The Ache for Home: Stories and Sermons of Family and Place - Softcover

Thompson, Barkley S

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798822987784

Publisher: Palmetto Publishing, 2025

Synopsis

At the age of twenty-four, Barkley Thompson left Arkansas to sojourn across the country and world. A quarter century later, amid life changes and health challenges, he began to ache for home, saying, "I suddenly realized I had been holding my breath for twenty-five years, and I desperately needed to exhale. Whenever I imagined the setting in which I could breathe anew, it was Arkansas." Upon his ultimate return, Thompson found an Arkansas that "blazes with beauty, abounds with graciousness, and embraces me like...the Prodigal Son." An Episcopal priest noted for his preaching, Thompson discovered that the people and places among which he was raised provide endless access to the heart of the Gospel.

Theologian and author Fleming Rutledge says of Barkley Thompson's writing that he "is remarkably good at evoking people, places, and histories." In The Ache for Home, Thompson shares stories of rivers and streams, weeping willows, laughing nuns, and World War II vets. As a theme running through them all, Thompson commends a transfigured vision that sees the Divine Love that embraces all things.

About this title

About the Author

The Reverend Barkley S. Thompson serves as rector of Saint Mark's Episcopal Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. Previously he served parishes in Collierville, Tennessee and Roanoke, Virginia, and for ten years he was the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, Texas. Barkley holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy & Religion from Hendrix College, a Master of Arts in Religious Studies from the University of Chicago Divinity School, and a Master of Divinity from the Seminary of the Southwest. He previous books are Elements of Grace, In the Midst of the City: The Gospel and God's Politics, which won a Gold Medal Illumination Award and a Silver Medal IPPY Award, and the best-selling How Can We Know the Way?: Reflections on Belief, Salvation and Eternal Life. Barkley is married to Jill, and they have two grown children.

Edition details

• Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798822987784
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 216