The Gospel According to Dolly Parton

Graphic from the “Gospel According to Dolly ” sermon series

Before moving to Colorado in the fall of 2021, I had spent the previous 15 years living in Knoxville, Tennessee. In East Tennessee, Dolly Parton was considered a saint long before prayer candles with her image became popular. After a wildfire swept through her hometown, her charity gave every local person affected a direct cash payment of $1,000 every month for six months. In 1995 Parton's charity started The Imagination Library – a program that would mail any child under five years old who lives in Sevier County free age-specific children's books from birth to age 5; it's now an international program. A couple of years ago, WYNC released a limited series podcast called "Dolly Parton's America" that explored Parton's ubiquity and her unique ability to bridge the gap; it's one of the best series I've listened to. She also donated $1mil to the Vanderbilt University for research into the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine. So yeah, she’s pretty great.

Dolly has also inspired a sermon series at one Chicago church, Church of the Three Crosses, which calls itself an "ever-widening inclusive Christian community." The pastor of the Church, Rev. Britt Cox, explains the series by saying "We've been using Dolly as a way to talk about story and our larger story of faith and that all of our stories matter and that God's story is continuing on in us." The inspiration for the series came from the WYNC series, and the increasing divides in American culture and politics. Maybe more church