Let the Church Say Amen
ReShonda Tate Billingsley
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Buy *Let the Church Say Amen* online

Let the Church Say Amen

ReShonda Tate Billingsley
Pocket
Paperback
288 pages
July 2004
rated 3 of 5 possible stars

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Loretta has been an outstanding mother and wife to her husband, the Reverend Simon Jackson. She has supported him in his calling to a small church located in the Houston area. She has stood by his side on Sundays greeting parishioners and helped him in tending to the needs of his flock. She has even put up with the snide comments of the other women made behind her back as to the nature of what they would like to do with her handsome husband.

Loretta cooks, cleans and guides their children into adulthood. She deals with whatever she can so her husband can handle his congregation’s needs. Loretta deeply loves and reveres her husband; she never once questions his decisions or complains about her duties as a Reverend’s wife. She quietly meets the needs of all three of the children - Jonathan, David and Rachel - while trying not to disturb Simon, who finds two out of three of their children more than trying. Simon views these children as all but lost not only to his house and heart but to God as well.

When the middle son, Jonathan, comes home to fulfill his prodigal duties, Simon breathes a redemptive sigh of relief. Blinded by his dreams for Jonathan, the good Reverend cannot see what is happening all around him. He doesn’t hear the gossip at church. He can’t seem to find a way to connect with the eldest, David, who has been lost to drug addiction for several years now. He is blind to David reaching out to the family, seeing only the disgust in the eyes of his flock. And as for Rachel, she disgusts both him and the church almost as much as David. Rachel is only nineteen and has had two children out of wedlock. She rarely shows up in church these days until the sermon is almost over, giving the church members more than enough to talk about when it comes to his family. Put David and Rachel together, and the church flock has quite a bit that concerns them when scrutinizing Simon as their Reverend.

It takes a shock wave to get through to Reverend Simon, and just as he is beginning to feel the effects of the first wave, a second shock hits him. Within a week, Reverend Simon’s world is turned on its head, and he suddenly finds himself trying to choose whether to help his congregation or his family. ReShonda Tate Billingsley’s second novel is nonstop drama. Readers who enjoy this genre will not be dissatisfied with the plot. The winner of the Gold Pen Award for Best New Author of her first book, My Brother’s Keeper, Billingsley gives the reader a book that is sure to replace the television for the week. Her character’s remain true to the end and every reader will be able to relate in some way to this family drama.



Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book at www.curledup.com. © Lucinda Tart, 2004

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