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REVIEW OF CRADLING ABUNDANCE
Based on careful research, interviews, and personal engagement, this beautiful, poignant, and unique book narrates the life and witness of Maman Monique, a remarkable Congolese woman and world Christian leader. We hear Maman Monique's story of suffering, struggle, perseverance, and triumph in her own voice and the voices of her co-workers, thanks to the unobtrusive and illuminating editorial accompaniment of her friend, ElsieTshimunyi McKee, Princeton Seminary professor, scholar, and teacher of the church who spent the first 18 years of her life in the Congo as granddaughter and daughter of missionaries. The solidarity in God's mission shared by Monique and Elsie has generated a compelling "grounded" account of the peoples of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as they moved out of colonial subjugation, through civil war, ethnic conflict, and poverty, and—thanks to courageous women like Maman Monique and her collaborators—toward a more just society where all children, women, and men are honored as equal recipients and agents of the "cradling abundance" of God in Jesus Christ. - Thomas John Hastings, Ph.D.
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Thomas John Hastings, Ph.D. is Executive Director of the Overseas Ministries Study Center at Princeton Theological Seminary and Editor of the International Bulletin of Mission Research (SAGE).
A SOUTH AFRICAN WOMAN AND THEOLOGIAN-PASTOR’S COMMENTS ON
CRADLING ABUNDANCE
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“The fight for women’s rights has both a long history and future. Many are still involved in this struggle today, and others will be tomorrow. In Cradling Abundance, Maman Monique offers unique insight into how women were seen and treated in the DRCongo, as well as surrounding nations she visited. Thus she doesn’t only tell her own story, but the stories of other women she met. These stories, woven together, create a tapestry of women’s lives in central Africa that confronts readers.” “While reading the book a friend asked, ‘Tell us what Cradling Abundance is about in four words.’ I answered without hesitation, ‘Women abuse, women empowerment.’ … However, this book is about so much more. It is a story of how God used Monique, with other women, to speak boldly against the injustices women and girls suffer. Moreover, it’s a story about how she did something about the injustices. She acted so that women could be economically, spiritually, educationally, and socially empowered.”
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excerpts from Amanda Pungula, “Cradling Abundance Tells a Story We Must Hear, and Heed,” Christian History, TGC, March 11, 2022. Read the whole article at:
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