This is a love story. Girl meets boy. Boy joins a monastic order. Their relationship sets a young woman on a much different path than she ever imagined. Woven together in Karen Sloan's Flirting with Monasticism are two stories of love and commitment: her exploration of monastic spirituality set against the yearlong journey of a novice class of men preparing to join the Dominican order. Each breathlessly confusing but ultimately fulfilling step leads to unexpected treasures: new ways to pray, a deeper experience of Christian community, and closer communion with God. 'I have never read a gentler, more fully human or more candid story about the intersection of evangelical and Catholic ways of being the body of Christ on Earth. Our tradition would be well served if there were more such stories and such Christian candor.'
-Phyllis Tickle, compiler, The Divine Hours 'Karen Sloan is an emerging leader whose honest voice, thoughtful insight, personal vulnerability and theological generosity deserve respect and careful attention. Many sincere followers of Christ will, like me, feel a deep resonance as they read her story of coming of age in the context of passionate spiritual aspiration.'
-Brian McLaren, author/speaker (brianmclaren.net) Karen E. Sloan (M.Div., Fuller Theological Seminary) is a campus minister at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, serving as a volunteer with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. She regularly leads groups in monastic practices such as the Liturgy of the Hours. |
