The Father Pat Stories – By Patrick Gossage

Father Pat Cheyne, an unkempt, middle-aged priest on a lone canoe ride reflects on how these solitary meditations in his beloved canoe have marked his life. His thoughts reach back to his boyhood rejection of the boisterous ways of his father, just home from the war, to the memorable evening when he first prayed, eyes open, floating in a silent magic space with stars drenching the sky above and mirror lake below him. Even now, the canoe remains his own vehicle for understanding solitude.

The Father Pat Stories chronicle the Anglican priest and former member of Parliament's pattern of engagement and disengagement as he very actively applies tolerance and forgiveness to his parishioner's difficulties in a world where religion often stands for intolerance and exclusion. The fast paced adventures engage a tight trio of friends Father Pat, his public relations pal, Terry, and their mutual big city reporter friend, Deirdre. The odd trio get all too intimately involved with each other and in problems, personal and institutional in Ridgewood, Father Pat's suburban parish.The yarns, almost parables, present a good man through a lifetime of friendships and loves.