Sacred Encounters from Rome to Jerusalem [Paperback]

Tamara Park (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 19, 2008

Tamara Park wanted to test her beliefs about God outside the cloistered corner of her American upbringing. So she and a couple of friends flew to Rome and from there followed the footsteps of Helena, mother of the first Christian emperor of ancient Rome, on a meandering path to Jerusalem. Along the way, she sat on all sorts of benches and talked with all sorts of people about how they thought of God. As she conversed with nuns, spies and backpackers throughout the Balkans and Middle East, she discovered understandings of the sacred in the most unexpected of encounters. In her book you'll meet Muslims, Jews, Christians and agnostics in lands that have witnessed near-endless war, tumultuous political crises, economic stagnation and religious strife. You'll see God through the eyes of people whose lived experience is profoundly different yet surprisingly common. You'll see the world through the eyes of three pilgrims and get to know God--and yourself--a little better.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Tamara Park signifies all that is good about the Christian pilgrimage. Her honesty and openness in Sacred Encounters from Rome to Jerusalem allow for a true spiritual journey in finding God. She is a contemporary pilgrim with a fresh journey to the living, breathing Yahweh." (Theresa Shadrix, syndicated columnist, editor and author of the forthcoming book Naked Before God )

"Sacred Encounters from Rome to Jerusalem is an authentic and breezy, yet poignant, voyage in and toward a more dynamic faith in God captured during Tamara Park's real-life travels to the Holy City from Rome. Between the two famous cities, we follow Tamara and her companions through questions, doubts, hopes and spiritual insights, while they gather the spiritual revelations of an interesting assortment of people from diverse cultures, backgrounds and perspectives along the way. Take this provocative and entertaining journey with Tamara to encounter God and his greatness more deeply, just as she did." (Lisa Colón DeLay, wit4life.com )

"Sacred Encounters from Rome to Jerusalem is an engaging and intelligent exploration of faith that explores culture and history in their most captivating form: the context of love and life relationships. This book masterfully captures the spirit of spiritual pilgrimage and our universal need to seek to know God beyond the scope of our limited understanding of him." (Shelly Beach, author of Hallie's Heart )

"This book is a gift of love from the children of Abraham who live among the historical roots of Christianity. The author's vulnerability in laying bare her inner struggles while journeying to hear how followers of all three Abrahamic faiths describe God creates a holy space for the reader." (Karen Sloan, author of Flirting with Monasticism: Finding God on Ancient Paths )

"Tamara Park's account of her forty-day pilgrimage from Rome to Jerusalem is a fresh twist on an ancient journey as she asked those she met along the way to describe God and then listened--really listened--to the answers. Park's contemplative, lyrical, honest writing was an invitation throughout Sacred Encounters to join her on the journey, right here where I live. " (Michelle Van Loon, author of ParableLife and Uprooted )

"Tamara Park takes the reader on a wonderful, descriptive pilgrimage from Rome to Jerusalem where she records her sacred encounters with men and women from the ancient past (Emperor Constantine and his mother, Helena; Savonarola; St. Francis of Assisi; St. Paul; and John) and with modern men and women from all ages and religious backgrounds. From the first rather shallow reflections springs forth, over the course of the journey, a mosaic of deep spiritual encounters that bring her to Jesus--"the Icon of God." (Donald L. Brake, Ph.D., vice president and dean, Multnomah Biblical Seminary, Portland, Oregon )

"Tamara takes you on a beautiful and amazing journey through the sights, sounds and smells of her pilgrimage. You feel as though you've packed your bags and are traveling with her. Here is a book that inspires you to love God and people of all nations and faiths. Well worth reading!" (Sheri Mueller, author, speaker and cofounder of Growthtrac.com )

"Sharing her personal story--with all its demons and preconceptions--as a backdrop, Tamara Park gently challenges us to reach beyond our prejudices so that we might approach others with curious and ready-to-listen hearts. I am encouraged to make my own pilgrimage, asking God to guide me to faraway sacred benches. Sacred Encounters from Rome to Jerusalem subtly questions our too-often Americanized faith and all its compartmentalized boxes. It dares us to make room for a living, breathing, global God." (Eileen Button, columnist and author of the forthcoming book When Faith Is a Four-Letter Word )

"It's tricky to pull off a book about one's own spiritual pilgrimage that will also be enticing and applicable to others, but Tamara Park has done just that. At turns poignant and hilarious, her fantastic writing carries us, her readers, along on her journey. Sacred Encounters from Rome to Jerusalem is both a page-turner and a soul-stirrer." (Tony Jones, author of The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier )

"This isn't just a book, it's a journey. And with each turn of the page you will find yourself lost in the modern and ancient dilemma in the search for words to describe God. Along the way, you'll be entertained by Tamara's adventures, fascinated by the history and culture of each stop along the way, and intrigued by the sacred encounters. Undoubtedly, you'll find yourself pausing to reflect on your own image of God in ways you never have before." (Jocelyn C. Green, award-winning writer and author of Faith Deployed )

