Akron Public Library

Two priests, friends since their childhood in France, set out to establish the new Roman Catholic diocese in the American Southwest

It is 1844 and Lacey Bishop's life is a tangled mess. Estranged from her own family, at age 16 she went to work for a preacher and his wife. When his wife died, the preacher convinced Lacey that the only decent thing to do was to marry him. That way she could continue to act as mother to the little girl who was left on his doorstop. But Lacey never expected he would decide to take them all off to a Shaker village.

The first novel of Trollope's Chronicles of Barsetshire series, this work introduces the fictional cathedral town of Barchester and many of its clerical inhabitants. Originally published in 1855, the story centers on Mr. Septimus Harding who has been granted the comfortable wardenship of Hiram's Hospital, an almshouse from a medieval charity of the diocese. Mr. Harding, a fundamentally good man and an excellent musician, conscientiously fulfills his...

Dear reader, I have something to confide in you. I think my husband, Dave, might be having an affair. I found an earring in his pocket, and it's not mine. I'm also worried because some jewelry was recently stolen from an old woman--and Dave used to visit her a lot. You see, he's a pastor. And a good man. But why won't he tell me where he's been when he comes home so late? I also want to tell you what's going on with your other friends in Cedar Cove....

Father Timothy Kavanagh, married for the first time at the age of sixty-something, struggles to deal with the upheaval and delight of having a wife, while also presiding over the triumphs and troubles of the people of the small town of Mitford, North Carolina.

Pete Banning was Clanton's favorite son, a returning war hero, the patriarch of a prominent family, a farmer, father, neighbor, and a faithful member of the Methodist church. Then one cool October morning in 1946, he rose early, drove into town, walked into the church, and calmly shot and killed the Reverend Dexter Bell. As if the murder wasn't shocking enough, it was even more baffling that Pete's only statement about it - to the sheriff, to his...

Since he was a boy growing up in Mississippi, Father Tim has lived what he calls "the life of the mind". But then he finds a derelict nativity scene that has suffered the indignities of time and neglect. Can he give the small assembly new life, restore the camel's ear, repaint every piece? Imagining the excitement in the eyes of his wife, Cynthia, he steps up to the plate, beginning a small journey of faith that touches everyone around him. Also included...

Relive the glory of a Pennsylvania canal town through the eyes of those who ministered to the needs of the workers. Betsy Nelson reluctantly returns to her childhood home to care for her failing father, a faithful minister who served the town for years. William Covington, a confirmed bachelor, comes to town to become the new pastor and set aside the luxuries of this birth for service to God. Can Betsy and William find common ground on which to work...

The impact on a religious community in the South when the 14-year-old granddaughter of the founder becomes pregnant. The community is the Church of Fire and Brimstone where sin is punished by whipping. The girl insists she is not guilty of the sin of fornication and no amount of punishment will make her recant. When the baby is born with a birth defect, her grandfather takes that as a sign the baby is the New Messiah. By the author of Bitterroot Landing....