Going Home:  A Sojourner's Appalachian Roots is available here for a limited time.   In this book, Beverly Walker shares her extensive research on the genealogy of Richard Wayne Mullins.  In memory of Rich Mullins' generous gifts to charity, the proceeds from the book will be donated to Revelation Ranch Mininstries in Letcher County, Ky.  

The  cost of the book is fifty US dollars.

To order, click on the link and send in the form.

Richard Wayne Mullins, perhaps best known for the song he allegedly liked least, Awesome God, was one of the best singers/songwriters/composers to grace the Contemporary Christian movement of modern music.    A complex man that many did not know well or understand, he struggled with loneliness and the human desire to be loved for who he was, not what he was.  He was and still is among the best of all time success stories in Christian music and is regarded by some as a saint and others as a prophet. 
However, neither description fits.
    
Pamela Richard’s memoir account of Rich’s life, Singing from Silence, is an excellent work befitting the type of description this reviewer believes Rich Mullins would want as his legacy.  Ms. Richards close friendship and inspirational talents helped Rich open the door to his heart and his true dreams like he would to no other. 
    
Meeting at a Bible College in Cincinnati, Pamela and Rich spent many hours, days and years together weaving a tapestry of artwork and music into an inspirational collection of emotions, songs and personal gifts to one another.  Singing From Silence provides an unusually provocative behind the scenes look into what inspired many of the songs Rich Mullins composed.  It might just as aptly been named the stories behind his songs.
    
The raw emotional honesty used in the book attests to the difficulties that both Richard and Pamela had in
verbally articulating their beliefs, loves, sorrows and triumphs.  This hallmark trait gives her book believability and the ability for others from various backgrounds to relate to the intricate threads that become our lives as
humans.
    
Both Pamela and Richard had a unique way of exploring the three major love languages of life.  While both of them experienced it differently from each other and differently from what most people might expect, each moved easily through the channels of agape, eros and familial love to be the strength the other one needed at any given time.  This is what made the relationship between these two so unique.
    
Hammer dulcimists everywhere will thank Ms. Richards for introducing Richard to the santur.  As a naturally gifted musician, an instrument that relied heavily on arpeggios was a natural for him.  National Hammer Dulcimer Champion Ted Yoder was heavily inspired by Richard’s playing as is this reviewer.  Without realizing it, Richard gave many more individuals a gift simply by being an ambassador of this instrument.
    
Through all of this, Pamela and Richard learned how to love and accept each other in their quest to love and serve God.  One of Richard’s strongest wishes was not to be remembered as an entertainer, but rather as an imperfect human being just like all of us who simply used a musical talent in search of his answers of/from a
loving God.  Richard found a “Love that Knows No Bounds.”  He did it with the courageous and persistent efforts of a loving and caring friend and confidante, Pamela Richards.
     
The book is an easy read with engaging anecdotes and will likely be a joy to anyone who reads it.  It is especially interesting to those who love the legacy left behind by an Indiana ragamuffin who coincidentally achieved fame as an entertainer and composer.          

Richard J Blumberg

First there  were mountains, blue in the distance.  Through the valleys there were roads hard to travel, long and winding roads with surprises at every turn.  When we reached  the mountains to climb up to their ridges, the roads swung us to the top by  steep hairpin turns.  But it was worth every mile we climbed to take in the view  from the overlook.  Houses, little towns, and vehicles beneath us looked  tiny--cares and worries grew even smaller as the vista opened before us.
 
There is something spiritual in going up a mountain.  The gospels tell us how often Jesus went up a  mountain--to heal, to preach, to pray, to die, to ascend.
 

That Sunday we attended the Little Dove Primitive Baptist Church.  I don't know how many varieties of Baptists there are in Kentucky, but there seem to be nearly as  many different Baptist subdenominations as there are mountains to tuck them into.  Primitive Baptists call themselves that because they like to go back to the oldest Christian traditions they can find--like praying on their knees, singing a capella and washing feet.  I was raised in a church that strove  to replicate the original Christians, too.  Sometimes members of my denomination  would be stubborn--we liked to be right.  Based on some of my experiences, I might even have wondered whether any group dedicated to looking back as far as possible would stick at trifles and prefer to overlook our common ground with other Christians.  But at Little Dove, I found worship is alive with a current-day practice of the oldest Christian tradition of all--love. 
 
Men and women both shared, spontaneously taking the pulpit in turn and delivering simple songs that expressed something their walk with God had imparted to them.  The only accompaniment was the soft "Amens" the congregation added to the singing to affirm their hearts were in accord.   There was a sense that those assembled all  knew the true stories behind the songs of each singer, and that each person there was precious, each story was cherished, each song celebrated.  Had there been any hard feelings, this group had long ago found and shared God's mercy and  left them behind. 
 
The support of the community for its members was unmistakable.  The preaching was Spirit-led and kept to the point.  The need for prayer, and the faith in God's  power, was manifest.
 
I will share with you  a prayer need that was expressed in that congregation.  The coal mines in southeastern Kentucky have laid off about 600 miners this year, and members of the church stated that there was a recent announcement in the Whitesburg Mountain Eagle that 70 more jobs in Letcher County and 15 in Harlan County
would  soon be lost.  In an area of the country where jobs are scarce, these layoffs  pose a problem without an answer for many families.  A recent  article originating in Louisville, Ky, refers to "outmigration," as many  families tend to leave the area for work in other states.  Once upon a time, the  unemployed of Appalachia headed North for work in Detroit.  Those who are familiar  with Rich Mullins' story know that his grandfather, wife and children "left  Kentucky headed for Detroit and ran out of gas in Indiana."  But in the present  day,
work in Detroit is scarce, too.  Please keep Southeastern Kentucky in your prayers.  
  

Singing from Silence is now available on Barnes and Noble website and on Nook. 

If you live in the greater Cincinnati area, join me at a book signing for Singing from Silence on Wednesday, July 18th at 7:00 pm. at the
Cincinnati Community Friends Meeting
3960 Winding Way, Cincinnati, Oh. 45229.

Click here for directions.   Hope to see you there!  --Pam Richards 

It is my pleasure to report that Singing from Silence is now available on loan at the Cincinnati Christian University (G. M. Elliot) Library.  Cincinnati Christian University (formerly Cincinnati Bible College, or Cincinnati Bible Seminary) is the campus where Richard Mullins and I first met in 1974.   --Pam Richards