A Place Called Hope
A Novel
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
When Quaker Pastor Sam Gardner is asked by the ill Unitarian minister to oversee a wedding in his place, Sam naturally agrees. It's not until the couple stands before him that he realizes they're two women. In the tempest of strong opinions and misunderstandings that follows the incident, Sam faces potential unemployment. Deeply discouraged, he wonders if his pastoral usefulness has come to an end. Perhaps it's time for a change. After all, his wife has found a new job at the library, his elder son is off to college, and the younger has decided to join the military once he graduates high school. Sam is contemplating a future selling used cars when he receives a call from a woman in the suburban town of Hope, Indiana. It seems Hope Friends Meeting is in desperate need of a pastor. Though they only have twelve members, they also have a beautiful meetinghouse and a pie committee (Sam is fond of pie). But can he really leave his beloved hometown of Harmony?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Gulley is well known for his popular Harmony series featuring Quaker pastor Sam Gardner and the happenings in tiny Harmony, Ind. Gulley, himself an Indiana Quaker pastor, has a new publisher and embarks on a new series with the lovable Gardner. He's in his 14th year at the Harmony Friends Meeting and still clashing with Dale Hinshaw and Fern Hampton, but new battle lines are drawn when Sam, pinch-hitting at the local Unitarian church, inadvertently performs a same-sex wedding. With his wife looking for a job and the congregation up in arms, it seems like a good time to consider an "opportunity for ministry" at Hope Friends Meeting. Gulley's many fans will enjoy renewing acquaintance with Sam, wince at his struggles, and grin at his triumphs, and eagerly turn pages as he makes his way through a maze of decisions and inner turmoil. More conservative readers may take issue with the same-sex marriage, although he may have lost those a couple books back. A worthy and anticipated follow-up to the Harmony series.
