“In a league with Jan Karon’s Mitford series . . . readers who seek pleasant, witty and occasionally poignant fiction will delight in this book.” —Publishers Weekly It’s another bustling year in the lives of this quirky Quaker community. Dale Hinshaw is back and floating another of his crackpot ministry schemes—this time, quite literally, with his Salvation Balloons project. Pastor Sam Gardner’s wife, Barbara, the 1977 Tenderloin Queen, wins a trip to the Caribbean and thinks she might just go without her workaholic husband. Deena Morrison struggles with being single and alone, while the Friendly Women’s Circle strategizes on how they can “help” her. Jimmy Muldock has a secret only his mother knows, though the ever-curious Furnace Committee is bent on discovering it. Throughout it all, three things are certain: the Friendly Women’s Circle will make more noodles, Dale Hinshaw will push Sam Gardner to the end of his pastoral rope, and the good in human nature will just nudge out the bad. Filled with master storyteller Philip Gulley’s trademark humor and depth of insight, this wise, joyous novel will delight and satisfy both those who know and love Harmony and those who are just discovering it. “Welcome back to a place where the stories are rich and the folks are familiar. Welcome back to the signs and wonders uncovered in small-town life. Welcome back to Gulley’s great writing. Welcome back to Harmony!” —Lynne Hinton, national bestselling author of Pie Town “Evokes a convincing sense that there is at least a spark of goodness in almost everyone . . . [a] wise and gentle book.” —Arkansas Democrat Gazette “A celebration of small-town life.” —Woman’s Day
Squarely in the crosshairs of the Church's heresy hunters, can Pastor Sam survive? It's a madcap year in Harmony, Indiana, as Sam Gardner struggles through his fourth year as pastor of the Harmony Friends Meeting. Join the thousands of readers who have fallen in love with the charming small town that hosts what BookPage calls "the biggest collection of crusty, lovable characters since James Herriot settled in Yorkshire.
Filled with a cast of lovable, quirky characters, punctuated with simple wonders, the everyday truths found in this book offer much needed clarity to our own befuddled world. No matter where you live, no matter what your season, come along for the journey. When Philip Gulley began writing newsletter essays for the twelve members of his Quaker meeting in Indiana, he had no idea one of them would find its way to radio commentator Paul Harvey Jr. and be read on the air to 24 million people. Fourteen books later, with more than a million books in print, Gulley still entertains as well as inspires from his small-town front porch.
Evoking a time when life revolved around the front porch, where friends gathered, stories were told, and small moments took on larger meaning, in today’s hurry-up world, Philip Gulley’s essays remind us of the world we once shared—and can share again. When Philip Gulley began writing newsletter essays for the members of his Quaker meeting in Indiana, he had no idea one of the essays would find its way to radio commentator Paul Harvey Jr. and be read on the air to 24 million people. Fourteen books later, with more than one million copies in print, Gulley still entertains as well as inspires from his small-town front porch.
A Publishers Weekly “Top 10 in Religion” selection. “This is nothing less than the gospel itself…a much-needed book.” —FR. RICHARD ROHR, OFM, Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, New Mexico Philip Gulley invites us into a bracing encounter with the rich truths of Quakerism—a centuries-old spiritual tradition that provides not only a foundation of faith but also vision for making the world more just, loving, and peaceable by our presence. In Living the Quaker Way, Gulley shows how Quaker values provide real solutions to many of our most pressing contemporary challenges. We not only come to a deeper appreciation of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, and equality, we see how embracing these virtues will radically transform us and our world. Living the Quaker Way includes a 30-day spiritual practice that applies the Quaker tradition of Queries.
Welcome to Harmony ... In this acclaimed inaugural volume in the Harmony series, master American storyteller Philip Gulley draws us into the charming world of minister Sam Gardner in his first year back in his hometown, capturing the essence of small-town life with humor and wisdom.
