Raynor
attended Harvard Divinity School in the 1980s. It was an era of a
lively gay and lesbian caucus, marches on Washington, and fellow
classmates going through sex changes. In this memoir she shares her
challenges, surprises, and life-changing experiences that led her to
understanding God's call on her life. She writes about having Henri
Nouwen for Thanksgiving dinner and her experiences serving in the
Pine Street Inn homeless shelter, for example.
Raynor
says of her time at HDS, “I was not only there to study God, I was
there to experience God and to apply this living communion in my life
and in the world around me.” (122) She shares the moments that
subtly shaped her, nudged her or altered her course in some way. “And
if we are able to accept the all of it, with gratitude,” she
writes, “then we will be able to accept ourselves, and we will more
keenly feel the love of God, which has no before or after, but has
always been.” (240)
I
have mixed feelings about the book. It is interesting to read about
her experiences at Harvard Divinity School and in the city of Boston.
As an evangelical Christian, I was frustrated with her speaking about
God as He/She. She has a relationship with the Divine but there is
nothing in her book about salvation or belief in Jesus' death and
resurrection. She says of a spiritual experience, “I can't quite
explain it – call it the Holy Spirit, Something Greater, the
Goddess, the Calling – but something came over me...” (224)
Reading that tells me her understanding of God is vastly different
from mine. Perhaps one could say she is spiritually open within the
Christian tradition (as she described her parents).
Being
ordained within the United Methodist Church has allowed Raynor to
minister to others in meaningful ways. She has a compassion for
others that is amazing. She helps and comforts those many “born
again” Christians would happily pass by. Hers is an inspiring story
of one who is spiritual, has found her spiritual calling, and is
living it out helping others.
Andrea
Raynor received her Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity
School and served as a chaplain at Ground Zero after the September
11, 2001, terrorist attacks. A cancer survivor herself, she now
continues helping others through her hospice work. She lives in Rye,
New York.
Howard
Books (a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc), 320 pages.
I
received a complimentary galley of this book from Howard Books for
the purpose of this independent and honest review.
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