If The Way Be Made Clear

The title of Janet Shannon's memoir comes from the words that close a meeting of the Session, the governing body of a Presbyterian congregation. The Clerk of Session intones, "These actions will take place," and the other members join in with "if the way be made clear." By using those last six words to encompass her story of spiritual growth, Shannon gives them new resonance, stretching them to suggest questions and possibilities for herself and her readers. What is "the way"? What does it ...