Chapter 12 Jerry answered the phone. “Hello?” “This is Rev. Peter McCracken, chairman of the Candidate’s Committee. Jerry Cradleman?” “Yes.” “Oh my goodness, I remember when you were just a…

Chapter 11 Jerry perched on the edge of a leather couch. Over to the side was an office desk. Behind the desk, bay windows offered a view of the tree-filled…

“Dr. Beker, I’m just not sure.” It was late, when stillness finally had its way, and a drunk Jerry was with Prof. Beker after banging on his door. Jerry knew…

Two weeks later, Jerry received a letter from his Presbytery’s Candidates Committee. He was instructed to take a battery of tests from the Northeast Career and Counseling Center. It would…

Late that night there was a knock at Jerry’s door. On the other side - cue the celestial music - stood graduate student Christine Holmgren, all Minnesota-Swedish-knock-out-good-looks of her. Straw-colored…

Chapter 10 For his final year, Jerry took up residence on the top floor of Alexander Hall dormitory. Situated on the west side of the quad, catty-corner from the chapel,…

That summer Jerry signed up for intensive Greek, a requirement for the Presbyterian ministry. The operative word was “intensive.” What was normally accomplished over nine months of an academic year…

 Sundays were brutal. He had to wonder, why was the day God designated for rest the most gut busting day of the week for men and women of the cloth?…

Chapter 9 Jerry answered the knock at his dormitory door. Jennifer, with a bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label, threw herself into his arms. They kissed long and sloppy. And…

Chapter 8 That summer, Jerry took a field education job directing a youth center for The First Presbyterian Church in Joppa, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore. The center consisted of…