The Ruthie Project: Loss, Love, Life

By Sotonye Odugbemi

Terrorist attacks. Economic downturn. Refugee crisis. News headlines in ancient Israel were not very different from what they are today. Yet, in the middle of these challenging situations, there were ordinary people like you and me, dealing with everyday issues.

In this fascinating project, Sotonye and her friends encounter Ruth (Ruthie) and her mother-in-law, Naomi. Through food, travel, photography, art, poetry, and prose, they discover what it means to walk through life with hearts totally surrendered to God.

I loved it! So inspiring and thought provoking. Paula Gooder, Author and Theologian in residence, Bible Society

A glorious surprise, full of unexpected insights presented in even more unexpected ways. David Ingall, Rector, St. Sepulchres Church, London

A precious labour of love and creativity. Amanda Jackson, Executive Director, Womens Commission, World Evangelical Alliance

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 23, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512778373

Sotonye Odugbemi

Sotonye Odugbemi relishes finding God in the everyday. She creates and curates stories, and is passionate about music, languages, and gorgeous shoes. Sotonye has a PhD in Francophone West African literature and culture from University College London. She teaches French and Spanish, and lives in London with her husband and their two beautiful children.

Book preview

Copyright © 2017 Sotonye Odugbemi.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from The Voice™. Copyright © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-7836-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-7837-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017903627

WestBow Press rev. date: 03/22/2017

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Invincible. Legendary.

I miss you, Mrs. Durand.

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I started reading through The Ruthie Project – but it wasn’t this! What I discovered was a glorious surprise, full of unexpected insights presented in even more unexpected ways. This book is a mixture of deep reflection and fresh insights into a familiar text, coupled with serious imagination and collaboration. Knowing Sotonye, that probably shouldn’t have surprised me – she is a woman of deep faith, a gift for friendship, and a quirky sense of fun.

The biblical book of Ruth is often presented as little more than a good story with a happy ending, but closer examination reveals much more in its depths. Sotonye and her collaborators have obviously plumbed many of those depths, and then managed to bridge the gap between a long-distant culture and the realities and issues of today. The core of the book is a beautifully written analysis of what is going on in Ruth, coupled with some challenging questions. It teases out all kinds of insights, questions and challenges that we might otherwise miss.

What sets this ‘book’ apart though is the way in which all those insights are presented. There is an immediacy and personal openness to Sotonye’s writing that draws you in and makes this an easy book to read, leaving you picking up more than you realised. That basic formula is constantly supplemented by all kinds of quirky extras. Each is a surprise, designed to help you outside of the box, thinking differently and freshly about what you read. Recipes, poems, paintings, photographs, interviews and storytelling all mixed in together. I don’t think anyone has ever suggested cooking falafel as a bible study aid to me before!

Prepare yourself for a surprise and a treat, and a good way into an underestimated book. Enjoy reading it - I am sure you will.

David Ingall, Rector, St. Sepulchre’s Church, London.

prologue:

the locked room

The Ruthie Project began with a question: What if we put a Bible personality in a room with a photographer, a writer, a graphic designer, a culinary aficionado, and an artist? And then locked the door…

The premise of the locked room was of course part-fiction and part-reality. Fiction, because none of us actually met Ruth, the phenomenal woman