House of Living Stones (ebook Edition)

Life in a Lutheran parish unfolds in familiar rhythms—hymns and liturgy, shared meals and quiet burdens, sin confessed and grace proclaimed.

Welcome to Bradbury, Illinois, where the life of the church shapes the life of the town. Here, well-worn hymnals echo with both laughter and lament, bulletins don’t always come together as planned, and a watchful congregation gathers week after week around Word and Sacrament. Amid parish meetings, potlucks, and choir rehearsals, ordinary days reveal the deeper realities of faith lived out together.

When new choir director Emily Duke arrives, she brings a guarded heart and a remarkable gift for music. She soon finds herself navigating the strong opinions of a steadfast organist, the steady care of a devoted (if sometimes overwhelmed) pastor, and a congregation bound together as both saints and sinners. As voices clash and rehearsals falter, Emily begins to see that beneath the surface tensions, Christ is at work in ways both hidden and clear.

In House of Living Stones, you will:

• Step into parish life shaped by hymnody, liturgy, and the Church Year
• Follow Emily’s early struggles with a choir full of strong personalities and deeper needs
• See how gossip, grief, and long-held wounds are brought into the light of Christ’s mercy

From choir loft tensions to altar rail comfort, Katie Schuermann offers a richly textured portrait of congregational life—honest, gently humorous, and grounded in the gifts Christ gives His church.