Literary Executive Review: Jamie Pulos-Fry, “A Widow’s Cry: A helpful tool for widow ministries”

by ReadersMagnet | October 17, 2025 | Literary Executive Review | 0 Comments

Having read my fair share of Christian books, the idea of a ministry for widows is certainly familiar. However, I am certainly not an expert!

That is why I really appreciated learning more about this topic from A Widow’s Cry: A helpful tool for widow ministriesby Jamie Pulos-Fry. This book is the 3rd out of the many she has written throughout her life serving her church.

I will add that it is also one of the longer ones because, just according to the testimonies inside, a lot of it comes from Jamie also being a widow.

So, if you are just learning about this particular ministry, I think a straight-from-the-heart guide like this will definitely teach a lot. (It certainly taught me!)

A Ministry Book Written for Widows by a Widow

When I read the introduction, I already got a strong impression of how thorough this book is going to be about its subject. (For instance, did you know that there are 27 verses in the Bible that specifically say widows matter in a church community?)

It also paints a picture of the kind of Christian community that puts widows in such high esteem. From what the book says, it is a community where widows are devout prayer warriors as well as faithful volunteers. I can imagine a lot of volunteers going into this kind of ministry to really study up on how to best approach a widow!

Tying Up Many Experiences and Proper Approaches

Now, there are nine chapters in the book, and each one touches upon various areas that would play a big factor in a widow’s life.

For the first chapter, the topic is prayer. But while there are certainly a lot of prayers in this one, it also has some good advice on grief, anxiety, and uncertainty. It becomes clear that this chapter is more or less dedicated to approaching those who have recently been widowed (and how to pray for them).

The second chapter is mainly about visitations. There are more practical tips in this one (such as how to reach out to your church for this particular kind of ministry and the widows they’re already ministering to). There are some very useful tips on what to expect and how to set aside time for it, as well as celebrating special occasions.

For the third, we are given a guide for phone calls. At this point, it is clear that the author is a very seasoned volunteer at their church! This chapter has a bit of a script (or at least, a set of safe questions to ask). Obviously, there is also a list of things not to say, and that is also very helpful given the sensitive subject matter. The chapter even ends with a list of additional reference material, as well as encouraging poems for those in the ministry.

In chapters four and five, things get very educational.

I’ve seen a few other books where the authors just go on about their personal experiences, the emotions they felt, or what was going through their minds (with a lot of verses thrown here and there).

While this is fine, it is also very good for Jamie to offer something else. Chapter four serves as a helpful grief counseling guide. She shares some material that has been used in her church and really encourages the recently widowed to take any grief classes their church offers.

And speaking of which, chapter five goes on to supplement this further with another guide to finding widow support groups in a church. It even lists even more types of ministries that can support a community’s widows in various ways (such as home repairs, event organizing, celebrations, etc).

For those who are looking for helpful, shorthand information about starting this type of ministry, these two chapters alone have you covered!

As for chapters six and seven, Jamie gives some very good recommendations for more reading material that others can find on the subject. Chapters has a list of book recommendations. Naturally, these were books that were very helpful to her when she became a widow. Chapter seven has a most helpful list of websites run by organizations that have long been ministering to widows.

To top things off, chapters eight and nine include a list of resources that are very much a must-have in books like this. Chapter eight is dedicated to financial guidance for widows who want to arrange emergency support, while chapter nine has a few more ways that churches can be a pillar of support to widows.

Poetic and Spiritual as Well as Practical

One other thing that stood out to me as I read this book was also the many selections of encouraging poems and prayers inserted in each chapter. Some might think them a bit too scattered, but I think they really help make the book more comforting and compassionate in its delivery. It recognizes the fact that those who will read this book are still going through a lot and could certainly use as much encouragement as they can find in a book.

The same goes for the Bible verses that are also used. These really bring this book together as something written for people active in their church, while also including a lot of practical ideas.

An Excellent Starter Guide to a Historical Type of Ministry

Given that widowhood is a sensitive topic, one might be forgiven if they thought any ministry for it would need to be highly specialized.

It is not entirely wrong, but there is definitely a need for it. In fact, as Jamie’s book has taught me, ministering to widows has been something plenty of churches have done for centuries.

That doesn’t mean it’s an easy kind of ministry, though, and I’m glad another Christian author has decided to assemble this very helpful resource guide.

It covers a lot of the bases that pastors will need to consider if they are thinking about forming this kind of ministry within their own church. It is certainly a lot more involved than some might think! There will be a need for good counselors, outreach personnel, as well as charity resources to support the widows they intend to help. The various books and websites mentioned here could be regular guides to informing the overall mission and strategy for the church.

There is enough information here to start creating a checklist of sorts. And at the same time, learning it from someone who has experienced widowhood really defines their importance in a Christian community. The words of encouragement in the book can be a great model for how to conduct oneself when a recently widowed person is grieving, as well as how to help them through their loss.

To those readers who feel called to build up their churches and are really serious about offering all kinds of help, this book is something of an informational kick-starter. You will spend a lot less time second-guessing with all the ideas, suggestions, and resources you can find in here when reaching out to widows.

All in all, this is yet another great guidebook by Jamie Pulos-Fry. Her work really defines itself as being exactly what it says on the cover, while still having a good dose of creative flourishes that are spiritually encouraging.If you’d like to grab your own copy of A Widow’s Cry: A helpful tool for widow ministries today, just head on over to the ReadersMagnet Bookstore. This book is also available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Feel free to also check out other books by Jamie Pulos-Fry on her website at https://www.two4avalon.com/.