Finding Home: Stories of Roman Catholics Entering the Episcopal Church [Paperback]

Christopher L. Webber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1997

Webber tells the stories of men and women who left the church of their childhood for various reasons: questions of conscience, desire to remarry after divorce, conflict over religious authority, the need to explore and question, a hunger for spiritual growth, or theological differences. These vivid stories also raise larger pastoral questions of discernment, hospitality, inclusion, and belonging.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"I was brought up as an Episcopalian, but I never doubted that I belonged to the Catholic Church," says Webber in this paean to the Episcopal Church as reflected in the stories of 11 converts from Roman Catholicism. A homogeneous group, all are from the educated middle class; five, like the author, are now Episcopal priests. Taken together, their stories portray an Episcopal Church very much like the church they left, but, in their opinion, more responsive, less authoritarian and far superior in art and liturgy. Despite his preference for Anglicanism, Webber is careful not to badmouth Rome; in his mind, the two denominations belong to one big happy family and, indeed, he seems more comfortable with his Catholic cousins than with his barely mentioned evangelical Episcopal siblings. Of undoubted interest to Episcopal "inquirer" groups, this book should also be taken seriously by Catholic decision-makers who wonder why denominational loyalties are fraying.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

In Finding Home, Christopher Webber tells the stories of men and women who left the church of their childhood for a number of different reasons: questions of conscience, remarriage after divorce, conflict over authority, the need to explore and to ask questions of their faith, instruction for their children, a hunger for spiritual growth. Finding Home presents what it meant for a lawyer, a pilot, a nurrse, an executive, a homemaker, two priests, and a bishop to leave the Roman Catholic Church and enter the Anglican Communion. The stories of their journeys into the Episcopal Church also raise larger issues of conversion, discernment, hospitality, including, church membrhsip, theology, and belonging. Finding Home provides the reader with a great deal of "food for thought" and a framework to consider themselves and their own situations with respect to membership in their church. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Cowley Publications (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561011339
• ISBN-13: 978-1561011339
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #309,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cuba, New York, is my home town though I haven't lived there in fifty years. It's the kind of town everyone should be able to grow up in. It gave me the background to go on to Princeton and seminary and serve a variety of Episcopal Churches: urban, suburban, overseas, and rural. And ministry is a great school of writing with a weekly sermon and a monthly mailing to make sure you get plenty of practice. Marriage and family - four children and four grandchildren - rounds out the picture of a generally happy life. If writers are supposed to be unhappy, I don;t fit the picture!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting, October 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Finding Home: Stories of Roman Catholics Entering the Episcopal Church (Paperback)

Converts are an interesting phenomenon. Most people do not look closely at the church they were raised in and consider whether it is the right place for them, so by their very nature converts are unusual, seekers. It is interesting to gain insight into the reasons for conversion, particularly leaving the Roman Catholic church for a Protestant church when so many Catholics grew up learning a strong prejudice against other Christian faiths than theirs, the "one true church". I enjoyed learning about the personal reasons for conversion and am happy that people still find religion worth researching, rediscovering and recommitting to.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An enlightening book, August 1, 2000

By 

PeacefulNan "PeacefulNan" (East Central GA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Finding Home: Stories of Roman Catholics Entering the Episcopal Church (Paperback)

Finding Home is the story of the journeys of several people from the Roman Catholic Church to the Episcopal Church. As an Episcopalian, I learned a great deal that I didn't know about Roman Catholicism, most of it extremely positive. There was no R.C. bashing in this book; in fact, the majority of those who made this journey did so with grief at losing the parts of their previous church which had been particularly meaningful to them. This book is well written. I recommend it highly.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Personal, and not offensive, July 16, 2002

By 

"billb2285" (Harrison Township, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finding Home: Stories of Roman Catholics Entering the Episcopal Church (Paperback)

This book was fairly helpful, and as a Roman Catholic(in transition) not very offensive, especially compared to many outlandish works such as Boettner's Roman Catholicism.
This book really brings up good points, and while reading it, I several times thought "Wow, I can really relate to that" since it is from the perspective of everyday former Roman Catholics.
And, Roman Catholicism is not the world's largest religion because it is nessicarily something great. It dominates where it was once the state-enforced religion. You don't find many Englishmen, Swedes, Lutherans, and especially Russians or Muslims flocking to Catholicism.
The book is keen to point out that these people were born into Roman Catholicism and taught there was nothing more, and I know that really does keep most Roman Catholics from ever thinking of stepping into a fine place like an Episcopal Church.
I'm glad I read the book.