Summary

Russ Hildebrandt was an associate minister at First Reformed Church in New Prospect, Illinois. After he was humiliated "three years earlier," and forced off the youth group team, Crossroads, the senior pastor, Dwight Haefle, increased Russ's "share of pastoral visitations" (3). Today, Russ was delivering "toys and canned goods to the Community of God" downtown (3). He was thrilled that a new parishioner, the attractive widow, Frances Cottrell, was accompanying him. Her husband had died in the war. Though Russ had a wife, Marion, and four children, he was attracted to Frances. She made his youthful self feel alive again.

When he arrived at First Reformed to meet Frances, he avoided passing Rick Ambrose's office. Ambrose was the youth programming director, and they had not been talking since Russ had left Crossroads.

After doing grief counseling with Frances, Russ had invited her to join...