Book Review: For the Love of Triumph

Post Author: Rev. Michelle Bodle and Rev. Julia Burkley

In Jullia’s current call, she has a cohort of five women in her Presbytery all serving in different ministry contexts. They are her people- people who call each other when they need advice, who sit with a cup of tea and joyfully chat about the funny and unexpected stories of church life that only other pastors understand, who come together in similarity and difference to walk and work together just like the women in For the Love of Triumph did. It was fun watching them support each other through the ups and downs of ministry while thinking of our own support networks.

For the Love of Triumph, the second book in the Seasons of Triumph series by young clergywomen Brittany Kooi and Corinne Freedman Ellis, continues the story of a group of clergywomen in Triumph, Wyoming. Weaving together the stories of Pastors Birdie, Ara Grace, and Nel, this particular book focuses on the discussions and decisions relating to the holiday season—from Thanksgiving to Christmas—from both a personal and a professional perspective.  The joy of finding representation in a book was wildly affirming and lovely in a way that we hadn’t anticipated. It brought us joy to read, to laugh with these women, to hear some of our own stories told in the pages of a book. We found ourselves unable to put the book down because we felt so connected to the characters and the story. 

The book was well-written, with an engaging multi-character narrative; what was most important to us, as young clergy woman, was not the story arc itself, but that we could see ourselves in the story. The stories of clergywomen are woefully few and far between, with many of the representations coming from the perspective of someone who has never lived the life of a clergywoman. Kooi, who was ordained in the ECLA, and Freedman Ellis, who was ordained in the United Church of Christ, combine humor and compassion in their discussion of each of the clergywomen in Triumph because of their lived experience. Clergywomen are not a monolith. Despite having congregations say that they do not want to have another woman pastor because they’ve “already had one,” in the story of Birdie, Ara Grace, and Nel, we see three women with vastly different life experiences and approaches to ministry. 

The collegiality between these three women pastors in this small town was deeply moving. It brought Michelle back to when she served in a small village where the female clergy in mainline denominations outnumbered the male pastors. They had a beautiful community of support and cooperation, similar to Nel, Birdie, and Ara Grace coming together for the Christmas pageant in For the Love of Triumph. Ministry can be an incredibly isolating experience, but these characters opened up a renewed spirit for Michelle as she read of the collegiality across denominational differences for the sake of one’s well-being. 

This book was a fun easy read that we highly recommend, especially to other clergywomen. It was a great late-night book, one that made us laugh and even well-up at times. We hope there are more books in this series!