The Reluctant Reformation of Clarence McGonigall

by Ron Ferguson

illustrated by Bill McArthur

Reviews...

'In Clarence, Ron Ferguson has created a worthy and wily successor to Rikki Fulton's much-loved I.M.Jolly. His Reluctant Reformation is a little treat: easy to read and great fun too.'
-- Morag Lindsay
Aberdeen Press and Journal

'Told with a humour which will definitely appeal to those who know the Kirk well ... its gentle humour has a typically Scots feel.'
-- Dumfries and Galloway Standard

'Clarence -- crabbit, cussed but ultimately compassionate and on the side of the angels -- ... is a consummate creation.'
-- Harry Reid

'Readers have reported outbreaks of hilarity among friends and family of all ages ... Life & Work is delighted to have spawned such a runaway success.'
-- Lynne Robertson

'Ron Ferguson's latest book is another joyful reminder of his literary talent. A former leader of the Iona Community, and until recently minister of St Magnus Cathedral in Orkney, Ron is a weekly columnist for the Herald and the Press and Journal. He is also a leading authority on the life and writings of Søren Kierkegaard. Like Kierkegaard, Ron uses satire and larger than life characters, to highlight some of the hypocrisies and absurdities of ecclesiastical life, and to poke fun at a small minority in the Church who have a career to cut, a ladder to climb, and a great impression to make ... a welcome change from the many earnest reports and volumes about church reforms which are being regularly produced. It might even have a greater impact. Perhaps through the mirthquake a still small reforming voice will be heard.'
-- James A. Simpson
Expository Times

'Writing with liveliness and a lightness of touch, Ron Ferguson places his "hero" in some wonderfully funny situations, but always with insights to ponder, offering amusement and deep meaning in equal measure ... I laughed out loud at parts of this book. I worried at the danger-signs Ron exposes through McGonigall's exploits. I cried at the moving accounts of a minister journeying through the joy and pain of Christmas and Easter. I rejoiced at little victories for compassion, sanity and reason.'
-- Tom Gordon
Coracle

'Quite hilarious ... primarily a very entertaining reductio ad absurdum.'
-- Open House