The Gay Preacher's Wife

Being gay isn't a spiritual death sentence, Meredith concludes in this brave, impassioned plea to her community. The exposure of sex scandals within American Catholic and Protestant churches is of deep concern to Meredith, founder of the nonprofit Beacon of Hope, which serves poor communities and provides family assistance. She begins this intimate memoir with a plea for the church to break the secrecy and solidarity that supports criminal church members and clergy, and return to the church's roots of serving others, but she quickly moves to her own story. She thought her marriage was perfect until she learned that her husband, a preacher, was gay and had been unfaithful. Despite past clues, like the time her spouse was arrested for soliciting sex from a man, Meredith was shocked. Growing up in the church in the 1950s and 1960s, she explains, homosexuality wasn't discussed, "especially not in the black community." Determined to stay married even after a gonorrhea scare, Meredith and her husband endured therapy and treatment programs, but when her husband's affairs continued and one of her sons came out as gay and HIV positive, Meredith was left with questions that her "traditional brand of Christianity could not answer." She enrolled in theological school to explore the biblical view of homosexuality. She explains how her beliefs evolved and shares powerful reflections on relationships, such as her realization that people mistakenly believe pre-marriage behaviors will disappear after the wedding, and lessons on how to forgive. Meredith's passionate book makes clear that the real sins are those of hate and hypocrisy. (Oct.)