The Spiral Garden

Naomi Brun is a librarian assistant in Communications and Community
Development at the Hamilton Public Library and a book reviewer for the
Hamilton Spectator.

Over the last 10 years, mainline Protestant churches have experienced a
sharp decline in membership. There has been a great deal of speculation
about the cause of the dwindling numbers; perhaps the more formal
elements of these church services may seem too out of step with
today’s casual culture, or maybe fewer people attend because church
membership is no longer a social requirement. For whatever reason,
mainline Protestant churches are currently facing a crisis of survival,
and many are actively trying to regain their former vibrancy.

The Spiral Garden deals with this very predicament. After preaching her
own views from the pulpit of a wealthy church in Markham, Reverend Ruth
Broggan is moved to one of the bleakest churches in the Toronto area.
The neighbourhood is rough, the congregation consists of less than 20
people on any given Sunday, and those who do attend are highly resistant
to change. Once Broggan begins to wonder about the purpose of her
church, a Pandora’s box of religious doubt opens before her eyes. She
is a loyal Christian, but feels that “God has something to answer
for.” To settle this conflict, Broggan makes a pact with God: an
exchange of her sanity for greater spiritual understanding. She emerges
from the deal both serene and wise, but more unorthodox than ever.

Through Broggan, Hines asks some uncomfortable questions. Which is
crazier for a Christian: to believe miracles are happening now, or not
to believe in miracles at all? How do believers respond when the
structure of church interferes with, rather than promotes, authentic
spirituality? What place do rules have in a house of worship? And since
this book is more about questions than answers, Hines does not provide
much in the way of resolution. Instead, she offers her novel as an
exploratory tool, and as it contains many diverse types of spiritual
seekers, the reader is bound to identify with at least one of them.

Funny, honest, and written in an enjoyably conversational tone, The
Spiral Garden would make wonderful reading for anyone contemplating the
state of church today.