“Part Mark Twain, part Garrison Keillor, Philip Gulley is a breath of fresh air in an over-sophisticated and often jaded world.” —Gloria Gaither, singer and songwriter Master storyteller Philip Gulley shares tender and hilarious real-life moments that capture the important truths of everyday life. When Philip Gulley began writing newsletter essays for the twelve members of his Quaker meeting in Indiana, he had no idea one of them would find its way to radio commentator Paul Harvey Jr. and be read on the air to twenty-four million people. Fourteen books later, with more than a million books in print, Gulley still entertains as well as inspires from his small-town front porch. “Perhaps more things were resolved on America’s front porches than in any other place, and yet so few are being used today. With this delightful collection of stories, told in a warm and easy style, Philip Gulley invites us to sit again on the front porch—a place of hearth, home, and folks we’ve known.” —Gary Smalley, bestselling author and family relationship expert “The tales Philip Gulley unveils are tender and humorous . . . filled with sudden, unexpected, lump-in-the-throat poignancy.” —Paul Harvey, Jr., American radio broadcaster
“Once again, Gulley gives us a triumph of homespun values, pitched somewhere between Jan Karon and Garrison Keillor.” —Booklist Sam Gardner’s second year as minister in quaint and charming Harmony, Indiana, is fraught with trials and incidents, a crisis of faith, a marital catastrophe, and a church elder’s ill-hatched scheme to scramble scripture with eggs. But a loving heart and a strong sense of humor is almost certain to see Sam through . . . even if all of Harmony is expecting a miracle come Easter morn. “Just Shy of Harmony is just shy of perfect.” —Charles Osgood “A wonderful tale of a fictitious community of colorful characters who share goodness and gossip, controversy and compassion—a real-life microcosm of mankind. Gulley’s stories get at the heart of the simple joys, stranger-than-fiction humor, and day-to-day drama of small-town life, and reveal how even the largest of problems inevitably resolve themselves. No wonder he’s been called Indiana’s Garrison Keillor.” —American Profile Magazine “This story is a winner.” —Publishers Weekly “Filled with grace and forgiveness . . . Sam’s journey in faith teaches through the shared medium of laughter.” —Library Journal
Stories from a Place That Feels Like Home Master storyteller Philip Gulley envelops readers in an almost forgotten world of plainspoken and honest small-town values, evoking a simpler time when people knew each other by name, folks looked out for their neighbors, and people were willing to do what was right—no matter the cost. When Philip Gulley began writing newsletter essays for the twelve members of his Quaker meeting in Indiana, he had no idea one of them would find its way to radio commentator Paul Harvey Jr. and be read on the air to 24 million people. Fourteen books later, with more than a million books in print, Gulley still entertains as well as inspires from his small-town front porch.
America's favorite Quaker storyteller explores the terrain of faith and doubt as shaped by family, church, and young love, finding his way to a less convenient but fully formed adult spirituality. Most of us grow up taking in whole belief systems with our mother's milk, only to discover later that what we received as being certain is actually nothing like it. And then we're faced with a choice--retreat to spiritual security and the community that comes with it, or strike out into the unknown. With his trademark humor and down-home wisdom, Philip Gulley serves as just the spiritual director a wayward pilgrim could warm to, inviting readers into his own sometimes rollicking, sometimes daunting journey of spiritual discovery. He writes about being raised by a Catholic mother and a Baptist father across the street from a family of Jehovah's Witnesses--all three camps convinced the others are doomed. To nearly everyone's consternation, Philip grows up to be a Quaker and a pastor. In Unlearning God, Gulley showcases his well-loved gift as a storyteller and his acute sensibilities as a public theologian in conversations that will charm, provoke, encourage, and inspire.
Sam Gardner never dreamed he would be thanking God for Harmony's self-appointed general of the religious Right, Dale Hinshaw. God does indeed work in mysterious ways. Amanda Hodge, who has been living with her Uncle Ellis and Aunt Miriam since her parents abandoned her years ago, now faces their return and their desire to be a part of her life again. Dale Hinshaw hovers on the brink of death, in dire need of a heart transplant The whole town is abuzz as the beautiful Deena Morrison marries the town's most eligible bachelor, Dr. Pierce. And in the midst of these triumphs and tragedies, Pastor Sam Gardner helps the people of Harmony negotiate the sometimes rocky road of family life, faith, and forgiveness. Although Harmony's characters develop and grow with each novel, one thing remains constant -- Philip Gulley's ability to capture both the flavor of small-town America and the paradoxical beauty of our own humanity.
Bestselling author Philip Gulley offers humorous, small-town storytelling as he follows the foibles and follies of Pastor Sam Gardner. Thanks to an unexpected windfall, Sam Gardner's congregation (with the exception of a few malcontents) is eager to expand their meetinghouse. But before building can commence, the County Environmental Board and the Department of Natural Resources put the quietus on the plan. A colony of endangered Indiana bats have made the tree beside the meetinghouse, and the meetinghouse attic, their place of hanging, mating, and living, which poses a big problem for the congregation. Aside from the fact that their fanged visitors are engaging in sinful acts on church property, until these bats leave for hibernation, Hope Friends Meeting is left without a gathering place. And when an over-zealous Leonard Fink takes matters into his own hands, he may even land himself -- and Sam -- in jail.
