Worthy Words: Threading the Theme

By Christine Sunderland

As I research my eighth novel, I consider worthy themes, themes that reflect the Kingdom of Heaven and God’s love for mankind. What is the theme? How will I thread this theme through the pages, creating a satisfying whole, weaving together characters, plot, and settings?

This novel will be the third in a trilogy about free speech and the collapse of Western Civilization. The first was The Fire Trail (eLectio, 2016), followed by the second, Angel Mountain (Wipf and Stock, 2020).

The Fire Trail, set in Berkeley and the environs of the university, considered the academic cancelling of speech. Set in 2014, it reflected the troubling threats to speakers on campus whose words “triggered” negative feelings due to disagreement. Protests turned violent and shut down debate. My theme, free speech and the collapse of Western Civilization, wove through my characters’ backstories (the Holocaust in Greece; professors shunned at UC Berkeley) and catalyzed the plot of civil disorder with the opening scene, the murder of a student on the Fire Trail.

Angel Mountain moved the theme of free speech and the collapse of Western Civilization east of Berkeley. Set in 2018 when firestorms and earthquakes seemed ongoing, a holy hermit preaches from a precipice of Angel Mountain (aka Mount Diablo). He preaches repentance as dark-hooded protesters mingle in the crowd. The theme weaves through the meadows and the house nearby, through books and libraries, through issues of race and antisemitism, through the burning of books and denial of law and order. What are the limits of speech? What is hate speech? What does civilization and freedom demand?

And so, before I begin this next novel, before I develop my characters and move them through the pages, I must consider the theme of my work-in-progress, working title, The Music of the Mountain. The theme of free speech will go deep into words and sounds, speech and bells, books and music and art, civilization, civility, and civil order. Set amidst panic and pandemic, masking and mandates, the theme of freedom will thread into the past as well as weave into the present.

St. Joseph of Arimathea, stained glass, St. John’s Church, Glastonbury, England.

An American history teacher meets an honest journalist, both forbidden to speak and write; an artist can no longer paint; a musician can no longer compose or play. Singers no longer sing. Bells no longer ring. History is cancelled; statues are toppled. Forgotten books crumble to dust in a mildewy cellar, awaiting discovery, awaiting air and voice, awaiting listeners to listen. A painting of a woman gilded in gold is buried beneath a stack of forbidden canvases, waiting to be seen. An American flag rests against a moldy wall, hoping to unfurl and fly again. Speech lies buried in the dark, silently waiting for resurrection.

Today our Anglican faith tradition celebrates St. Joseph of Arimathea, the wealthy disciple who buried the body of Jesus in his own tomb. Legend claims he brought Christianity to Glastonbury, England, carrying the Holy Grail, the cup of Christ’s last supper. He also carried his pilgrim’s staff, which he planted on Wearyall Hill, where it bloomed into a flowering thorn (hawthorn) tree. He spoke worthy words of salvation to Roman Britain, converting many, and founding Glastonbury Abbey. We are called to do the same, to plant these words in our own time and place, to one day flower.

Today is also the birthday of George Washington whose worthy words framed our freedoms: “If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” Thus, the First Amendment protects us: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Worthy words. Christian novelists are called to speak them freely. In this way we become the pilgrimage trail to the mountain of God, to hear his glorious music, inspired by his Holy Spirit breathing into us. There we will plant our pilgrim’s staff, to flower in the hearts of many.

Christine Sunderland has authored seven award-winning novels: Pilgrimage, set in Italy, Offerings, set in France, Inheritance, set in England, Hana-lani, set in Hawaii, The Magdalene Mystery, set in Rome and Provence (all Oaktara), The Fire Trail (eLectio), set at UC Berkeley, and Angel Mountain (Wipf and Stock), set on Mount Diablo, east of Berkeley. She serves as Managing Editor for the American Church Union and is a member of the Anglican Province of Christ the King. Visit Christine at www.ChristineSunderland.com.