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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
While Mortals Sleep: Reading Phillips Brooks through Twenty-First Century Eyes, edited by Robert D Flanagan, is a Christian historical collection that reconsiders nineteenth-century Episcopal priest and bishop Phillips Brooks for contemporary readers. The essays begin with the Boston family world that formed Brooks before following his ministry into Civil War Philadelphia. From there, the contributors examine the anti-slavery preaching that helped establish his national reputation and the experiences behind O Little Town of Bethlehem, then move into the creation of Trinity Church in Copley Square. The book considers what Brooks believed preaching should accomplish and why his broad approach to Christianity became important when he was elected Bishop of Massachusetts. Across the essays, Brooks appears through his correspondence and sermons as a Christian leader whose influence continues through the institutions connected to his life.
Robert D Flanagan’s While Mortals Sleep is a fantastic Christian history collection, and I love how naturally the contributors bring Phillips Brooks’s nineteenth-century life into conversation with readers today. Given that I was the reader and this was all new to me, I found it surprisingly comfortable to follow. The writing is conversational and detailed, with historical material introduced in context for readers meeting Brooks for the first time. Flanagan’s account of Brooks’s Sharon Chapel sermon is a perfect example: Brooks finished quickly, then climbed through a window to run back to the seminary! It's a great reminder that the famous preacher is also wonderfully human. Mary Catherine Curley’s discussion of Brooks’s service ideals is excellent, and I appreciate her account of a campus shutdown during the 2020 pandemic, when Phillips Brooks House students delivered Chromebooks to local children so community programs could continue. Well-written and accessible, readers who enjoy Christian history and are open to a refreshed look at Brooks will adore this.