“[Philip Gulley’s] vision of Christianity is grounded, gripping, and filled with uncommon sense. He is building bridges instead of boundaries, and such wisdom is surely needed now.” —Richard Rohr, O.F.M, author of Everything Belongs Quaker minister Philip Gulley, author of If Grace Is True and If God Is Love, returns with If the Church Were Christian: a challenging and thought-provoking examination of the author’s vision for today’s church… if Christians truly followed the core values of Jesus Christ. Fans of Shane Claiborne, Rob Bell, and unChristian will find much to discuss in If the Church Were Christian, as will anyone interested in the future of this institution.
Noone raises provocative questions about Christianity more kindly than PhilipGulley. " —Diana Butler Bass,author of Christianity for the Rest of Us “Everyserious Christian ought to read this book, ponder it,wrestlewith it, but above all, be grateful for its presence in today's urgentconversation about what we are and are becoming as a people of God.” —Phyllis Tickle, author of The GreatEmergence RenownedQuaker minister Philip Gulley, bestselling author of If the Church WereChristian, delivers a practical, insightful guide to developing aliving, flexible, personal Christianity—a faith that allows you to confront theprofound challenges facing every believer in today’s difficult world.
With his ear for the small town and his knack for finding the needle of humor in life's haystack, Philip Gulley might well be Indiana's answer to Missouri's Mark Twain. In I Love You, Miss Huddleston we are transported to 1970's Danville, Indiana, the everyone-knows-your-business town where Gulley still lives today, to witness the uproarious story of Gulley's young life, including his infatuation with his comely sixth-grade teacher, his dalliance with sin—eating meat on Friday and inappropriate activities with a mannequin named Ginger—and his checkered start with organized religion. Sister Mary John had shown us a flannelgraph of the apostles receiving the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. They looked quite happy, except that their hair was on fire. . . . I was suspicious of a religion whose highpoint was the igniting of one's head, and my enthusiasm for church, which had never been great, began to fade. Even as Kennedy was facing down Khrushchev, Danny Millardo and his band of youthful thugs conducted a reign of terror still unmatched in the annals of Indiana history. With Gulley's sharp wit and keen observation, I Love You, Miss Huddleston captures these dramas and more, revisiting a childhood of unrelieved and happy chaos. From beginning to end, Gulley recalls the hilarity (and heightened dangers) of those wonder years and the easy charm of midwestern life.
Sam Gardner has been pastor of Hope Friends Meeting for just four months when ninety-eight-year-old member Olive Charles passes away. What's more shocking news is that Olive has left her entire estate--worth nearly one million dollars--to the meeting. At first the gift sounds to Sam like a like a godsend. Yet as word of the unexpected windfall spreads, it stirs up a storm of conflicting opinions amongst the church members as to how the money would best be used. And before the estate is even released to the meeting, Olive's estranged niece, Regina Charles, turns up tipsy and furious in Hope and threatens a lawsuit over what she believes is rightfully hers. Although it may be an opportune time to ask for a raise, Sam finds himself questioning his future in Hope while trying to guide his lively congregation and find a peaceful way to deal with Regina.
Philip Gulley takes us to Harmony, Indiana, at Christmastime as inspiration strikes the inimitable Dale Hinshaw. Always looking for a way to increase the church's profit margins, Hinshaw brainstorms a progressive nativity scene that will involve the whole town, complete with a map like those for the Hollywood stars. Neither Pastor Sam Gardner nor the other members of the Harmony Friends meeting express any enthusiasm for this idea, but Dale is unstoppable. Meanwhile, Pastor Sam has his own concerns: he's having his annual argument with his wife, and he's worried that the four-slotted toaster he bought for her may be too lavish a gift. Amidst the bustle of the season, the citizens of Harmony experience the simple joys and sometime loneliness that often go unseen. Sam comes to the realization that Dale, in his own misguided way, is only trying to draw meaning from the eternal story of Christmas. "In this unsettled world, it is good to have this steadiness -- the Christmas Eve service, the peal of the bell. . . .There is a holiness to memory, a sense of God's presence in these mangers of the mind. Which might explain why it is that the occasions that change the least are often the very occasions that change us the most.
It's summer in Harmony, but not everything is as sunny as the weather. The good citizens of Harmony are back and stirring up trouble as usual, sometimes with disastrous results. Pastor Sam Gardner must take a leave of absence from his post at Harmony Friends Meeting to take care of his ailing father. But when spunky pastor Krista Riley comes to fill his position, the quirky Quakers seem to fall in love with her, and it begins to look like Sam's sabbatical may be permanent. Krista's resilience is put to the test when Dale Hinshaw and Fern Hampton begin to question whether a woman can faithfully lead their flock, and it looks like the resulting tiff might just be the undoing of Harmony Friends Meeting. Will Sam come to the rescue? Finding the answer to this question makes the trip back to Harmony worth turning every page.
