Rachel G. Hackenberg

It’s the sort of experience familiar to many: Somewhere between illness and divorce, abusive relationships and brushes with death, faith failed to provide answers . . . or we failed to live as though we believed faith held answers. But surely, it’s different for clergy, the ones who preach and practice faith? But faith requires more, and authors Martha Spong and Rachel G. Hackenberg, who grew up in the church and became ordained ministers, know first-hand about coming to terms with God and life, the need to search for answers . . . or at least assurance we are not alone in struggling for renewed hope. Denial is My Spiritual Practice is a companion for the wondering and struggling. The authors offer their own stories as evidence that God remains, both when faith fails and when faith finds new understanding. They combine stark life experiences, offbeat spiritual perspectives, and Scripture to offer comfort, grace, laughter, and a few tears along the way.

Writing to God is a Lenten devotional tool, providing forty-seven insightful prayers for personal reflection and an equal number of scripturally-based writing prompts to guide readers/writers in their own praying. Each prayer draws its readers into a moment of meditation, even as it sets an example for the accompanying prompt. Paired together, these prayers and writing prompts offer daily devotions for the Lenten season, including Sundays and Holy Week.