The Gospel of Loneliness (Wolter)

Learning from Loneliness

There’s no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic increased the epidemic of loneliness experienced across households, neighborhoods, and generations. While many rush to solve loneliness, author Dwight Lee Wolter invites us to engage loneliness, to respect it as a spiritual state that can be explored, embraced, utilized, and transformed.

The Gospel of Loneliness normalizes loneliness and upends its stigma. Wolter demonstrates how to be curious about our loneliness—revisiting stories of loneliness in fables, listening to loneliness in pop music, studying its dynamic in the pews, and exploring the future of artificial companionship.

Taking an eraser to loneliness will not erase it. Trying to drink loneliness away will not quench its thirst. There is good news to be learned in loneliness when we choose to go through it intentionally, rather than avoiding or dismissing it. The Gospel of Loneliness encourages our integration of loneliness into the wholeness of life.

Praise for The Gospel of Loneliness

"This book is [a] timely addition to the pastoral care and church leadership literature." —Sharyl Peterson, author of The Indispensable Guide to Pastoral Care, Pastor Emerita of First Congregational Church UCC (Grand Junction, CO)

"Engaging in Wolter's creative practices, we find ourselves befriending our loneliness." —Beth Richardson, author of Christ Beside Me, Christ Within Me, Dean Emeritus of The Upper Room Chapel (Nashville, TN)

About the Author

Dwight Lee Wolter is the pastor of the Congregational Church of Patchogue and the author of several books. He writes at patheos.com on the spirituality within addiction and recovery. Dwight is deeply involved in issues of peace and justice, and engaged in artistic expression as a way of transformation.

The Pilgrim Press
Paperback: 142 pages
ISBN 978-0-8298-0063-0
2023