As a society we are not very good at listening – yet we all need to be able to our story, to be heard, to feel that we matter as individuals. Bill Kirkpatrick’s experience of being heard at key moments in his own life and his recognition of the part it played in his own growth and development has led to a very particular and unconventional sort of ministry.
In The Creativity of Listening he tells this story and his call to what he describes as ‘the sacred act of hearing through listening’. Offering insights and examples from over 50 years of professional work in the field of nursing and pastoral care, he invites us to recognize our own vulnerability in wanting to be heard and offers ways of responding to that need in others through developing the listening skills he sees as so essential.
Intertwined with moving autobiographical accounts, as a foster child, a gay man, a priest, The Creativity of Listening is a unique and inspiring description of a spiritual journey, and an invitation to us all to listen more deeply to ourselves, to others and to the mystery that is God.
