A Place Called Hope -- Philip Gulley

Backlist Review from 2016

Book: A Place Called Hope
Author: Philip Gulley
Series: Hope (Book 1) (Also reference Gulley's Harmony series)
My Star Rating: 2/5 stars
Tidbit: A new chapter of Pastor Sam Gardner's life as he begins preaching in a new church.  Lost the magic, for me, of the original Harmony series.
 

For 14 years, Sam Gardner has been the pastor at Harmony Friends Meeting in his small home-town of Harmony, Indiana. Nostalgia had returned him to his roots, and a desire to help the congregation kept him there.

But Sam's sons have grown up. And, quite frankly, after 14 years of dealing with the likes of Dale Hinshaw and Fern Hampton, Sam is fed up with Harmony Friends. He is unhappy and complains often to his wife, Barbara. The truth is, it's time for a change. But Sam isn't one to just walk away. So he stays. And he gripes. Until one day, on accident, he does something his congregation views as unforgivable: while filling in for a fellow pastor, he prays a blessing over a same-gender union. Now faced with being fired by the congregation he grew up with, Sam decides not to give them the pleasure and resigns.

Jobless and in no financial position to be so, Sam begins searching for a new job. Having been black-listed by the area's Quaker superintendent, Sam struggles to find a job and wonders if he ever will. But then there is Hope. Hope Friends Meeting has been searching for a new pastor for 3 years. And they have a hunch Sam may just be the right man for the job. And, suspecting nothing else will turn up anytime soon, Sam is inclined to believe them!


***It was okay. Worth the read, because I have read all the other Harmony books. But this one definitely has a different feel. I didn't get the warm fuzzies like I always did with the Harmony books. In fact, it seems as though Sam's character is quite different. Granted, a person will change over the years... It was just surprising. And a bit disappointing.