The Dearly Beloved

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By Cara Wall

Brilliant! Thoughtful! Beautiful! Wall is absolute genius. Her insightful story is an elegant examination of faith, religion, belief. She explores how people can approach faith from wildly opposite ends of the spectrum and yet amazingly land in the same good place. Charles and Lily and James and Nan are brought together when Charles and James are selected to be co-pastors of a Presbyterian Church in NYC. While the story covers the ups and downs of their relationships, it is primarily a beautiful study on faith and God and the many and varied ways we bring both into our lives…sometimes without even knowing we are doing so. She addresses the importance of allowing others to come at faith and life and belief and religion from many different paths. Much of this takes place in the turbulent 1960s, but the connections and parallels to today’s chaotic culture are impossible to miss. The Third Presbyterian Church has suffered a setback in hiring a poorly suited pastor, and when he leaves they are careful to choose better. That is why they choose both James and Charles since each brings a completely different approach to faith and Christianity. I appreciated the parallels to my own very broken Church seeking to find the right leadership out of the darkness while so many pews sit empty. Third Presbyterian is successful in doing so but not without challenges. This book is so rich and so brilliant I underlined, made margin notes, flagged pages. It is just spectacular. These four people are a web of complex relationships, and in realizing the importance of communicating, listening and understanding each other, they are able to help their church do the same. And what’s amazing, despite coming from opposite places, they all land in the same good spot!