A Letter From Joseph

About the Book

In the summer of 1998, I began to preach at East Pearl Street Methodist Church. I came to East Pearl fresh off the plane from a year as a missionary doctor to India and Honduras. I had delivered babies, sutured machete wounds, and even contracted malaria during a cholera epidemic. With my head full of stories and my heart on fire, I returned to Yale for residency. When I heard East Pearl needed a Minister, I leapt at the chance.

We are an urban church in a struggling neighborhood. The city's great challenges are our shared ministry: poverty, housing, illness, imprisonment, HIV, psychiatric problems. Despite a gouty boiler, and a wheezy organ (masterfully coddled by our long-time organist Willis Copeland), we thrive with a tireless hope.

As an urban pastor and a young doctor, this sermon collection is my attempt to stoke the fires of hope in a world wired with technology and anxiety. For those wrestling with their faith, doubting their role in the world, or just curious about Christianity, I believe these meditations offer hope and perspective for our modern times.

About the Author

Benjamin R. Doolittle is the Pastor of East Pearl Street Methodist Church in New Haven, Connecticut. He is also a physician-in-residence at Yale-New Haven Hospital. His "Meditations on Hope" are drawn from his experiences in the parish, the hospital, and the mission field.