"It all started long before I came," said the Reverend Jason Kirk. Kirk is the fictional pastor of the Clyde's Corner Church in a parable by Thomas H. Troeger. The founder of Clyde's Corner, Cedric Clyde was a successful farmer at the turn of the century. To show his thanks to God, he paid for the building of the local church. Just before Cedric died, he donated to the church a lot of furniture for the parlor and one item for the raised chancel behind the pulpit: "a giant red horsehair couch whose rich color Cedric fancied would brighten the front of the church." The huge chair featured massive curved arms and dark mahogany legs, each carved like the claw of a lion.

Time passed, and that couch became the subject of a bitter debate between members of the Clyde family who wanted to keep the…