Things Seen and Unseen:

A Year Lived in Faith

By Nora Gallagher

In 1965, at the age of fifteen, Nora Gallagher was baptized in an Episcopal Church. Five years later, like many of her peers, she dropped out of the church.  In the late 1980’s she returned. She says in the book that she “came back as a tourist and ended up a pilgrim”.

Following the liturgical calendar from Advent to Advent, this book chronicles one year in her life and the lives of the other members of Trinity Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara California.  Each chapter begins with a description of the meaning of the season and the ways it is reflected in the Scriptures, and in the worship and traditions of the church.

Through her story, we get an intimate glimpse of the day to day faith and life in a parish church and see what its like to order one’s life around two different calendars that are often at odds with one another.  Along the way, she explains the history and rituals of the Episcopal Church. This book definitely captures the feel of what it's like to be an Episcopalian.