Embracing Our Time: The Sacrament of Interfaith Friendship

by Lynn A. Cooper

Overview

Catholicism entails a challenge. The word catholic means "universal." Yet, that universality is expressed through different rites, languages, jurisdictions, and states of life that are unique and concrete. Today Catholicism's universality faces a still further challenge. It must share the world not only with Protestants of various kinds, but also with adherents of other faiths (and none). In the decades since Vatican II and the promulgation of Nostra Aetate, the question of religious difference has itself become more concrete. Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, and Hindus live among and alongside Protestants and Catholics in neighborhoods across the globe. How does this practical reality square with Catholicism's understanding of itself and its neighbors?

In Embracing Our Time, university chaplain Lynn Cooper provides practical resources for interfaith engagement rooted in a Catholic perspective. Drawing on Trinitarian, sacramental, and feminist theologies, Cooper shows that interreligious collaboration is a concrete expression of the interdependence at the heart of Catholic faith. Embracing Our Time centers the lived experiences of Catholics and employs theological reflection, composite storytelling, and spiritual provocations to guide readers on an inner journey, inviting them to a deep reading of their lives and communities. Cooper empowers lay folks to be conscientious interfaith leaders within their communities and congregations, not because they are experts in their tradition, but because the Christian call to friendship across and within difference is at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506499253
Publisher:	Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
Publication date:	05/13/2025
Pages:	202
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Lynn A. Cooper is associate director of university chaplaincy and Catholic chaplain at Tufts University. She has worked in higher-education chaplaincy for fifteen years. She holds a DMin from Boston University School of Theology and an MDiv from Harvard Divinity School. Lynn is a storyteller, interfaith activist, and gardener.

Editorial Reviews

Pope Francis, addressing young people in Singapore in fall 2024 said, "All religions are paths to God. I will use an analogy: they are like different languages that express the divine." Lynn Cooper's book is important for Catholics in the parishes and seminaries. We have so many divisions, and with the rise of racism and Christian nationalism, this work is even more needed. Her gentle insights, suggestions, and years of experience can help midwife Catholics to appreciate the richness of living in a pluralistic society, forming interfaith relationships and meaningful collaboration. Parishes, through the Baptismal call of the Laity, can learn from Cooper's experience and theology, as she facilitates students in uncovering the tools at their disposal for interfaith living and justice, especially through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching and praxis. Though challenging, there is also celebration and joy in the doing. We are called to build bridges of friendship and mutual respect for the dignity of all human beings. —Sister Marie Thérèse (Tess) Browne, SCN, racial justice, interfaith, and labor organizer; recipient of the Bishop James Augustine Healy Award; and Boston Labor Guild Fr. Edward Boyle Award

Lynn Cooper's book on interfaith friendship is a warm embrace of story, theology, and practicality. Every page nourishes the reader and encourages the adventure of interfaith engagement so needed in our time. Be bold! Engage in this journey that can help nourish healing, understanding, and some new growth. —Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Lynn Cooper is a wonderful storyteller, as she draws on her many interfaith experiences to show us vividly how interreligious values come to the fore in ordinary life amid the work we do and, above all, in the evolving friendships gifted to us and cultivated over the years. This is a fine book about friendship in interreligious dialogue, but it is more—a rich testimony to Cooper's own life journey, a path enriched by stories of finding God amid the relationships that keep giving vitality to her life and ministry. —Francis X. Clooney, SJ, Parkman Professor of Divinity, Harvard University

If beauty will save the world, friendship will hold it together. Cooper offers spiritual resources and stories to inspire a generation to see friendship as the aim of our relationships with those from beyond our traditions, cultures, and practices. For any interfaith organization or clergy group, college campus, or local community seeking to connect across religious differences, Embracing Our Time provides a spiritual grounding to sustain the work of tending to these sacred relationships. —Patrick B. Reyes, dean, Auburn Theological Seminary

Lynn Cooper's fine work on friendship is a gift and blessing for the church, for the academy, and especially for readers who come with a personal longing and appreciation for friendship. Jesus said, "I have called you friends" (Jn 15:15). In that very spirit, Lynn Cooper calls us to a deeper, richer, and fuller immersion and investment in friendship. This is a marvelous book. —Robert Allan Hill, dean of Marsh Chapel, professor of New Testament and pastoral theology, and chaplain to the university, Boston University

In Embracing Our Time, Lynn Cooper brings Vatican II's vision of dialogue to life for our nascent synodal moment, inviting us to view interfaith friendship as a path toward deeper communion. With insights and stories drawn from her work with young people in campus ministry, Cooper vividly illustrates how empathy, deep listening, and friendship can transform both our spiritual lives and the church itself. Her work is a timely guide for communities seeking to embrace Vatican II's call to an open, relational faith. —Colleen Dulle, associate editor, America magazine

From the Publisher