For All Who Hunger

Starred review from February 24, 2020
Lutheran pastor Scott asks in her exceptional debut: if you strip from church all “the creeds and the chasubles,” what would be left? The answer, for her, became St. Lydia’s Dinner Church in New York City, which she founded in 2008 as a place for queer, marginalized, artistic, nerdy, and often lonely lovers of God to gather for bread, wine, and the words of Jesus. At Scott’s “dinner church,” everyone is involved in cooking and cleaning, and whoever arrives is provided with “holy food for holy people,” as Scott likes to put it. She details daily foibles and moments of inspiration that come with working with her congregation, including early years when she conducted services in a friend’s apartment, Christmas caroling adventures, and establishing a permanent home in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. Scott’s writing is leavened by a healthy dose of self-awareness, and her stories capture the humanity of her mission and community with a light sacramental touch, focusing mostly on the joy and solidarity found in the shared space. Fine observations (“We are holy not because we are good but because we are loved”) and the terrific use of quotes from Joy Harjo, Pablo Neruda, and Flannery O’Connor guide readers through Scott’s life within the church. Those who delight in the voices of Nadia Bolz-Weber, Katie Hayes, and Rachel Held Evans will welcome this powerful work.

Starred review from March 1, 2020
The founding pastor of St. Lydia's dinner church in Brooklyn reflects on her eight years ministering to a progressive, diverse, and LGBTQ-affirming congregation. In this intimate and openly heartfelt debut memoir, Scott explores the power of faith and community as strength-building resources for navigating difficult times. The author recalls her efforts in forming a unique church setting that aspired to welcome a diverse community and offer unconventional means of worship: sharing meals around a dinner table. At first, Scott tested her vision at temporary venues throughout the city, with small groups of worshippers, before landing a permanent location in the Gowanus neighborhood in Brooklyn. Throughout the book, the author shares stories of the assorted individuals who were drawn to St. Lydia's and their unified quest to meaningfully connect with the needs of their neighborhood, including the nearby public housing units. Pivotal experiences--e.g., Hurricane Sandy and the police shootings of unarmed black youths--motivated them toward direct social action within their community, serving to further bolster their ties as a congregation. Scott's intimately transparent voice and reflections on faith are what drive her compelling narrative. Throughout, she references scriptural texts and offers enlightened interpretation of the individual stories. She's equally relatable and forthright in exposing her own vulnerabilities and loneliness as a single woman living in the city along with her responsibilities and insecurities ministering to the needs of her congregants. "This is a story about how bread, broken and passed from hand to hand, rescued me from my aloneness," she writes. "Perhaps you've been alone as well, and need to be reminded that, despite all evidence to the contrary, your aloneness will not last forever. When I think of what our church made together, I think of those small beacons of light reminding you that even if you haven't found it yet, there is a shore somewhere, and you won't drown in these depths." Scott delivers a moving personal memoir and an accessibly reverent meditation on finding faith through unconventional acts of worship. Highly inspiring for anyone seeking solace in our modern world.

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April 1, 2020

Scott, a Lutheran pastor and founder of the Brooklyn-based congregation St. Lydia's Dinner Church, explores the power of communal worship meals in this memoir. At St. Lydia's, she began a "dinner church" without funding or a congregation. During those first eight years, the struggles and lessons the parishioners learn transformed the author herself. In her words, "this is a story about how bread, broken and passed from hand to hand, rescued me from my aloneness." Throughout, Scott explores vignettes of real life shared over meals that bring hope, healing, and most of all, connectedness in a fractured world, as St. Lydia's itself becomes a place fighting first for survival and then for social justice. Scott finishes the book recounting her departure from St. Lydia's Brooklyn "to travel an unknown path" that includes the memories and friendships formed over broken bread. VERDICT Recommended for readers who enjoy Nadia Bolz-Weber, Anne Lamott, or Brian McClaren. A thought-provoking and inspiring memoir that reflects real-life frustrations and fears, while hope ultimately prevails in the end.--Ray Arnett, Anderson, SC

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Starred review from April 1, 2020
How do we worship God and love others when the world is harsh and fragmented? And how does a person have the guts to embody such love in New York City? These questions guide pastor and first-time author Scott, who, with early support from an Episcopalian pastor and backing from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, envisioned and formed "dinner church" with a friend. Following the practice of early Christians, they founded St. Lydia's, a new kind of church centered on a meal, where everyone contributes to the process and to the worship that follows. Scott recounts the early struggles to build St. Lydia's membership, pay bills, and to minister to her small band of congregants. There are challenges, but there is also a lot of hope. When, in 2012, Hurricane Sandy devastates the New York coast, the focus of St. Lydia's shifts. People in a nearby Gowanus housing project continue to suffer long after the hurricane subsides, and Scott and her congregation begin to work for justice in their neighborhood. Scott's theology is practical, leavened with grace and humor, and this would make a great next read for fans of Rachel Held Evans and Nadia Bolz-Weber.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)