Central Kansas Library System

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 his birth for service to God. Can Betsy and William find common ground on which to work...

Originally published in 1859, "Adam Bede" is the first novel by George Eliot, which was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans. Eliot was one of the leading British writers of the Victorian era, as well as a noted journalist, poet, and translator. "Adam Bede" concerns a small, tight-knit, and fictional rural community called Hayslope and the romantic drama that develops between four of its young residents: the title character Adam, a young carpenter, the...

Commited to building his new church, dynamic young preacher Paul Hudson loses sight of the purer intentions of his ministry and struggles to choose between his own will and God's plan.

As a teen, Kristy Smith spent her nights dreaming of a college scholarship - dreams that ended abruptly when she became pregnant. Now Kristy works hard to support her young son, Jason, and her ailing grandmother, staving off regrets about the chances that slipped away. When Craig Houston became a pastor, he envisioned making a difference in some distant, poverty-stricken country, not dealing with youth groups and shut-ins in a tidy suburb like Fairbrook....

Lila, homeless and alone after years of roaming the countryside, steps inside a small-town Iowa church -- the only available shelter from the rain -- and ignites a romance and a debate that will reshape her life. She becomes the wife of a minister, John Ames, and begins a new existence while trying to make sense of the days of suffering that preceded her newfound security. Neglected as a toddler, Lila was rescued by Doll, a canny young drifter, and...

"Two lifelong friends, a bartender and a pastor, decide to trade places the week before Christmas and end up finding love along the way in this delightful novel from the queen of holiday stories, #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber. Peter Armstrong and Hank Colfax are best friends, but their lives couldn't be more different. Peter is a local pastor who is dedicated to his community. He spends his time visiting the flock, attending...

When Kate and Paul Hanlon leave their home in San Antonio to take over the pastorate of Faith Briar Church, they are excited about embracing the small town way of life. But when they arrive in Copper Mill to see their new church in flames and evidence shows that the fire was not an accident, Kate sets out to discover who is behind it. As she investigates, she makes friends in town, and threatening phone calls, mysterious packages and a life-and-death

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First published in English in 1927, "Elmer Gantry" is Sinclair Lewis' novel which satirizes the Christian fundamentalist and evangelistic movements of the early part of the 20th century. From the 17th century onward there have been a number of efforts to reassert the influence of Christianity on social, cultural, and political life. In America, Christian Revivalism, as it is often referred to, has come in four waves, or "Great Awakenings" starting...

Dangerous Woman? Ordained by God? Gender matters! What do pastors really do beyond the pulpit? What's it like to be a woman pastor? It's complicated. People leave congregations when the pastor wears a skirt. Other congregations become advocates for women clergy. Rev. Dorothy Nickel Friesen, an ordained Mennonite pastor, digs deep into the soul of a pastor with humor, pathos, and passion. Her memoir, a collection of short stories based on true events,...

Filled with wonderful humor, wisdom, and loving detail, the powerful story of Peter Marshall's life has touched the hearts and minds of millions of people. It is a book about love--the love between a dynamic man and his God, and the tender, romantic love between a man and the woman he married. It is also the gripping adventure of a poor Scottish immigrant who became Chaplain of the United States Senate and one of the most revered men in America.