# XXVI: A Professional Consultation explained — The Revolution in Tanner’s Lane > Chapter companion for The Revolution in Tanner’s Lane by Mark Rutherford. ## What happens Three months after the election riots, the Allens have left Tanner's Lane chapel. George Allen mourns his wife and is tormented by guilt and doubt, finding no solace in religion. The Reverend John Broad convenes a private meeting with Brothers Bushel, Wainwright, and Scotton to discuss the Allens' apostasy. Broad accuses George of immoral behavior, including an intimacy with an infidel woman (Pauline), and suggests this contributed to his daughter's death. The group debates how to proceed, with Bushel advocating for summary excommunication without notice, while Scotton argues for fairness. Ultimately, Broad proposes a compromise: a letter summoning the Allens to a church meeting, with only a veiled reference to the political charges. Scotton secretly warns the Allens, who are angered by the mention of Pauline but are advised by Zachariah to remain calm. ## Themes in this chapter ### Religion and Hypocrisy The church leaders focus on punishing the Allens for political and personal grievances while ignoring George's genuine spiritual crisis, highlighting the hypocrisy of institutional religion. ### Suffering and Resilience George Allen's three months of grief and doubt, and his eventual healing through nature rather than religion, illustrate personal suffering and the search for resilience. ### Tradition vs. Change The conflict between the Allens and the church represents a clash between traditional religious authority and emerging individual or political dissent. ## Character check-ins ### George Allen Grieving his wife, tormented by guilt and doubt, furious at the mention of Pauline in church proceedings. ### Mr. Isaac Allen Father of George, receives the church summons and agrees with Zachariah's counsel to keep George from interfering. ### Reverend John Broad Minister of Tanner's Lane, convenes the private meeting and leads the charge against the Allens, accusing George of immoral behavior. ### Old Bushel Brother Bushel, advocates for summary excommunication without notice, opposes giving the Allens a hearing. ### Brother Scotton Auctioneer and land surveyor, argues for fairness and secretly warns the Allens of the proceedings. ### Brother Wainwright Always agrees with Brother Bushel, offers no independent counsel. ## Key lines > In those dark three months the gospel according to Tanner’s Lane did nothing for him, and he was cast forth to wrestle with his sufferings alone. During his three months of grief, the religion of Tanner's Lane offered George no comfort, leaving him to struggle with his pain by himself. _Highlights the failure of institutional religion to provide solace in times of personal crisis._ > He was helped by no priest and by no philosophy; but Nature helped him, the beneficent Power which heals the burn or scar and covers it with new skin. Neither clergy nor philosophy aided him; instead, it was nature's healing power that gradually mended his emotional wounds. _Contrasts natural resilience with the inadequacy of religious consolation._ > I have no doubt in my own mind that the knowledge of this fact accelerated the departure of my dear daughter, whose sorrow was of a twofold character—sorrow, in the first place, with regard to her husband’s unfaithfulness... and, in the second place, sorrow for her husband’s soul. Mr. Broad claims that George's affair with an infidel woman hastened his daughter's death, as she grieved both her husband's infidelity and his spiritual peril. _Shows how personal tragedy is weaponized in church politics._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_revolution_in_tanner_s_lane_se/chapters/xxvi-a-professional-consultation - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_revolution_in_tanner_s_lane_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_revolution_in_tanner_s_lane_se/chapters