Join the Faith Matters Summer Book Club!

Read and discuss "Gracing" by Hannah Packard Crowther with the author and others in the Faith Matters community

What if God lived with you? Right now. Every day. On this side of eternity. What if grace was not a thing that eventually made you fit for heaven, but a way to experience heaven now? What if you lived grace as a verb instead of a noun?

This summer, join Faith Matters and Hannah Packard Crowther as we explore this abundant, nourishing, and down-to-earth spiritual life. Coined “gracing,” this way of being blurs the boundaries between holiness and the mundane, between a future paradise and a present one.

Starting June 10 and running through July 25, participants will receive selections from Hannah’ book Gracing in their inbox each Tuesday, along with questions to reflect on and an invitation to join a conversation. On Fridays at 12pm Mountain time, you can join Hannah and other readers in an online chat room to discuss these questions (and if you can’t make it at that time, you can always add your thoughts and read others’ comments later!)

Framed as a collection of seashells, Gracing gathers truths and moments that point to a deep, universal ocean—an everyday, intimate partnership with God. Ultimately, readers are invited into this creative and vibrant life. We can’t wait to learn and explore with you this summer.

If you don’t already have your copy of the book, or if you’d like to gift a copy to a friend so they can read along with you, be sure to order soon! We’ll share free excerpts via email, but reading the entire book (and using the journaling pages at the back!) will enhance your experience.

Grace as a present tense verb, as a vicarious manner, as an open invitation, as a fruitful collaboration, as a perpetual consecration—what can I say but "Amen!" and "Amen!"

—Adam S. Miller

HOW TO SIGN UP

First, if you are not already receiving emails from Faith Matters, make sure that you are subscribed (a free subscription works!)

If you are subscribed but are not receiving emails, please email us at info@faithmatters.org and we’d be happy to help!

Once you’ve subscribed, go to faithmatters.org/account. It should look like this:

From here, you can turn on notifications (emails) for the Gracing book club series (and for any of our other newsletters, too!)

If you’d like, you can also turn on email notifications for “new threads in Substack Chat” — that is where the Friday discussions will be held.

If you have any difficulties please email us at info@faithmatters.org—we’d be more than happy to help!

PRAISE FOR GRACING:

You are fortunate to have Hannah Packard Crowther's book in your hands. In it you will find uncommon and wide-ranging insight on a host of issues—from science to family life to personal health—all in the interest of helping you to live a more grace-filled life of connection to what is good and holy and present before you. This is a lesson manual in how to live the abundant life that Jesus promised is available to the faithful, here and now.

—George Handley, author of If Truth Were a Child

In fourteen interconnected essays, Crowther draws from her experiences as a mother, teacher, and person living with chronic illness to illuminate how grace appears in unexpected places: in difficult conversations with teenagers, in the companionship of a rescue dog, in the patient practice of mastering violin pieces, and even in the challenging moments of autoimmune fatigue. She blends insights from biology, theology, literature, and personal narrative to explore how we might live more grace-filled lives.

Crowther's alert, faithful mind traces connections between scientific understanding, social experience, and spiritual wisdom. Through her eyes, evolution is God's creative play, cellular biology reveals patterns of divine relationship, and the natural world demonstrates grace in action. Her reflections are deeply rooted in Latter-day Saint faith even as they seek connection with other religious and secular traditions. The book includes thoughtful reflection questions that invite readers to explore their own experiences of grace and consider how they might more fully embrace its presence in their lives.

—Rosalynde Welch, Associate Director, Maxwell Institute

READ AN EXCERPT NOW:

WATCH OUR CONVERSATION WITH HANNAH ABOUT THE BOOK:

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