There is a steady trickle of books from otherwise worldly people -- such as snarky writers who "should know better" -- into the fold of Christianity. I'm not sure what this means, if anything, but it is somewhat heartening to see hearts being moved, usually against their better judgment, by elements of piety. Call it faith or maturity or "just one of those things," the fact is that some young are moving beyond the cliches of religion haters to embrace the world of the spirit. Or at least to show up at Church once in awhile.
I ran across the latest entrant in Salon.com. Here's the Editor's note from the story:
At 46, Sara Miles, a left-wing, secular journalist and former cook, found herself an unlikely convert to Christianity. She joined St. Gregory's Episcopal Church in San Francisco, where she turned the bread she ate at Communion into groceries for a food bank that now feeds over 450 people a week. The following excerpt is from her memoir about what she calls her "unexpected and terribly inconvenient" spiritual awakening -- "Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion."
OK. So a woman in her mid-40s can't exactly be called "young." But she can certainly be called "unlikely" in her acceptance of religious life. Her entry seems to have been facilitated by an unorthodox priest who is not afraid of loving the Church in spite of its incredible flaws and appalling history. Or has she just found a little-used angle for getting material for a book? What points me in the opposite direction is her description of her conversion as "inconvenient." How very biblical -- God hooking us when we least expect it! Ask Ezekiel. Ask Paul.
I have not read the book, but have it on order at the library. If one of you gets to it first, please add your comments!
Here's the link to the story: http://salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/02/17/take_this_bread/
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