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Circle of Hope
A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church
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Narrated by:
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Jennifer Pickens
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By:
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Eliza Griswold
About this listen
Long-listed, Minneapolis Star Tribune Holiday Book Recommendations, 2024
Long-listed, Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, 2024
National Book Awards, Finalist, 2024
New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year, 2024
Long-listed, Washington Post Best Books of the Year, 2024
Long-listed, NPR Best Book of the Year, 2024
Long-listed, Boston Globe Best Books of the Year, 2024
A Pulitzer Prize winner’s intimate portrait of a church, its radical mission, and its riveting crisis.
"Jennifer Pickens adopts an even-keeled reportorial cadence and timbre well suited to Griswold's immersion journalism, which recounts the rise and fall of Circle of Hope."—AudioFile
“The revolution I wanted to be part of was in the church.”
Americans have been leaving their churches. Some drift away. Some stay home. And some have been searching for—and finding—more authentic ways to find and follow Jesus.
This is the story of one such “radical outpost of Jesus followers” dedicated to service, the Sermon on the Mount, and working toward justice for all in this life, not just salvation for some in the next. Part of a little-known yet influential movement at the edge of American evangelicalism, Philadelphia’s Circle of Hope grew for forty years, planted four congregations, and then found itself in crisis.
The story that follows is an American allegory full of questions with urgent relevance for so many of us, not just the faithful: How do we commit to one another and our better selves in a fracturing world? Where does power live? Can it be shared? How do we make “the least of these” welcome?
Building on years of deep reporting, the Pulitzer Prize winner Eliza Griswold has crafted an intimate, immersive, tenderhearted portrait of a community, as well as a riveting chronicle of its transformation, bearing witness to the ways a deeply committed membership and their team of devoted pastors are striving toward change that might help their church survive. Through generational rifts, an increasingly politicized religious landscape, a pandemic that prevented gathering to worship, and a rise in foundation-shaking activism, Circle of Hope tells a propulsive, layered story of what we do to stay true to our beliefs. It is a soaring, searing examination of what it means for us to love, to grow, and to disagree.
A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
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Critic reviews
“Riveting . . . A fascinating inquest into the death of a church that doubles as a compassionate case study on the insufficiency of good intentions.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Eliza Griswold is a dazzling reporter: ever observant, wise, sympathetic, and honest. And in this spellbinding book, she not only immerses herself in a radical religious community but also reveals its fracturing in real time, raising questions about the nature of faith and justice and what binds us as Americans.”—David Grann, author of The Wager
“Circle of Hope is an act of courage, vulnerability, and creativity—all things that make Eliza Griswold’s seasoned voice once again strike with strength.”—Danté Stewart, author of Shoutin’ in the Fire
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In The Pagan World: Ancient Religions Before Christianity, you will meet the fascinating, ancient polytheistic peoples of the Mediterranean and beyond, their many gods and goddesses, and their public and private worship practices, as you come to appreciate the foundational role religion played in their lives. Professor Hans-Friedrich Mueller, of Union College in Schenectady, New York, makes this ancient world come alive in 24 lectures with captivating stories of intrigue, artifacts, illustrations, and detailed descriptions from primary sources of intriguing personalities.
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The Pagan World
- By arnold e andersen md Dr Andersen on 03-28-20
By: Hans-Friedrich Mueller, and others
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Happy Days
- By: Gabrielle Bernstein
- Narrated by: Gabrielle Bernstein
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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What if you could wake up every day without anxiety? View your past with purpose, not regret? Live happy, peaceful, and free from fear? You can - and Gabrielle Bernstein will show you the way. Gabby has long been loved by her listeners as a spiritual teacher, motivational speaker, and catalyst for profound inner change. Her new book presents her most powerful teaching yet: a plan for transforming the pain of your past, whatever that may be, into newfound strength and freedom.
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Healing is privileged
- By Tina Clayton on 02-26-22
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The Book of Enoch
- From the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament
- By: Robert Bagley III
- Narrated by: Steve Cook
- Length: 4 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Why is The Book of Enoch so important to anyone interested in Biblical history? The answer is simple: It is directly quoted in the New Testament by Jude (vv.14-15). Themes of the book referenced in 2 Peter 2:1. Jesus also used content from The Book of Enoch in many of his sermons in Matthew and Luke. In this text, you will hear the word of God through this amazing document. We will take this amazing journey together and learn why this text is not an official book of the Bible.
