Feasting on Hope

An Interview with Rev. Hannah Miller King

Mar 19, 2026

We need a better definition of hope. —@hannahmillerking

Somebody packed February with extra days. It wasn’t merely 28 but felt like 55 days. Over the past month, I have helped host four events on Pepperdine campus, spoken at the University of Notre Dame, George Fox, Trinity Classical Academy, BibleProject, the National Christian Schools Association, Youth Ministry Conference, the list continues….

With all the event planning, traveling and speaking, I have not had much time for writing. In lieu of hearing from me, I wanted to share with you the work of Rev. Hannah Miller King whose new book Feasting on Hope (IVP 2026) came out in February. She looks at the gospel through the lens of the Lord’s supper. Esau McCaulley describes it “part memoir, part theodicy, part reflection on the beauty of the eucharist.” So that you fall in love with Hannah and learn from her, I asked her a series of questions about herself and her book.

Interview with Rev. King

Softball, easy first question: What candy would you sneak into a movie theater?

I am a dark chocolate girl. In fact I bring a bar of 85% chocolate with me everywhere I travel which means I’ve actually snuck one into a movie theater already. I’ve also had chocolate melt in my purse, so it’s risky.

What inspired you to write this book and what’s it about?

My faith was forged amid profound childhood loss and its lingering effects in my life. Growing up in the church I didn’t always find that people knew what to do with my family’s story or how to walk with us. This book is about how authentic Christian hope looks like holding an imagination for renewal alongside a theology of suffering, and how our central worship practice (the eucharist/Lord’s Supper) teaches us about that. I was inspired to write the message I needed to hear myself, and to attempt to offer people a robust framework for hope in the already/not-yet of our life on earth. In that vein it touches on themes of salvation, embodiment, community, mission, and home/belonging—all through the lens of the eucharist.

Who were some of the theologians and writers that influenced your thinking for this book?

Man, this is a fun question to answer. I was blessed to find a wide range of “dialogue partners” in my research, ranging from Roman Catholic scholars like Brant Pitre to Pentecostal missionaries like Heidi Baker. In my own tradition, the writing of New Testament scholars Wesley Hill and Esau McCaulley have both been influential; outside my tradition, Henri Nouwen is probably the writer I turned to most frequently. I also loved reading and incorporating the memoir writings of Nicholas Walterstorff, Daniel Nayeri, and Sheldon Vanauken.

Which novel most influenced you in your life?

Gosh, this is tough. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which I didn’t read until seminary, really changed my relationship with fiction (and art) in general— it taught me to experience art as worship and as prayer— so that was pretty life-influencing. But for a lesser known work I’d probably say Shusaku Endo’s Silence. It is something of a theodicy and also an exploration of faith and doubt. It is something of a “thick” story that doesn’t try to tie up big questions in a tidy bow and I have never stopped thinking about it.

What’s the best line in the book that you’re surprised you wrote because it’s so good it sounds like someone else must have written it?
There’s one paragraph in the chapter chronicling my brother’s suicide that I’m not sure is the “best” line in the book, but it really spoke to me as I wrote it and I found myself re-reading it afterward. Here are the last two sentences:

“Unrequited kindness is never wasted. Instead, it is a seed that dies, planted in the soil of the kingdom that remains hidden. We may not see its fruit now, but one day we will sit together under its shade and remember.”

What do you think is the church’s biggest problem that no one talks about?

I think one big problem we don’t talk about enough is busyness. Discipleship, deep relationships, mission, community, all these things we aspire to take time— which nobody has. But trying to change that is like trying to change the economy. It feels bigger than us (and maybe not even all that desirable since a lot of us kind of *like* being busy).

If you could pray one Bible verse every day what would it be?

My general go-to is a version of “Lord Jesus Christ, son of David, have mercy on me!” During Lent I’m praying “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others more important than yourself.” (Phil 2:3)

Thank you, Hannah! Grab a copy of her book, follow her online, and let us know what you think.