The Ministry of Lament

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Through his own hard-won wisdom as a pastor who is thoroughly acquainted with grief, Gene Fowler shows how these biblical and contemporary understandings of lament provide invaluable guidance for the pastor who, knowing that the grieving of irrevocable losses is an ever-present reality in the life of the congregation, seeks realistic and reliable guidance in how to care for the bereaved and how to enable the congregation to become a genuine community of fellow mourners. - Donald Capps, Princeton Theological Seminary Gene Fowler skillfully maneuvers the winding road of bereavement with the psalms of lament as accompaniment. With attention to the terrain of individuality as well as the congregational setting, Fowler traverses new territory in a twenty-first-century approach to caring for grieving people. Unlike an interstate with its clear ramps, markers, and exits, the valley of the shadow of death is uneven with hidden crevices, detours, and dimly lit passages. Challenging the traditional understanding of grief as a series of universal stages unfolding according to a preconceived timetable, Fowler draws from psychotherapists and theologians to ground a new relationship between spirituality and grief. - Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner, Perkins School of Theology, SMU While making a compelling case for how notions of care have been hijacked, truncated, and curtailed, Gene Fowler expands the ability of caregivers and congregations to provide the long-term acts of faithful healing that deep loss requires. The book is given particular clarity through examples of movies, books, stories, and Psalms that help healers see anew their task--to compassionately and creatively encourage the bereaved as they rewrite the story of their lives. - Andrew L. McDonald, Senior Pastor, Westminster Church, Lincoln, Nebraska