The Gospel According to Sam is a collection of thirty "animal stories for the soul," written by William Miller, a priest who's considered to be one of the best preachers in the Episcopal Church.
Most of the lessons in this book could be called "spiritual" in a general way, and the author's Christian faith, though not always addressed explicitly, is never far from view.
An eleven-year-old boy describes the joys and sorrows of growing up in a dysfunctional family with a jobless alcoholic father during the hard times of the Depression.
Because of the generic nature of the material, the book can be used by other mailine churches as well.
This will always challenge congregations, because as Beck plainly states, our feelings toward strangers range from blank indifference to disgust, to contempt, to hatred. God's call to welcome strangers serves to deconstruct the very ...