“And whose nitwit idea was this?’ Betty Hardacre snapped, her orthopedic shoes sinking into sand. Betty was the chair of the Episcopal Church Women. She prided herself on upholding the
parish’s long-standing traditions. Pastor Miranda McCurdy looked up from the grill where she tended to the sizzling barbecue. As the first woman to lead St. Gabriel-by-the-Sea in 180 years, she was used to resistance.”
Those are the opening lines to Jane Willan’s Christian novel, Widow’s Walk. Miranda was a chef at a posh restaurant until her husband died and she was led to enter the ministry. St. Gabriel in Maine is her first parish. She hopes to encourage the congregation to be more progressive, beginning with ending their tradition of wearing pilgrim and Indian costumes for the community Thanksgiving feast. Even more upsetting to many of the long time members is her recommendation that the church become an asylum congregation for the young, pregnant, Honduran woman who is seeking sanctuary.
Along with these universal issues, there’s a large dog and a lonely
heart that needs rescuing. If you belong to a congregation, you may recognize some of the personalities and be reminded that all churches have their share of saints and sinners and that often there is more to people than meet the eye! The author is a pastor of a church in Connecticut and has also written a series of mysteries.
If you’re looking for a story that touches on one of the important issues of our time, through some hometown characters, then you must read Widow’s Walk by Jane Willan.