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Amazing and disturbingly accurate celestial calc.
- By Susan I Carter on 12-05-17
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Medieval Myths & Mysteries
- By: Dorsey Armstrong, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Dorsey Armstrong
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
- Original Recording
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The 10 enlightening (and often humorous) lectures of Medieval Myths and Mysteries will show you how far from the “dark” times of legend these centuries were. Uncover the facts about the Knights Templar. Reveal the truth behind the tales of legendary creatures like the Questing Beast and the unicorn. Trace the events of the Black Death and the ways it altered the world in its wake, and much more. With Professor Armstrong, you will dig deep into the ways that later generations reshaped the narrative of the medieval years and perpetuated the myths.
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Interesting, but centered on Britain
- By Ximena on 04-10-20
By: Dorsey Armstrong, and others
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The Books of Enoch: The Angels, The Watchers and The Nephilim
- With Extensive Commentary
- By: Joseph Lumpkin
- Narrated by: Dennis Logan
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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The well-known and acclaimed work of Dr. Joseph Lumpkin has been enlarged to include new research on the Books of Enoch, Fallen Angels, the Watchers, and the Nephilim. After presenting extensive historical backgrounds and brilliant translations of The First, Second, and Third Books of Enoch, Lumpkin takes time to piece together a historical narrative of Fallen Angels, the Watcher, and the Nephilim, using his extensive knowledge of ancient texts.
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Lose the echo effect
- By Mark Medbery on 10-29-17
By: Joseph Lumpkin
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The Book of Enoch
- By: Unknown
- Narrated by: Christopher Glyn
- Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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The book of Enoch was thought to be lost for over 2,000 years until, in 1773, a traveller brought three copies back from Ethiopia. Whether or not this ancient book was actually authored by Enoch, the father of Methuselah and great-grandfather of Noah, is an ongoing debate among historians and theologians. But all recognise the book of Enoch as one of the most important apocalyptic works outside of the Bible.
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Further Information
- By Timothy on 01-11-20
By: Unknown
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Journeys Out of the Body
- By: Robert Monroe
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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With more than 300,000 copies sold to date, this is the definitive work on the extraordinary phenomenon of out-of-body experiences, by the founder of the internationally known Monroe Institute.
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Methodical, Revealing, Fascinating exploration . .
- By Diana on 05-03-14
By: Robert Monroe
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Super Attractor
- Methods for Manifesting a Life Beyond Your Wildest Dreams
- By: Gabrielle Bernstein
- Narrated by: Gabrielle Bernstein
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Ready to turn what you want into the life that you live? The number-one New York Times best-selling author of The Universe Has Your Back shows you how. In Super Attractor, Gabrielle Bernstein lays out the essential methods for manifesting a life beyond your wildest dreams. This book is a journey of remembering where your true power lies. You'll learn how to co-create the life you want. You'll accept that life can flow, that attracting is fun, and that you don't have to work so hard to get what you want.
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Not a huge fan
- By Pamela H on 09-30-19
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Neville Goddard: The Complete Reader
- By: Neville Goddard
- Narrated by: Barry J. Peterson
- Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Neville Goddard: The Complete Reader, Includes all 10 of Neville Goddard's Spiritual Classics: At Your Command, Awakened Imagination & the Search, Feeling is the Secret, Freedom For All, Out of This World, Prayer, The Art of Believing, Seedtime and Harvest, The Law and The Promise, The Power of Awareness, and Your Faith Is Your Fortune. If you are familiar with the great American mystic, this will be a goldmine of wisdom in one book. If you are new to his work, you are in for a spiritual journey.
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Hidden Gem
- By TrauntsiePants on 05-22-18
By: Neville Goddard
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What listeners say about Circle of Hope
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Benjamin Blei
- 08-21-24
Nothing goes as planned
The author started out what she thought was to detail a church that thought it was extraordinary but turned out to be ordinary. A person can be humble materialistically but if you can’t humble yourself in all aspects of your life it’s hard to lead a church. The hard part is the journey inward. I wish nothing but the best for Rachel Julie Ben and Jonny. Although you do leave the book with favorites.
