Lifecraft: The Art of Meaning in the Everyday

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0807077127 ISBN 13: 9780807077122

Publisher: Beacon Pr, 2000

In LIFECRAFT, Forrest Church challenges much of the modern search for meaning--indeed, the entire thrust of modern theology. LIFECRAFT reminds us that if we look at our lives as a whole (a spiritual goal many of us after never questioned), "when things go wrong, the entire screen turns dark." Instead, the author says, imagine yourself as "a consortium of personae," rather than as a fixed identity--because otherwise, Church says, we will inevitably think either too much or too little of ourselves.

About the Author:

Forrest Church is senior minister of All Soul's Church in New York City, and is the author of many books, including Life Lines (Beacon / 08070-2723-5/ $11.00 pb). He lives in New York City.

Review:

Church, senior minister of All Souls Unitarian Church inManhattan, notes in this quasi-autobiographical spiritual self-help book that he surprised everyone when he, the agnostic son of a U.S. Senator, decided to be a pastor. His own "Lifecraft" has involved the balancing of many different and overlapping projects, the "God project" standing alongside the parenting project, the career project, and the marriage project, among others.

There are some stunning moments here, such as when Church reflects upon the death of Princess Diana. Unable to understand the outpouring of grief around him--particularly when Mother Teresa, whose life had been about unselfish service, received relatively minimal notice when she died just a few days later--Church was at first incensed by the overwhelming attention paid to Diana's demise. Ultimately, however, he came to understand that what touched people about Diana was her own lack of self-worth. People could identify with her choice to help others despite her personal misery, whereas Mother Teresa strong saintliness inspires awe, but not empathy. Church's quiet ruminations on Diana's unworthiness reflect a deeper theme of "Lifecraft"--that "weakness strikes a closer chord" than strength, and that people need to get in touch with their failings and frailties before ascribing meaning to any of their various life projects. This is one of the most mature titles to grace the spiritual self-help genre. (Beliefnet, May 2000) -- From Beliefnet