On the Way: Vocation, Awareness, and Fly Fishing

Episcopal deacon Kenneth Arnold brings many so-called secular (not to mention colorful) aspects of his life to bear upon his ordained ministry--among them fly fishing. And yet, he writes, "I never keep them," referring to the fat, brown river trout he likes to borrow from the water, then throw back. In this unusual memoir of ordained ministry, Arnold's sometimes haunting, sometimes hilarious episodes from hospital chaplaincy, parish life, and life in general receive a similar light treatment. Scene after remarkable scene is offered up, blessed lovingly, and then let go: a terminally ill woman is raped in her hospital bed by another patient; a parish is so pet-friendly that dogs are regular parishioners. All life--not just the "uplifting" and "spiritual"--comes coursing through these pages. Arnold's way of Christian ministry is deep enough and wide enough to harbor lots of rocks and boulders--not to mention enigmatic fish and fishermen--and still somehow retain its surface shimmer and serenity.