Bert Johnston

Parson Campbell's Breakthrough: a Novel of the 1950s Bert Johnston

Bert Johnston's novel, Parson Campbell's Breakthrough, will encourage all who labor in the night, unsure of what the dawn may bring. In this novel of the 1950s, newly-minted minister Eddie Campbell discovers on his first Sunday in Pear Valley that his leading elder is an apostle of racism. His own more liberal views soon put him at serious odds with Mr. Melon, but over time he gains a tentative acceptance through his ministry in Melon family crises. When Eddie's long-lost Navy buddy shows up at Easter with his black wife, the trust dissolves and the whole congregation is affronted. The story climaxes with the Christmas Day burning of a nearby black church and ends with a major act of generosity and an unexpected gesture of reconciliation. This is a story of young love, uncertain faith and unconditional friendship.