The Shawl Ministry They Tried To End
At seven o’clock on a Tuesday morning I was sitting in the third pew from the back of Grinnell Community Church with a canvas bag… Read more
The Pew They Reserved for Someone Else
Forty minutes before the five o’clock candlelight service on Christmas Eve, still moving slow on a hip that was six weeks out from surgery, I… Read more
The Stranger She Chose As Her Father
At 9:47 on the last Friday morning in May, I was standing at the end of the third row of folding chairs in the Cedar… Read more
The Layaway Angel No One Knew
The first time I caught my mother stealing, she was seventy-one years old, and she was stealing from herself. I want to tell you what… Read more
The Hymnal She Could Not Read
The hymnal in my lap that first Sunday was the same red one they hand out to every soul who walks through the doors of… Read more
The Booth She Prayed In
The booth in the front corner of my diner faced east, and that was the only reason I ever rented this building. Maribeth Aldous told… Read more