Finding God in a Bag of Groceries

This is a wonderful account of God's attractiveness and goodness communicated through God's children. I was deeply moved and I think many others will be too.

-- Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town

Laura Willis has written a moving account of a life lived well in the service of others. This heartfelt story is one of grace, and of the perennial search to find one's way in an often confusing world.

-- Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House

This is incarnational religion, which you might call Christianity, at its simple and clear best! Readable and personal--but also profound!

--Richard Rohr, Center for Action and Contemplation

If you have wondered about how you know what a good next step is, about how you find a place in God's church; if you have wondered about the connection between being fed at the altar and feeding other hungry people; if you have wondered about the ways self-knowledge intertwines with knowledge of God -- if you have wondered any of those things, read this book.

--Lauren F. Winner, author of Girl Meets God

In Finding God in a Bag of Groceries, Laura carries us on a journey through the poverty found in Southern Appalachia to the hallowed ground of the sacred. She teaches us along the way through her stories to reflect on our own poverty and to use it to find our way to God's rich love. She is authentic and dogged in her determination to channel that love to all she serves."

--Becca Stevens, founder of Magdalene and Thistle Farms, author of Snake Oil

I thoroughly enjoyed "Finding God in a Bag of Groceries." I felt as if I knew all the people, indeed as if I were right there--maybe helping bag the groceries. Willis’ book is vivid and compels the reader to travel with her.
--Margaret Guenther, Episcopal priest and author of Holy Listening and The Practice of Prayer

This book is a gem. Laura Willis tells a deeply moving story of becoming director of a food pantry in one of the poorest corners of America, and of learning, client by client, person by person, how to respond to their often desperate needs. More than simply a story of courage and compassion, this is a stirring spiritual memoir of a talented journalist and mother seeking to find her own Christ-like ministry and discovering amid the bags of groceries a priestly vocation she had never imagined.

--(The Rev. Dr.) Samuel T. Lloyd III, Former Dean of Washington National Cathedral, now at Trinity Church, Boston

Laura Willis is a keen observer of her flock, and also of herself. As detailed and as graceful as a Norman Rockwell painting, this intimate glimpse of an outreach program at a tiny church is a pleasure to read. Her background as a journalist serves her well by giving her the distance to view her subjects and herself with crisp objectivity.

--Arlene Hutton, playwright, author of Last Train to Nibroc, Letters to Sala, and As It Is In Heaven

Laura Willis shows that there is no such thing as an 'ordinary' encounter when working on behalf of the Gospel. Her words will be a source of encouragement, comfort and hope to those who want to make God's faith, hope and love more of a reality in their lives.

--The Rev. Canon William J. Danaher former Dean of the Faculty of Theology and Associate Professor of Religious Ethics, Huron University College, London, Ontario.