Blest Be the Tie
Fables of Faith from the Far North
by Joann White
Imprint: Resource Publications
In a world fractured by dividing lines of politics, economics, gender, and race, we are hungry for connection and community, for places where we are loved and accepted in all our frailty. Tubby has a broken heart. Lenore needs something to sing about. Eugenia is afraid of change. Bruce still fights the war in Iraq. Through it all, Pastor Bob, with the help of the Holy Spirit, tends the flock entrusted to his care. These twenty-four interwoven fables of faith, set in the Adirondacks, use abundant love, gentle humor, and the timeless truth of Scripture to portray what it means to be a church family. Blest be the tie that binds.
Joann White is a writer, pastor, spiritual director, and enthusiast of wild places. She is a graduate of Colgate University, McCormick Theological Seminary, and the Institute for Spiritual Leadership in Chicago. Since 2005, she has pastored the First Presbyterian Church of Saranac Lake in the heart of New York’s Adirondack Mountains. When she isn't at church, you might find her wandering the local trails with her husband Duane Keith Gould and their Cardigan corgi Jade.
“With its warm and relatable cast of characters, Blest Be the Tie offers up parables of community and faith that feel instantly familiar and welcoming. White's collection of vignettes illuminates the Christian values and plain graces that unite, reconcile, and bring both healing and understanding.”
—David Williams, author of When the English Fall
“When I first began reading Blest Be the Tie, I thought, ‘I know these people.’ As I continued reading, I thought, ‘I am these people!’ White takes what is common in all of us—our frailties, shortcomings, and wounds as well as our beauty, strength, and possibilities—and weaves together stories of community. Not only do we see ourselves, but we see the possibility of redeemed relationships and hopeful community that is a taste of ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’”
—Joanne Lindstrom, Associate Professor of Ministry, McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago
“White’s beautifully written Blest Be the Tie are stories told with gentle humor and a tender touch. The author reveals a deep love for Scripture and a great confidence in its capacity to surprise us and to transform even the most demanding of our circumstances. These stories draw the reader in and leave us changed.”
—Ian Adams, chaplain, Ridley Hall, Cambridge
“White is well familiar with pastoral ministry, and she shares congregational stories from Pastor Bob’s Presbyterian church in the North Country in upstate New York. . . . White has created a caring, diverse, and integrated community of faith, and has given readers a vacation from their own lives and churches as they immerse themselves in the lives of Pastor Bob and his flock. Using poetic and descriptive language, White does not just tell stories; she paints rich pictures and shares complex emotions. . . . I was moved to tears often, and I laughed out loud several times. Reading this book made me want to be a better pastor—maybe as good as Pastor Bob, or maybe even, in my dreams, as accomplished and understanding as White herself. This is a diverting, engrossing, and pleasurable read.”
—Laurie McKnight, spiritual care professional
“Reminiscent of Garrison Keillor’s and Michael Lindvall’s stories, Joann White writes such delightful vignettes of small-town pastoring that I couldn’t put this book down! In pictures of redemption, provocation, the grief of war, the workings of the Spirit, and questioning one’s calling, Pastor Bob connects faith with the experiences of his people, while feeling blessed by the ties that bind that community together. I laughed and cried, grateful again for the people of God.”
—Scott L. Barton, author of Lectionary Poems, Year B: More Surprising Grace for Pulpit and Pew
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