An engaging analysis of the portrayal of Christian clergy in the arts, and how cultural perceptions shape popular understanding of the ministry.Combining thematic analysis and stimulating close readings, 'The Collar' is a wide-ranging study of the many ways - heroic or comic, shrewd or dastardly - in which Christian clergy have been represented in literature, from George Herbert and Laurence Sterne, via Anthony Trollope, G.K. Chesterton, T.S. Eliot, and Graham Greene, to Susan Howatch and Robertson Davies, and in film and television, such as 'Pale Rider', 'The Thorn Birds', 'The Vicar of Dibley', and 'Father Ted'. Since all Christians are expected to be involved in ministry of some type, the assumptions of secular culture about ministers affect more than just clergy. Ranging across several nations (particularly Britain, the U.S., and Canada), denominations, and centuries, 'The Collar' encourages creative and faithful responses to the challenges of Christian leadership and develops awareness of the times when leadership expectations become too extreme. Using the framework of different media to make inquiries about pastoral passion, frustration, and fallibility, Sue Sorensen's well-informed, sprightly, and perceptive book will be helpful to anyone who enjoys evocative literature and film as well as to clergy and those interested in practical theology.

Kit is baffled to find herself divorced from Buster, her third ex-husband, and seeks to navigate her semi-chaotic life.In the dead of winter in her gossip-plagued Prairie city, Kit finds herself in the confusing aftermath of a third marriage, with all of her ex-husbands still amicably in her life. Her mother won't quit smoking through their Friday Classic Movie nights, her sons wander in and out looking for stuff, and her best friend Finkelstein wants help to capture Judas Squirrel somewhere in his eaves. Kit is trying to decide whether to quit her customer service job at the local hardware store while simultaneously trying not to drink. More than anything, she wants to stop thinking about the infuriating Buster.Sharp with self-deprecating humour, After Buster is bittersweet novel of family, friends, and romantic entanglement, set in a semi-ridiculous Saskatchewan city in the first year of the twenty-first century.

Combining thematic analysis and stimulating close readings, The Collar is a wide-ranging study of the many ways--heroic or comic, shrewd or dastardly--Christian ministers have been represented in literature and film. Since all Christians are expected to be involved in ministry of some type, the assumptions of secular culture about ministers affect more than just clergy. Ranging across several nations (particularly the U. S., Britain, and Canada), denominations, and centuries, The Collar aims to encourage creative and faithful responses to the challenges of Christian leadership and to provoke awareness of the times when leadership expectations become too extreme. Using the framework of novels, plays, TV, and movies to make inquiries about pastoral passion, frustration, and fallibility, Sue Sorensen''s well-informed, sprightly, and perceptive book will be helpful to pastors, parishioners, those interested in practical theology, and anyone who enjoys evocative literature and film.

An engaging analysis of the portrayal of Christian clergy in the arts, and how cultural perceptions shape popular understanding of the ministry.Combining thematic analysis and stimulating close readings, 'The Collar' is a wide-ranging study of the many ways - heroic or comic, shrewd or dastardly - in which Christian clergy have been represented in literature, from George Herbert and Laurence Sterne, via Anthony Trollope, G.K. Chesterton, T.S. Eliot, and Graham Greene, to Susan Howatch and Robertson Davies, and in film and television, such as 'Pale Rider', 'The Thorn Birds', 'The Vicar of Dibley', and 'Father Ted'. Since all Christians are expected to be involved in ministry of some type, the assumptions of secular culture about ministers affect more than just clergy. Ranging across several nations (particularly Britain, the U.S., and Canada), denominations, and centuries, 'The Collar' encourages creative and faithful responses to the challenges of Christian leadership and develops awareness of the times when leadership expectations become too extreme. Using the framework of different media to make inquiries about pastoral passion, frustration, and fallibility, Sue Sorensen's well-informed, sprightly, and perceptive book will be helpful to anyone who enjoys evocative literature and film as well as to clergy and those interested in practical theology.

Kit is baffled to find herself divorced from Buster, her third ex-husband, and seeks to navigate her semi-chaotic life.In the dead of winter in her gossip-plagued Prairie city, Kit finds herself in the confusing aftermath of a third marriage, with all of her ex-husbands still amicably in her life. Her mother won't quit smoking through their Friday Classic Movie nights, her sons wander in and out looking for stuff, and her best friend Finkelstein wants help to capture Judas Squirrel somewhere in his eaves. Kit is trying to decide whether to quit her customer service job at the local hardware store while simultaneously trying not to drink. More than anything, she wants to stop thinking about the infuriating Buster.Sharp with self-deprecating humour, After Buster is bittersweet novel of family, friends, and romantic entanglement, set in a semi-ridiculous Saskatchewan city in the first year of the twenty-first century.

Combining thematic analysis and stimulating close readings, The Collar is a wide-ranging study of the many ways--heroic or comic, shrewd or dastardly--Christian ministers have been represented in literature and film. Since all Christians are expected to be involved in ministry of some type, the assumptions of secular culture about ministers affect more than just clergy. Ranging across several nations (particularly the U. S., Britain, and Canada), denominations, and centuries, The Collar aims to encourage creative and faithful responses to the challenges of Christian leadership and to provoke awareness of the times when leadership expectations become too extreme. Using the framework of novels, plays, TV, and movies to make inquiries about pastoral passion, frustration, and fallibility, Sue Sorensen''s well-informed, sprightly, and perceptive book will be helpful to pastors, parishioners, those interested in practical theology, and anyone who enjoys evocative literature and film.