Congregation — Virginia Stem Owens

Rector Arlen Canby's authoritarian and manipulative style is rapidly driving away long-standing members of the placid Texas congregation. Then comes the sudden news of the sale and imminent demolition of their historic church building. But nothing prepares the members of St. Barnabas for the apparent suicide attempt that leaves the rector's two children dead and his wife, Cassie, comatose.Anyone who's ever been in a church that has problems will appreciate this novel on a level beyond the mystery, even as the strange twists of life and death at St. Barnabas unravel through the eyes of several members of the congregation.