Book Review: In Her Own Time: Women and Developmental Issues in Pastoral Care

pad beside them for creating such a list will be rewarded. What is the book's underlining "theology"? Kornfeld sees God active already, changing lives. "God heals, we co-operate." She sees pastors, rabbis, and other clergy, as well as lay caregivers, constructingsolutions together, assuredthat Godis already at work in the midst of our changing lives. She believes that our work can feed our own souls, particularly as we stay connected to our own experience. In a section on "listening as an act of prayer" the book gives valuable advice on both listening and praying. One missing element for this reviewer (who now, after 20 years in parish leadership, ministers as a hospital chaplain, an institution somewhat removed from my faith community) is some discussion of how the community dimension of care from faith groups, outlined so well throughout, can be utilized in the care of people in public institutions. Perhaps a second edition of this outstanding manual can include an appendix on applying the community dimension of care through chaplaincy in public institutions. If the present material is any indication, such an appendix would make a book already extremely helpful for chaplains even more valuable. This reviewer has spent twenty years in parish ministry leadership. Not once, as I read this volume, did I find myself thinking, Shedoesn'tknow whatI've had to dealwith. Kornfeld displays a fine grasp of clinical literature, pastoral work, and a keen grasp of the dynamics of life in local faith communities. She has more than succeeded in providing a useful handbook for clergy and lay leaders and caregivers in faith communities. I wish I had read a book like this twenty-five years ago! I expect to use it again and again over the next twenty-five years.