What do you think?
Rate this book
The Calling of the Laity: Verna Dozier's Anthology
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
9 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 15, 2023
I discovered Verna Dozier while reading Glorious Companions: Five Centuries of Anglican Spirituality. It left me sufficiently intrigued to want to find more. I'm not really sure the 3 essays totaling 9 pages by Verna Dozier in this volume really count as more. But it made for an interesting place to start.
Published in 1988 by the now defunct church consulting organization, The Alban Institute, this collection of essays seeks to expound on the ministry of the laity in the world of work and the community. Specifically, it addresses three questions: (1) How does one make decisions when the choice is between lesser evils? (2) How does one live with the incomplete—never quite making it, when all around the hucksters are proclaiming easy answers? (3) How can we educate so that the resources of the faith are there for strengths and not solutions?
If that seems like an ambitious scope for 149 pages...it is. Almost obnoxiously so. Many of the essays near the end felt like they needed to be near the beginning to really set the tone for the volume. And some of the essays at the beginning almost drove me off.
Yet I will say this: for all my mixed emotions about the layout and scope of the work, some of these essays were really good. I want to print a copy of William E. Diehl's "Ministry in the Marketplace" and give it to college graduates. It is full of practical advice and thought-provoking issues.
Some of these essays left me with more questions than answers. Others would be mostly meh except for a paragraph or two that were genuinely thought-provoking. And some (dare I say including Verna Dozier's articles?!) were simply okay. I hoped for more.
It is tricky because the parts that struck a cord are really worth reading. But the parts that didn't...probably should stay buried in 1988.
I think I am going to have to give this one a re-read to really determine if it is worth it
Published in 1988 by the now defunct church consulting organization, The Alban Institute, this collection of essays seeks to expound on the ministry of the laity in the world of work and the community. Specifically, it addresses three questions: (1) How does one make decisions when the choice is between lesser evils? (2) How does one live with the incomplete—never quite making it, when all around the hucksters are proclaiming easy answers? (3) How can we educate so that the resources of the faith are there for strengths and not solutions?
If that seems like an ambitious scope for 149 pages...it is. Almost obnoxiously so. Many of the essays near the end felt like they needed to be near the beginning to really set the tone for the volume. And some of the essays at the beginning almost drove me off.
Yet I will say this: for all my mixed emotions about the layout and scope of the work, some of these essays were really good. I want to print a copy of William E. Diehl's "Ministry in the Marketplace" and give it to college graduates. It is full of practical advice and thought-provoking issues.
Some of these essays left me with more questions than answers. Others would be mostly meh except for a paragraph or two that were genuinely thought-provoking. And some (dare I say including Verna Dozier's articles?!) were simply okay. I hoped for more.
It is tricky because the parts that struck a cord are really worth reading. But the parts that didn't...probably should stay buried in 1988.
I think I am going to have to give this one a re-read to really determine if it is worth it
Displaying 1 of 1 review