Becoming Bridges: The Spirit and Practice of Diversity

Gary Commins
Cowley Publications (2007)
ISBN 1561012947
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (5/07)

“Becoming Bridges” lays the groundwork for becoming human conduits in establishing the spirit and practice of diversity as an inherent part of life in the faith community. Using stories of encounters with people from his parish, Gary Commins inspires the reader to see that in spite of their religion, race, culture, class, gender, or sexual orientation there is a commonality in our divine and human diversity.

Gary Commins is an ordained Episcopalian pastor of a bilingual, multicultural church parish.  He has also served as in an ecumenical campus ministry, and as a seminary professor, teaching Multicultural Ministry. He is Vice Chair of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship.  His background, heartbeat, and compassion for modeling cross-cultural understanding are the basis for this book.

Gary invites the reader to become involved with others, to recognize everyone they meet, as equals. Commins relates diversity as a spiritual exercise filled with apprehension, and rewarded with expectation. He challenges the reader to thwart the gaps of ignorance to bridge that which separates us.

Detailed glimpses into the Jewish tradition of the Old Testament pave the way for the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament giving credence to Gary’s premise on diversity. As a trained spiritual director with an interest in mysticism, Gary’s writing is also filled with the wisdom, philosophy, and traditions from diverse classical and contemporary backgrounds, thinking, and influence. His stories resonate with passion, opening the way for the reader to identify, empathize, and emulate Gary’s personal fervent desire for practicing diversity.

Each chapter concludes with a spiritual exercise (an action step to take), a spiritual counsel (food for thought and meditation), and a spiritual practice (something to assimilate and put into practice in your daily life). These probing questions and practical spiritual exercises are designed to be life-changing.  The notes and bibliography at the end of the book contain an amazing compilation of reference material for future reference and a lifetime of reading. 

“Becoming Bridges” is an important book for clergy and laity at a time when America is at a crossroads. Our decisions and the action we take today, in becoming bridges, will impact the future of generations to come. Gary Commins has created a scholarly work, written in an easy to read articulate style.  Brilliant.

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