Squarely in the crosshairs of the Church's heresy hunters, can Pastor Sam survive? It's a madcap year in Harmony, Indiana, as Sam Gardner struggles through his fourth year as pastor of the Harmony Friends Meeting. Join the thousands of readers who have fallen in love with the charming small town that hosts what BookPage calls "the biggest collection of crusty, lovable characters since James Herriot settled in Yorkshire.
When Quaker Pastor Sam Gardner is asked by the ill Unitarian minister to oversee a wedding in his place, Sam naturally agrees. It's not until the couple stands before him that he realizes they're two women. In the tempest of strong opinions and misunderstandings that follows the incident, Sam faces potential unemployment. Deeply discouraged, he wonders if his pastoral usefulness has come to an end. Perhaps it's time for a change. After all, his wife has found a new job at the library, his elder son is off to college, and the younger has decided to join the military once he graduates high school. Sam is contemplating a future selling used cars when he receives a call from a woman in the suburban town of Hope, Indiana. It seems Hope Friends Meeting is in desperate need of a pastor. Though they only have twelve members, they also have a beautiful meetinghouse and a pie committee (Sam is fond of pie). But can he really leave his beloved hometown of Harmony?
It's another bustling year in the lives of this quirky Quaker community. Dale Hinshaw is back and floating another of his crackpot ministry schemes-this time, quite literally, with his Salvation Balloons project. Pastor Sam Gardner's wife, Barbara, the 1977 Tenderloin Queen, wins a trip to the Caribbean and thinks she might just go without her workaholic husband. Deena Morrison struggles with being single and alone, while the Friendly Women's Committee strategizes on how they can "help" her. Jimmy Muldock has a secret only his mother knows, though the ever-curious Furnace Committee is bent on discovering it. Throughout it all, three things are certain: the Friendly Women's Circle will make more noodles, Dale Hinshaw will push Sam Gardner to the end of his pastoral rope, and the good in human nature will just nudge out the bad. Filled with master storyteller Philip Gulley's trademark humor and depth of insight, this wise, joyous novel will delight and satisfy both those who know and love Harmony and those who are just discovering it.
It's autumn in Harmony, and Pastor Sam Gardner has vowed to be ready for Christmas. Determined to redeem a dreadful history of gift giving, Sam enrolls in a scrapbooking class to make a Christmas gift his wife will never forget. However, Sam's absence from their home every Wednesday night, coupled with his fishy alibi of attending a men's group, raises her suspicions. Meanwhile, Sam struggles in the class and must attempt to complete his project with only the help of his faithful secretary, Frank. As Christmas fast approaches and rumors of Sam's Wednesday night absences swirl along with the snow, a series of mishaps leads to a Christmas no one will soon forget.
If God is love, why are so many Christians fearful, and why do so many church leaders sound hateful? Two controversial pastors address issues the church won't face, calling us to restore grace as the center of the Christian life. o In If Grace Is True, Pastors Philip Gulley and James Mulholland revealed their belief that God will save every person. They now explore the implications of this belief, and its power to change every area of our lives. They attempt to answer one question: If we took God's love seriously, what would our world look like? Gulley and Mulholland argue that what we believe is crucial and dramatically affects the way we live and interact in the world. Beliefs have power. The belief in a literal hell where people suffer eternally has often been used by the Church to justify hate and violence, which contradicts what Jesus taught about love and grace. The authors present a new vision for our personal, religious, and corporate lives, exploring what our world would be like if we based our existence on the foundational truth that God loves every person. Gulley and Mulholland boldly address many controversial issues people in the pews have wondered about but churches have been unwilling to tackle. For too long, the Christian tradition has been steeped in negativity, exclusion, and judgment. Gulley and Mulholland usher us into a new age––an age where grace and love are allowed to reign.
Argues the theological stance that all people will be saved through God's grace, offering a message of hope that explains how Christians can reconcile a love for non-Christian people.
Perfect for family reading times, this book contains short, inspirational stories that illustrate important Christian values, lift readers' spirits, & offer perspectives on what's really important in life.
Reprint of the original, first published in 1859. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.
This collection of tender, touching true stories, poems, and reflections celebrate a grandmother's unique influence, written by those who were fortunate to experience firsthand the power and blessing of a grandmother's love. Writers who are featured included Luci Swindoll, Sheila Walsh, Phillip Gulley, Martha Bolton, and others.
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