"Mixing historical account with current stories from volatile areas like the Balkans and the fractured Middle East, Tamara Park guides readers on their own introspective journeys. Tamara interviews Muslims, Orthodox Christians, Catholics, Jewish people, skeptics, laypeople, clergy, Americans, Serbians, Italians, Croats. . . . [This] diverse record of common beliefs about God doesn't leave you once you put it down." (Rebecca Mayer, contributing writer, Relevant, and special section editor, Lake Oswego Review )

"A master of posing penetrating questions, Tamara Park guides readers through a captivating pilgrimage from Rome to Jerusalem. With each conversation, God emerges as larger, more compassionate and more astounding, uncovering the vast, infinite grandeur of our Creator. Though the road to Jerusalem ends, the journey toward God continues." (Ed Cyzewski, author of Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life )

"Tamara Park tucks the reader into her already overstuffed backpack, giving us colorful memories, historical commentary and a spiritual destination. The sacred 'relics' we carry home are a worldview that is larger than ourselves and a reflective look at our own spirituality." (Cynthia Shabaz, cofounder of CDAWN Learning, www.cdawnlearning.com )

Review

"It's tricky to pull off a book about one's own spiritual pilgrimage that will also be enticing and applicable to others, but Tamara Park has done just that. At turns poignant and hilarious, her fantastic writing carries us, her readers, along on her journey. Sacred Encounters from Rome to Jerusalem is both a page-turner and a soul-stirrer."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: IVP Books (November 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830836233
• ISBN-13: 978-0830836239
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,055,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #34 in Books > Travel > Middle East > Israel > Jerusalem

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, inspiring, informative!, February 10, 2009

By 

Elizabeth A. Klein "kleinink" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sacred Encounters from Rome to Jerusalem (Paperback)

Reading "Sacred Encounters" is truly a sacred experience. You'll laugh; you'll cry; you will learn as well as yearn for the places Park describes so vividly. I especially like how Park ties in a historical perspective to the places she visits. As an open and inquisitive traveller, Park enables readers to delve deeper into places and culture as she steps up to strangers and asks them the deepest possible questions. Her boldness makes my heart stronger and makes me want to go deeper in my own conversations with people I know. She gives us a glimpse into the hopes and struggles of people who have been scarred by violence and all sorts of conflict while preserving a sense of hope and future. This book would be a wonderful encounter for a book group or for your daily devotional reading. It would also make a great gift. Highly Recommended!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Spiritual Journey, March 3, 2009

By 

Julie Clawson (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sacred Encounters from Rome to Jerusalem (Paperback)

Sacred Encounters is a travel narrative, but like any good travel narrative the physical journey is mirrored by an equally fascinating spiritual journey. The book recounts Tamara's adventures as she follows the traditional pilgrims path from Rome to Jerusalem. This sort of pilgrimage generally is used as a means to encounter the divine along the way. But beyond expecting to catch glimpses of God in traditional holy sites, Tamara structured her journey to encounter the sacred in others. So along the journey one reads of her seeking out strangers on benches and asking them to describe God. The result is a spiritual exploration that reflects the diversity of ways to encounter God. As she travels amidst Jews, Muslims, Christians, and agnostics she attempts to understand her own faith and define what she is looking for on the journey. What she discovers are not exactly answers, but a global faith community that speaks the same language despite differences.

What I enjoyed most about the book was how raw and real it was. It wasn't some highly structured narrative that merely instructs the reader on religious dogmas and historical events. It was the honest spiritual quest of a woman who wasn't afraid to face her fears or acknowledge the reality of a situation. She doesn't overspiritualize anything and we get the gritty details of her journey alongside the spiritual insights. I like reading when she's just too tired to visit one more church, or too sick to care. I liked how she wasn't afraid to acknowledge her prejudices and admit when she didn't understand something. It made the book real and more accessible.

So if you'd like to discover more about pilgrimage holy sites or simply want to understand what an open-minded spiritual quest looks like, I recommend checking out Sacred Encounters.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Pilgrim's Progress for Our Time, December 18, 2008

By 

austen_gal (Clovis, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Sacred Encounters from Rome to Jerusalem (Paperback)

Tamara Park delivers a refreshingly honest assessment of her Western Christian beliefs about God, and how that assimilates with the religious beliefs of others in the world. As Park travels from city to city asking her question, "Who is God to you?," she is disconcerted at the realization that she is not entirely certain of her own answer.

As she lugs her backpack around from country to country, she unpacks more and more of the ambivalence of her own religious upbringing. Whether it be in Rome, Sarajevo, Macedonia, Turkey or Jerusalem, she keeps the reader entertained with travel anecdotes fused with "divine moments" that both perplex, amaze and humble her.

At the close of the book, not only has Park's notion of God been expanded, but the reader has also done the same.

Recommended for anyone who loves to travel and explore -- whether it be the amongst countries of the world or the complex workings of the soul.