Comments on: Books I've Recently Enjoyed

By: adamjcopeland

adamjcopeland — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:55:39 +0000

Thanks, Kim. I almost bought Lacuna the other night at a bookstore in town that’s going out of business. Darn. I’ll add it to my list. Last Night at Twisted River is still in hardcover, but I’m a huge Irving fan — well, I enjoy his stories if not take heart in their meaning. I’ll add Jeannette Walls’ as well, and speaking of memoirs, I want to read “Lit” by Mary Karr which seems to be written-up everywhere these days! Unfortunate, but sounds like, indeed, there are benefits to convalescence…

By: Kim Long

Kim Long — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:24:35 +0000

I loved Serena, too. I can also recommend Barbara Kingsolver’s new novel, Lacuna, and Irving’s Last Night at Twisted River. I was floored by Jeannette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle and was glad that I read her next book, Half Broke Horses, first, as it tells the story of her grandmother (The Glass Castle is the story of her own life). Nothing like a six-week convalescence to get you caught up on your reading! I have more….!

By: adamjcopeland

adamjcopeland — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:54:23 +0000

Thanks DennisS for that info on Shannon (not Sharon). My mistake. I just got some info on that rural ministry conference in March. It looks pretty good.

Yes, totally, the interdenominational work of rural congregations is really great. It’s a mainstay of my work here, and my closest colleagues are Lutheran (I think the closest Presbyterian church is 45 mins away, and they have a Methodist pastor).

And, yes, EVERYONE is related! Love it, though.

By: DennisS

DennisS — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 06:56:58 +0000

Adam – The rural ministry book is by L. Shannon Jung, not Sharon Jung. It was written while he was a seminary prof in Dubuque. He was a major influence in the “Rural Ministry Conference” held in March of each year in Dubuque, where there are Presbyterian and Lutheran seminaries. This conference is a major reason I’m in rural ministry today.

There’s more cooperation among denominations in rural areas, and I believe it is possible that rural congregations will show us the way forward very soon. I’m not sure there really needs to be a rural ministry genre. Most areas of ministry are unaffected by location. Rural folks are rather independent, unlikely to step into the pastor office to seek out counseling, and are frequently going to be lifting up rain as a prayer concern.

It could rain 10 days in a row here, and folks would never tell me to pray for it to stop so they can get in the fields. But they will tell me that I can stop praying for rain for a little while.

Rural ministry books should be more about helping the new or potential rural pastor to understand how life is going to be different for the pastor. Stores close every night, even convenience stores. You may live 30 minutes or more from the nearest Walmart, and even further to a Mall. There may be areas where your cell phone doesn’t work. Farmers think it’s great to have you stop by and ride on the tractor or in the combine. And there are plenty of mistakes that would be easy for the city slicker to make in rural areas – and one of the biggest is not realizing that most people are related. Another is that word of mouth travels very quickly and very far.

I think there’s a book to be made – a book for new rural pastors, by those who have been around the section a few times. (A section is a mile by a mile, and is very different than going around the block in a larger city.)