No Crystal Stair : Womanist Spirituality

In this collection of essays, prayers, and meditations, Diana Hayes lays the foundation of womanist spirituality in the lived faith and struggles of African American women. This spirituality, as she observes, "flows from their lived encounters with God, nurtured and sustained with sweat, tears, and blood as they worked the fields, worked in the homes of white families, worked in factories and wherever else they could to support their families and build their communities.... It is a spirituality which arises from a deep and abiding faith in a God of love, a wonder-working God who walked and talked with them, giving them the strength to persevere." Beginning with the story of her own spiritual journey - her upbringing in the AME Zion Church where she encountered "a God who loved me into life," her training as a lawyer, conversion to Catholicism, and determination to become a theologian - Hayes offers a moving, inspiring, and challenging window on the lived faith of African American women today.