Women's Fiction, Holidays - Fiction

A Covington Christmas

Name: A Covington Christmas
Author: Joan Medlicott
ISBN: 9781416524861

by Joan Medlicott

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Overview

The new pastor in Covington discovers that the pastor from forty years ago was never ordained, and was therefore not qualified to marry anyone! With five long-standing marriages thrown into crisis, it's decided that the couples absolutely must remarry on Christmas Eve. With the church desperately in need of repairs, though, how can they get it ready in time? Sounds like a job for the ladies of Covington! But when last-minute obstacles threaten to stop the weddings, Grace, Hannah, and Amelia are going to need a miracle to turn Christmas Eve into a wedding day that no one will ever forget.

Synopsis

Library Journal

The Ladies of Covington (At Home in Covington) find themselves banding together for another crisis. A fire has left the Cove Road Community Church in great disrepair, and while cleaning out the attic, they've discovered that a former pastor was never actually ordained. This means that several of Covington's oldest couples were never legally married. When the panic passes, the couples decide to get married in a shared ceremony on Christmas Eve, but it will take a miracle to get the church back in shape in time. This cozy, gentle read is sure to please Medlicott's many readers. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

About the Author, Joan Medlicott

Joan Medlicott was born and raised on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She lives with her husband in the mountains of North Carolina. Visit her website at www.joanmedlicott.com.

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Editorials

Library Journal

Kirkus Reviews

In the sixth in Medlicott's series about lively senior citizens in Covington, N.C. (At Home in Covington, 2004, etc.), the new pastor overcomes a couple of crises with help from the local ladies. Although they show up when needed, Hannah, Grace and especially Amelia take a less prominent role here than they have previously. Young Pastor Denny Ledbetter has taken over the local congregation to relieve the ailing Pastor Johnson, who for years acted as a father surrogate to the orphaned Denny and paid his way through seminary. While cleaning out the church attic with Grace, Denny discovers proof that 40 years earlier, the church briefly employed an un-ordained minister who performed five marriage ceremonies for which he never filed the proper papers. As a result, five of the community's longest-married couples are not really married in the eyes of God. After some soul-searching, Denny breaks the news to the couples. The Herrills and the Craines, both upstanding members of the community, soon agree that holding a joint wedding ceremony on Christmas Eve would be a lovely way to renew their vows. The other three couples, all from a less genteel part of town, take some convincing, but eventually they too agree to be part of the ceremony-even poor Mary McCorkle, whose marriage has been less than happy. Now a new crisis arises-the sorry disrepair into which the church building has fallen. While the ladies light a fire under the men folk to help Denny refurbish the church, a mysterious visitor from France underwrites a new furnace, but will it be installed in time? Don't worry too much; suspense is not a high priority for Medlicott, who designs her tales for comfort above all else. Undemanding andvery tame fare that avoids offending anyone.