“What Brewster learned in his summer with the King family, surrounded by an entrenched, segregated society, is inspiring reading.”
—Jim Douglass, author, The Nonviolent Cross
In the summer of 1961 a young white seminarian from the North volunteered to work at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, living in the home of its legendary pastor, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr.—“Daddy King”—and Mrs. King. Gurdon Brewster’s experiences that summer—working in a church in the eye of the Civil Rights storm, witnessing first-hand the realities of racial prejudice, sharing in the vibrant worship of the people, and breakfast table conversations with Daddy King—would transform his understanding of the gospel and change his life forever.
This memoir offers a uniquely intimate portrait of the King family. It describes a time of hope and struggle that must not be forgotten. And through a young man’s memories of Daddy King, it provides an inspiring model of what it means to be fully alive and human.
Gurdon Brewster, an Episcopal priest and sculptor, served for 35 years as chaplain at Cornell University.
