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Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church
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About This Book
A Pulitzer Prize winner's intimate portrait of a church, its radical mission, and its riveting crisis. "The revolution I wanted to be part of was in the church." Americans have been leaving their churches. Some drift away. Some stay home. Many search for more authentic ways to find and follow Jesus. Circle of Hope tells of one such "radical outpost of Jesus followers" in Philadelphia, dedicated to service, the Sermon on the Mount, and working toward justice for all in this life, not just salvation for some in the next. Part of a little-known yet influential movement at the edge of American evangelicalism, Circle grows for forty years, plants four congregations, and then finds itself in crisis. Immersive, explosive, and tender-hearted, Pulitzer Prize winner Eliza Griswold offers an American allegory full of urgent How do we commit to one another and our better selves in a fracturing world? Where does power live? Can it be shared? How do we make "the least of these" welcome? Building on years of deep reporting, Griswold chronicles Circle's journey as its devoted pastors and members strive toward change that might help the church survive. Through generational rifts, an increasingly politicized religious landscape, a pandemic that prevents gathering in worship, and a rise in foundation-shaking activism, Circle of Hope tells a propulsive, layered story of what we do to stay true to our beliefs. It is a soaring, searing examination of what it means for a community to love, to grow, and to disagree.
Reviews
"Griswold manages to remain both sympathetic and objective, as she reveals how difficult it can be for well-intentioned people to actualize their exalted ideals."
"What makes Griswold's book so valuable is the way in which every combatant in the church's internal culture war is treated with humanity and empathy ..."
"Griswold's subjects speak for themselves, as journalistic ethics justly dictate, but I was always aware that I was seeing the action through the eyes of an interpretive and selective observer laboring to present these complexities as though she were not there ..."
"It's a fascinating inquest into the death of a church that doubles as a compassionate case study on the insufficiency of good intentions."
"Combin[es] rigorous research with relatable real-life characters whose stories are told in straightforward sentences ..."
"This lack of clarity diminishes the impact of Griswold's well-intentioned investigation."
"In addition to highlighting the challenges and frustrations of trying to live a religious life, Circle of Hope demonstrates what church can provide."
"It's nearly miraculous how Griswold manages to present everybody involved as neither villains nor heroes and heroines."
"The text suffers from repetition and scrambled chronologies and leaves many unanswered questions but effectively reveals the inner workings of a group of dedicated believers trying to spread Christianity."
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