Circle of hope a reckoning with love, power, and justice in an American 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...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Griswold, Eliza, 1973- (Author)
Format: Books Print Book
Language:English
Published: New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2024.
Edition:First edition.
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Summary: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.
Physical Description:viii, 337 pages ; 24 cm
ISBN:9780374601683
0374601682
Author Notes:Eliza Griswold is the author of six books of poetry and nonfiction, all published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Her book Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America was awarded the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction. She writes for The New Yorker , is the Ferris Professor and Director of the Program in Journalism at Princeton University, and lives in New Jersey with her husband and son.