Uncovering Your Church's Hidden Spirit

Celia Allison Hahn

Parishioners today look to their congregations to feed their spiritual hunger. But many members and clergy are not sure how the words “congregation” and “spirituality” fit together. Author Celia Hahn interviewed 30 lay people and clergy from five Episcopal congregations to discover their stories of congregational spirituality and to help them identify the congregation’s gifts for spiritual development. Hahn becomes a spiritual companion and resource for the searching congregation, guiding the church as it begins to discover its gifts. How is God at work in our congregation? How do members empowered by the transforming Spirit minister in their workplaces, neighborhoods, and families? How do members move into a deeper relationship with one another and with God? Foreword by Tilden Edwards, executive director of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Direction.

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Praise for the Book

“Celia Hahn not only reports the results of an excellent and careful study on congregational spirituality, but also offers a very readable, wise, and highly practical text for people interested in exploring this area with their own congregation. I find her insights about spiritual companionship for congregations to be groundbreaking and am certain they will do much to deepen and enhance the experience of the real meaning of 'church.'” —Gerald G. May

“Celia Hahn brings together her passion for churches with her experience in spiritual direction and creates for us an exciting model for church discernment. The growth she cares about is spiritual, and its focus is on the unique gifts of a congregation. This very readable book tells stories of several parishes, each with its own spiritual history and promise. From these stories we learn how we, too, may be nurtured into a richer corporate life. This is not a one-size-fits-all programmatic blueprint but a fresh way actively to foster the spiritual gifts of each church. Full of narrative examples, the book will equip you to approach your congregation in a new and creative way.” —Corinne Ware

About the Author

Celia Allison Hahn is former Editor in Chief of the Alban Institute, its book publishing program and journal. Following studies at Smith College, she served as director of Christian Education in two Episcopal parishes. She is author of Sexual Paradox: Creative Tensions In Our Lives and In Our Congregations (Pilgrim Press) and books published by Alban—Lay Voices in an Open Church, and, with Anne Marie Nuechterlein, The Male-Female Church Staff: Celebrating the Gifts, Confronting the Challenges, as well as many articles and study guides. Hahn has also served as leader of educational events on Growing in Authority, gender issues, and spirituality and sexuality.

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ISBN# 1-56699-241-9
Alban No. AL232
paper, 150 pages
2001

In stock

$14.00 ($11.20 for members)

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