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- Daniel Wilcox
- 08-16-24
Empathy and hope despite tragedies, loss, fanaticism
Suspenseful, lucid, caring story of Circle of Hope's loving actions for the homeless, addicted, harmed, confused, selfish, destructive, and lost in the midst of the Christians' own failures, sins, getting caught in false ideologies that tore the beloved community apart.
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- Nic blair
- 08-10-24
Insightful full account of a painful time
A detailed and full access account to many sides of a conflicted time as a church community wrestles with pandemic and their own flawed systems and characters.
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- LDenely
- 11-14-24
Worthy read for faith seekers, church-minded, etc.
I’m a non-theistic humanist, but I was raised in a religious and contemplative family, very active in social justice. COH reminds me of a community I belonged to as a teenager, which imploded in similar fashion. Like others, I found this book harrowing but engrossing. I have not much to add upon other reviews except this: Rod, along with his faults, turned out to have prescient wisdom about a few things. His absence for a year or two might have made things a bit less tangled, but it seemed to me—in the end—the younger pastors who shunned him made their own misery by not heeding his advice and by straying far afield from too many of the church practices he had helped develop over 3 decades of experience. However, in the end, it seemed to turn out for the best. I do hope Rachel returned to pastoring. Of the four, she seemed uniquely gifted for it,
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- Vanderlene L Kung
- 09-24-24
Very boring story, no revelations
I can't believe Griswold wrote an entire book documenting church drama. I kept waiting for some sort of revelation or insight, but it never came.
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- SKC
- 02-08-25
Honest and Compelling
This book tells the story of Circle of Hope—a collection of urban congregations, cell groups, Thrift stores, and other social ministries in the Philadelphia area. While the author gives a brief history of Circle, the book mainly focusses on how Circle’s pastors and other leaders wrestled with issues and interpersonal tensions growing out of the 2020 Covid shutdown and the emerging racial and cultural unrest from that time. The author gives a raw and honest look at how this group of deeply committed followers of Christ struggled personally and as a larger body around such issues as racism, economic disparities, and LGBT inclusion.
I found the book compelling, partly because of how the author chose to structure the narrative. The book is really a series of continually alternating chapters, each devoted to the experiences and perspectives of four individuals--Julie, Jonny, Rachel, and Ben--who served as Circle of Hope pastors during the period of time, from 2020 onward, the author chose to explore in the Circle of Hope story. The care the author put into telling each pastor’s and a few other people’s pivotal life experiences and faith journeys made me feel deeply connected to these individuals. Even when I found myself questioning some of their actions or motives, I felt like I could understand where they were coming from. I also connected on a personal level to many of their experiences in Anabaptist and Evangelical churches. The book gives a window into various church movements, beginning with the Jesus movement of the 60’s (where Circle of Hope’s founders got their start) through various phases and struggles of Christian Evangelical movements up through the present. I loved how the author brought to the forefront many things I have witnessed or been part of first-hand, myself (youth movements, missions emphases, the emergence of mega churches, the rise and fall of Mars Hill, church activism, and struggles with cultural and political engagement) that don’t often get attention from journalists in the larger culture in such a thoughtful, sustained way.
As much as I appreciated the deeply personal narrative structure, this was also the book’s biggest downfall. By spending so much time going back and forth between at least four people’s experiences and perspectives, I felt like the book lost its way. It just kept boring in on the same events, conflicts, and attempts at conversation and mutual understanding from so many points of view that I had trouble keeping track of what actually happened or what some of the conflicts were even about. As much as I appreciated the candor and personalized approach, I found the back and forth rehashing of the same events confusing, repetitive, unhinged from a coherent timeline of events, and just plain tedious. I also felt like so much of what Circle of Hope was actually doing in the communities it served and in people’s lives got lost and overshadowed. It even felt a little jarring and out of place when the author suddenly introduced the story of a church member struggling with drug addiction and the efforts of church leaders and members to meet his needs. This is unfortunate because I feel like I missed out on truly important aspects of Circle of Hope in the interest of the author telling and retelling internal conflicts to the extent that the central “story” –what was actually going on in real time--lost any linearity and became incoherent.
Despite these flaws, I really liked this book because it felt serious, honest, compassionate, and it had heart. I will not forget these individuals or their stories or Circle of Hope. I almost feel like I’ve had the chance to sit and have coffee with each of them and to be “in the room” at Circle, so to speak. I think that’s what the author was going for as a self-proclaimed embedded journalist. In that sense, the book is a triumph, though a bit convoluted.
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