone to people and places that many Americans would prefer not to notice. In doing so, he has discovered that the light does yet shine in the darkness. Now he brings back stories of the light to show us all the way."—Anthony B. Robinson, author of Transforming Congregational Culture and Common Grace and United Church of Christ Pastor
"This moving and personal story will be of great value to anyone working with people who struggle with mental illness. Rennebohm brings to life the compassion, grace, and justice in this spiritual approach, but also emphasizes the need to recognize the whole person—their social, psychological, and biological facets—as well as the stark reality of mental illness."—David H. Avery, M.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine
"A masterpiece of storytelling that has tremendous potential to continue the transformation of our churches and society into a safety net of unbroken relationships."—Reverend Patrick Howell, S.J., vice president for mission and ministry, Seattle University, and author of Reducing the Storm to a Whisper: The Story of a Breakdown
18/05/2009
The book did a great job of conveying the sacredness that exists in everyone and the need for dignity, love, community, and the help of the Holy Spirit. It hits the point how one can establish companionship, and while focusing on the mentally ill in many of the stories, I find that it is appropriate for a better understanding of dealing with the homeless in general. The book makes its points and opinions through real stories filled with reality, compassion and love, and is does not preach or talk down to the reader. A quick read.
22/06/2008
If you have ever searched for a tender God in the teeth of an angry God, you will find the tender God in this book by Congregational minister Craig Rennebaum who often walks the streets of Seattle searching for anyone who seems to be lost. The rest of us fuss over homelessness as a civic or sociological or psychological or moral problem that is inconvenient and should be swept away for our sake. But Craig Rennebaum sees the homeless person as someone he may be able to help if he plays his cards right. Each homeless person is a story he wants to read. His stories of reaching the unreachable are my favorite parts of this book which also serves as a factual answer to the whys of homelessness today.
12/05/2008
Chapllain Rennebohm is first of all a great story teller. Through these stories and his reflections we come to know and care for persons who experience a mental illness. In Craig's patience with those whom he meets on the street, we learn the value of patience in our lives also. As he reports the working of the Spirit, we can find the Spirit at work in our lives as well. An engaging and inspiring account.
Rev. Bob Dell
Pathways to Promise - Ministry & Mental Illness
Your Name:
Your Review: Note: HTML is not translated!
Rating: Bad Good
Enter the code in the box below:
|
|
|
|
