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Poisoned in the Pulpit: A Father Jarvis Hedlam Mystery

by Allen Whitman

185 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #02-1007; ISBN 1-55395-293-6; US$20.50, C$25.00, EUR16.25, £12.00

A tale of passion and politics.

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about the book      about the author      sample excerpts or Table of Contents      catalogue info

About the Book The annual diocesan convention, as any Episcopalian will tell you, is rich in drama, no matter whether your vantage point is the sanctuary, with its air of pop and ceremony, complete with the traditional clerical garb brought down through the centuries and across continents, stirring hymns and the elegant language of the Book of Common Prayer; or the meeting rooms where closeted committees argue and persuade and sometimes rage as they hammer out compromises that would put Washington D.C. to shame; or the parish hall where unheralded laity move mountains both theoretical and physical to accommodate individuals of all sizes and philosophical orientation who will gather and disperse and gather again, caught in the annual tide of ecclesiastical policy making that will almost certainly change their lives to some degree. It is against this background that the second Fr. Jarvis Hedlam mystery, Poisoned in the Pulpit, takes place. In the opening minutes of the convention's opening ceremony, the bishop ascends to the pulpit, and during his opening prayer, suddenly stops, then lurches over the podium. While the bishop hovers between life and death, Hedlam, a parish priest in the diocese, is left to deal with a morass of unanswered questions ranging from the unauthorized blessing of same-sex unions by one of the priests in the diocese to some uncomfortable questions regarding finance and accounting practices in connection with a retirement home that the diocese is about to open, to the problem of a prickly priest whose days in the diocese seem to be numbered, but who needs the safety net of insurance and a retirement income. As Hedlam begins to look for answers, he uncovers old wounds, grudges, and unsettling questions about his own positions on tough issues. Told variously by Hedlam, the bishop, and the bishop's secretary, Poisoned in the Pulpit mixes murder with ecclesiastical politics and more, and like the previous Fr. Jarvis Hedlam mystery, plumps the package with some very human involvment in romantic relationships and looks at the mysterious ways God's grace can work in our lives.

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About the Author Allen Whitman has served parishes in Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and Texas. Now retired, he is a part-time chaplain at Trinity School in Midland Texas. He also continues to serve as Rector Emeritus at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity in Midland, acts as spiritual director to individuals and, when time permits, conducts studies and seminars on spiritual healing, on the meaning of dreams, and various literary studies of classics such as the Dorthy Sayers mysteries, Dante, John Steinbeck, and others.

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Sample Excerpts

PROLOGUE

The long line of the procession - the black and white-robed choir - clergy with black tippets and multicolored hoods - moved down the center aisle filling the church with the stirring strains of Martin Luther's "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" - most singers unaware that the music "Ein feste Burg" was once a German drinking song. After an organ transition, the woman priest and cantor led the congregation in the chanting of Evensong - the voices reverberating off the vaulted ceilings - the people glorifying God so that they might enjoy God forever. To Jarvis Hedlam in the front pew among his fellow clerics, the choral liturgy gave tacit affirmation to the old maxim that those who sing pray twice.

A stilled silence filled the sanctuary as Bishop Hantwell mounted the steps of the pulpit - an imposing presence, well over six feet in height - vestments cloaking his angular frame. During the last verse, he drank several times deeply from a cup on the podium and glanced down at the clergy before him. "Lord," he began, "give me the courage to speak the truth in love." With that he stopped, began to sway and then toppled forward - draped over the podium like a large frontal - arms dangling - pointing to tile below.

At first no one moved. The people, like a paralyzed body, stared transfixed. The ventilating fans could be heard whirring in the background. Then, Father Jarvis Hedlam, with several other clergy rushed forward, jostling each other in their efforts to reach the Bishop. Several members in the choir reached him first and pulled him back, collapsing limply in their arms as they laid him in a choir stall. There was little doubt that he was unconscious. The only question was whether he was dead. The fact that he'd been poisoned never darkened their minds.

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Catalogue Information

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