by
Thomas Mowbray
In
a way, according to my experiences and the experiences of many of my
colleagues, the outline of a pastorate is too often like the tale of Solomon
Grundy:
Solomon
Grundy, born on Monday,
Christened
on Tuesday,
Married
on Wednesday,
Took
ill on Thursday,
Worse
on Friday,
Died
on Saturday,
Buried
on Sunday,
And
that was the end of Solomon Grundy.
Next
pastorate, please! I want to get born again.
Lawrence Totten is called to the pastorate of the Little White Church on the Hill, famous for its quaint meetinghouse that is a popular venue for weddings, and infamous for its killer congregation. Totten’s brief and tragic ministry ends abruptly, but not without producing memorable moments with redeeming results.
Thomas
Mowbray is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and has served
churches of historical significance in New Jersey, Wisconsin and Iowa since
1977, including the famous Little Brown Church in the Vale. Between pastorates
he has also served as a minister of music and has been a college instructor in
English composition and rhetoric. Dr. Mowbray is an alumnus of The University
of Vermont, Westminster Choir College, Princeton Theological Seminary, and The
University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. He is a published poet and writer
of articles for professional journals, including The Journal of Pastoral
Counseling. The Treasurer's New Car is his first novel.