Moving the Rock: Poverty and Faith in a Black Storefront Church

Abrums, an anthropologist and registered nurse, examines the lives of African American women members of the Morning Sun Church in the Central District of Seattle. Abrums spent 18 months observing and interviewing the women of Morning Sun, and the resulting stories are deeply engaging as individual narratives and compelling when taken as a whole. The work positively sparkles with the voices of these women as they discuss their struggles, joys, beliefs, health, and families. This book is undoubtedly academic, yet there is much here for the nonacademic reader to enjoy, too. Verdict: Engaging, beautifully written, surprising, and challenging in the best way possible, this is highly recommended for its fine, compelling writing as well as for its profound subject. Scholars of women's studies, religious studies, and anthropology should take particular note of this title, but it is strongly recommended to interested general readers as well.

Mary Abrums has written an honest and sensitive portrayal of African American families rarely found in today's literature. It took me back to an earlier time and place in my own life, and I experienced a full range of emotions as I read. I rejoice in the publication of this book.
The rich detail of these women's lives is wonderfully expressed through the eyes of the narrator as she relates their life stories within the cultural context of the Seattle community in which they live. The book presents authoritative research but reads like a fascinating novel and one quickly finds oneself immersed in the lives of the eight women who shared their life histories. Abrums paints a picture so compelling that I felt I was sitting in their homes with the women and could feel their exhaustion or exhilaration. By sharing their stories, these women remind us that we have more in common as human beings than we have differences.
In Moving the Rock, Abrums eloquently unfolds the religious beliefs and practices of the women of Morning Sun Church, a group of African American women who struggle to nurture their families and community members against tremendous odds. Written in a clear and engaging style, this book provides a major contribution to scholarship in womanist/feminist literature, religious studies, and the anthropology of working-class African Americans in the urban Northwest. The author's conscientious efforts to keep the voices of these women and their narratives at the forefront of this text give the reader an insider's perspective of how religious beliefs and practices empower women living at, near, or below the official poverty line in the United States.