Overview

Since 1987, Craig Rennebohm has ministered to people on the streets of Seattle who are homeless and struggling with mental illness. In Souls in the Hands of a Tender God he tells the evocative stories of persons who desperately need psychiatric, psychological, and spiritual support, like Mary, who surrounds herself with huge trash bags, and Jerry, barred from every shelter and meal program in Seattle. As Rennebohm reaches out to each of them, their stories become parables that explore mental illness and the spiritual heart of care and recovery—helping us to understand what it means to be human, on a pilgrimage together toward wholeness.

Full Product Details

9780807000427

Table of Contents

Reviews

Rarely has the lived experience of mental illness been expressed with such clarity and compassion. In deft, concise accounts of his relationships with people who endure mental illnesses and homelessness, Craig Rennebohm shares striking insights into their perceptions and realities. His outreach embodies a spirituality that complements and honors other approaches to homelessness and mental illness, but stands on its own as a great testament of faith. Souls in the Hands of a Tender God is an engrossing read for anyone who seeks to comprehend the needs of our brothers and sisters on the streets.--John N. Lozier, executive director, National Health Care for the Homeless Council Here is a powerful testimonial to the work of community in healing the broken fragments of our lives. Rennebohm is focused, clear, mindful and exceedingly human in relating the medical to the religious in the care of souls. --Bishop Cabell Tennis A deeply affecting mosaic of stories, Souls in the Hands of a Tender God unveils the tragedy of homelessness, mental illness, and estrangement, and reveals the power of hospitality and accompaniment in the daunting journey toward home, healing, and belonging. You're unlikely to find a better portrayal of what it means to truly love your neighbor as yourself. --Ken Kraybill, training specialist, National Health Care for the Homeless Council Like Jesus, Rennebohm uses the stories of 'the least of these' to break the silence about mental illness. He models a ministry of presence through companionship and embraces relationship to heal the soul and reveal God's presence in the midst of our personal darkness. --Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder, United Methodist minister and coordinator of mental health ministries, author of In the Shadow of God's Wings: Grace in the Midst of Depression This beautifully written book is a must read for those personally affected by mental illness. It is of even greater value for those who are not. --G

For decades Rennebohm, a Protestant pastor, has walked the streets of Seattle, making contact with mentally ill homeless people and slowly drawing them into circles of care so they can find safe housing, receive medical and psychological help, and rejoin the human community. In this collaboration with Paul, Rennebohm interweaves themes of the Spirit working in desperate lives, the unshakable dignity of human souls and the necessity of companionship for healing as he vividly portrays the lost people he encounters. Always recognizing that medical treatment of mental illness is an essential part of the movement toward spiritual wholeness, Rennebohm is also sensitive to the vulnerability of the mentally ill to disordered religious ideas. The book's title, a response to Jonathan Edwards's famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, reflects Rennebohm's approach of gentle compassion toward people others reject. His call to find a better path leads him to Europe to study community-based approaches to treating mental illness and to initiate these in Seattle. As well as a guide to how others can help be healing presences to the mentally ill, this hopeful book is a meditation on faith in a broken world.

Author Information

Craig Rennebohm has worked for twenty years on the streets of Seattle, WA, supporting homeless individuals struggling with mental illness on the journey through the community mental health system to stability in the community. He has worked extensively with families, served as chaplain on the inpatient mental health units at Harborview Medical Center and has worked in partnership with local congregations to develop mental health ministries that include education, spiritual care and support groups, services of healing and encouragement, shelter, drop-in programs and supported housing. He has developed a basic ""Companionship Training,"" which equips laity for ministries of presence and service, and ""Relational Outreach,"" a resource and training for medical, mental health, human service and chemical dependency staff. Craig graduated from Carleton College, the Chicago Theological Seminary and the Pacific School of Religion where he earned a Doctor of Ministry degree specializing in pastoral care. Craig was ordained in Lowell, MA where he served in a community ministry position which included serving as a juvenile court chaplain, campus minister and as a staff member of the Lowell Pastoral Counseling Center. As pastor of Pilgrim Church in Seattle for 11 years he helped create a lively diverse congregation which embodied the message, ""All are Welcome, Come as You Are."" Craig is a United Church of Christ minister whose greatest delight is his family, Barb, Kelsey, Sam and Max. David W. Paul is a Seattle-based writer and editorial consultant. He is a former political scientist who taught at Princeton and the University of Washington. He has authored or co-authored six books and many articles ranging from politics and history to film criticism, the Internet, and poetry translations. As a technical writer and editor, he worked on contract with Microsoft, Adobe, Boeing, and other companies in the Puget Sound area. His recognitions include awards from the Pacific Northwest Writers Association and the Seattle Arts Commission. He has been a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow, a Fulbright-Hays Fellow, and a scholar-in-residence for the Washington Commission for the Humanities and the Washington State Arts Commission.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available