Backpacking Through the Anglican Communion: a Search For Unity by Jesse Zink

JESSE ZINK The Anglican Communion is said to be coming apart at the seams. But is that really true? Backpacking Through the Anglican Communion is the exciting new book that challenges the tired narrative of Anglican disunity. Jesse Zink has traveled tens of thousands of miles around the world, visiting and worshiping with Anglicans in some of the Communion's most diverse provinces--Nigeria, the largest province ministering in an unstable political environment; South Sudan, at one point the fastest-growing church in the world, now rebuilding after devastating civil wars; England, the mother church of Anglicans, struggling to adjust to a new, secular age; South Africa, a church dealing with the legacy of entrenched discrimination and rapid social change. The story Zink learns at the grassroots level of the church is far different from the one that dominates its highest levels. He shows that when conversations about power, history, and sexuality are undertaken in a spirit of mutuality and trust, they can strengthen, not weaken, the Anglican Communion. The result is a book that presents vivid slices of Anglican life around the world, argues convincingly that unity is central to the Communion's mission, and presents a credible path to achieving that unity in a global church. It is a book that will be sure to shape coming debates about the future of the Anglican Communion. Jesse A Zink is an Episcopal priest pursuing his doctorate at the University of Cambridge in England. A former missionary in South Africa, he has traveled widely in the Anglican Communion, a journey he chronicled in the book Backpacking Through the Anglican Communion: A Search for Unity. Prior to his ordination, Jesse earned degrees from Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, the University of Chicago, and Yale Divinity School. He has been a DJ, a news reporter, and an ambulance driver; keep up with his travels and reflections at jessezink.com.