Streams of Faith.

Tanya Rogoschewsky is a librarian at Red Deer College in Red Deer,
Alberta.

In the 1960s Reverend Lois M. Wilson moved with her husband to Thunder Bay, Ontario, where she began a canoe program for teen girls that combined her love of canoeing and the outdoors with Christian education. In the book Streams of Faith, she reconnects with the women forty years later to learn how their lives have impacted their ideas on faith, forgiveness, the role of women, politics, and a dozen other subjects. The book weaves the many personal narratives of the women into larger international and theological discussions and there is a richness of information here. One of the difficulties, though, for the author trying to combine this many individuals’ ideas and stories is managing to keep a smooth flow to the work, and Wilson struggles with this. The book can feel jumpy and disjointed at times as it moves from woman to woman. Wilson might have done better to have pruned the number of women included and paraphrased more of their stories and experiences rather than directly quoting them. Despite the stylistic problems, the diverse paths and experiences of the women bring dimension to the spiritual discussion which is further enriched by the many quotations and ideas of theologians that Wilson includes. An interesting read for anyone curious about matters of faith and spirituality in broad context.