Embarking early one Sunday morning on an innocent road trip from Greenville, South Carolina, to the hills of North Carolina, the unsuspecting husband and wife team of Tom and Linda Kupec had no idea that their one-day trek would turn into a fifty-four-week adventure of a lifetime. South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, West Virginia, Mississippi, and Alabama. Each weekend, the couple discovered a new church that was still preaching the Word of God, even if the worship service was a bit different than what they were used to. Mega churches and tiny ones. Liturgical services and charismatic ones. Cotton fields, football fields, and battlefields. The highest mountains east of the Mississippi River. The largest army base in the country. Breathtaking sunrises rivaled only by the splendor of the changing autumn leaves. Four separate trips to the Atlantic Ocean. Through it all God was showing Tom and Linda the indescribable joy of being in the center of God’s will, being led by His Spirit to places they had never been, both physically and spiritually. God showed them the vastness of His Body, the Church. They encountered people with humble hearts looking to serve their Savior. Hungry hearts aspiring to mature in their walk with God. People in churches that proclaim the risen Christ. Churches proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus despite the continuing decay of an increasingly secular society. Churches graciously embracing the couple from South Carolina with their New York accents. Sundays in the South is the story of God’s redemption and His faithfulness to a couple who has not always been faithful to Him. It’s a story of a God faithful to His church despite its warts and blemishes. Follow along with Tom as he recounts their year-long trek and perhaps be inspired to take a journey of your own.

A revealing picture of southern character as seen in a minister's recollections of his congregations

A revealing picture of southern character as seen in a minister's recollections of his congregations

A spirited, spiritual pilgrimage to different Christian churches for a year of Sundays-from storefronts to mega-churches, from Massachusetts to Maui When Pope John Paul II died, Suzanne Strempek Shea, who had turned away from the Catholic Church of her childhood, recognized in his mourners a faith-filled passion that she wanted to recapture. She set out on a yearlong to visit a different church every Sunday for a year-a journey that would take her through the broad spectrum of contemporary Christianity lived in this country, from her New England home to the West Coast, the Deep South, the Midwest, and even to Hawaii. Beginning with a rousing Baptist Easter service in Harlem, including a sing-along at the Cowboy Church in Colorado's Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and a multimedia experience at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, the largest church in the country, Shea approaches each congregation with the curiosity of a newcomer and with respect for each unique expression of faith. Sundays in America weaves the threads of Christianity in America into a vibrant tapestry, an essential guide for those seeking a new house for their worship, as well as a colorful road trip for the armchair explorer.

Married for 20 years to the Reverend Benjamin Lynch, a handsome, ambitious minister of the prestigious Methodist church, Dean Lynch has never quite adjusted her temperament to the demands of the role of a Sunday wife. When her husband is assigned to a larger and more demanding community in the Florida panhandle, Dean becomes fast friends with Augusta Holderfield, a woman whose good looks and extravagant habits immediately entrance her. As their friendship evolves, Augusta challenges Dean to break free from her traditional role as the preacher's wife. Just as Dean is questioning everything she has always valued, a tragedy occurs, providing the catalyst for change in ways she never could have imagined.

When Pope John Paul II died, Suzanne Strempek Shea, who had not been an active member of a church community for some years, recognized in his mourners a faith-filled passion that she longed to recapture in her own life. So she set out on a pilgrimage to visit a different church every Sunday for one year-a journey that would take her through the broad spectrum of contemporary Protestant Christianity practiced in this country. From a rousing Easter Baptist service in Harlem, to Colorado's Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame for a sing-along at the Cowboy Church; from a roofless Episcopal church in Hawaii, to a storefront African orthodox church where jazz legend John Coltrane is considered a bona fide saint; from the largest church in the country to a small-town church packed for a Sunday school class taught by Jimmy Carter, Shea toured more than thirty states in search of the meaning of Christian faith to the many who practice it. The result, Sundays in America, is an essential guide for those seeking a new house for their worship as well as a colorful road trip for the armchair explorer.