One of Us

Many towns have their murderers, but are they also members of a church, a Boy Scout leader, or president of the congregation? Could they be trusted to bring a covered dish faithfully to church suppers? This novel takes the BTK murders in Wichita, Kansas, as inspiration to question issues of evil. How could a man commit murder and yet sit in church all those years until he was caught? What is a Christian? What is Christianity? Can a Christian murderer go to heaven? Mark Cabot and Ralph Gheary, minister and assistant minister of the church to which murderer Thomas Fout belonged, disagree as they face the shame, quandary, and confusion Fout leaves in his wake. How could they not have known? How can they face their congregation, the news reporters, fellow pastors, and the public? How long does it take to recover from the shock? Both men's wives, Grace Cabot and Zelda Gheary, are also left reeling in the upheaval. The questions remain: Can a man be good without God? Can a man be good with God?In 2005 the killer of ten persons was arrested in Wichita, Kansas. It had been 25 years since the tenth murder. The killer called himself BTK: Bind, Torture, Kill. He was a well- respected president of his Lutheran congregation, worshiping there every Sunday, a leader in the community. That much is fact. Novelist Diane Glancy explores the complex emotions of how a Christian community deals with and survives age-old issues of good and evil by creating four voices, two pastors and their spouses, as they work through their differing emotions and convictions. This is not a novel for the faint-hearted, but for those who stay the course the rewards in insight and compassion are well worth it.--Eugene H. Peterson, Professor of Spiritual Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, BCOne of Us is a book of questions. How is it evil dwells among us? How does a church respond when murder reveals the lurking horrors of resentment, self-righteousness, judgment, and naivete? Through the meditations of church leaders and the murderer himself Diane Glancy uncovers the tension between the incomplete experience of salvation and the wholeness of a promised redemption.--John Leax, author of Recluse FreedomDiane Glancy was a 2012-14 Visiting Professor at Azusa Pacific University. She now lives in Kansas and Texas. Her latest book, Fort Marion Prisoners and the Trauma of Native Education, and other works can be found online at www.dianeglancy.com and www.dianeglancy.org.