A South Carolina Baptist minister is the author of “The Angels Are In Wyoming,” which blends two of Columbia writer David Redding’s longtime interests – the Old West and Christianity.
In short, the book is about an outlaw in 1890s Wyoming who is on the run from the law. He escapes to the small (fictitious) town of Grigsby, located 30 miles east of Cheyenne. There, he is ministered to by the Christian people of the church there.
Redding explained, “The term ‘angels’ in both the Old and New Testaments also refers to messengers, and the Christian people of Grigsby are this.”
As for the book’s origin, Redding said, “One day several years ago, I began writing a western novel, but after two pages I knew I must tell a Christian story as well.”
Redding grew up in Georgetown, Ky., where his late father taught Bible at Georgetown College, and from where Redding himself eventually graduated. He also graduated from Southern Seminary in Louisville.
Formerly pastor of two churches in South Carolina, Redding currently preaches at the South Carolina Department of Mental Health in Columbia, where his wife, Daphne, is a chaplain.