After a lifelong career in ministry, Gregory Van Dussen has written his first book, "Transfiguration and Hope."
"I have done a lot of writing in graduate school and a lot of reviews, but never a book,” Van Dussen said. “I didn’t think I had anything to write about until it hit me like a ton of bricks.”
As a new retiree, the vision became clear, he said.
“I had to do some reflecting about this time of life, getting old and the next life,” Van Dussen said. “I put that together with the Bible transfiguration of Christ.”
One thing which makes his book distinctive, he said, is in his research he read a wide range of authors, not only Christian authors from Protestant to Catholic but Eastern Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox writers from Egypt and Armenian Apostolic.
His book is a conversation across time and space, he said. He describes it as gathering many of those voices from the panorama of Scripture and church history and finding in them the common theme of radical transformation in Christ.
Van Dussen is a retired United Methodist pastor, having started 39 years ago in Batavia. From 1972 to 1974, he served as district superintendent. His career includes serving at churches in Bergen, Albion, Batavia, East Aurora and Springville.
His book is available at the Holland Land Office Museum, on Amazon and in local retail distributors, including the Book Shoppe in Medina, where he has a book signing scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22.
Van Dussen is already working on a second book of devotions, based on the lives of early circuit riders in North America.
“I have always been interested in those people,” Van Dussen said. “I found an abundance of information available online about these people.”
He hopes to have the new book available by next fall.
