The Black Church

A Short Story

A week alone in Iceland's most isolated church. A grief too heavy to carry. An ancient darkness stirring beneath.

Pastor David Thornwell has lost his wife, his faith, and any reason to keep preaching. When he's offered a week-long silent retreat at the Black Church of Búðir — a tar-blackened chapel on Iceland's remote Snæfellsnes Peninsula — he accepts, hoping the vast silence of winter will either restore his shattered belief or give him permission to let go entirely.

But the Black Church holds secrets older than Christianity.

Strange journals left by previous caretakers describe lights that pool where they shouldn't, voices beneath the foundations, and an archaeological dig that was abandoned without explanation. Claw marks scar the heavy wooden door. And as the aurora borealis blazes across consecutive nights, David begins to understand that this church was not built to celebrate God's presence — but to keep vigil against something far more ancient.

With the ground cracking beneath the altar and shadows advancing across the frozen lava field, David must make an impossible choice: surrender to the vast indifference of deep time, or ring the bell — not as an act of faith, but as a single, defiant act of human will.

Set against the real landscape of Iceland's Snæfellsnes Peninsula — the inspiration for Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth — The Black Church is a story of grief, geological terror, and the thin line between worship and containment.

©2025 J.F. Penn (P)2025 J.F. Penn

The Black Church is more than a short story.

There isn’t a single book or short story by J.F. Penn that I haven’t enjoyed. Some have even challenged me to expand my thinking, but none more so than The Black Church.

I listened to this story twice, and I have a suspicion I’ll be revisiting it at least once more in the very near future. As a short story its excellent. There is a character who has a problem and seeks a solution or some respite from said problem. Then the setting provides an interesting – maybe creepy - location for the character to seek his respite. If you haven’t guessed yet, there is plenty of suspense along with his problem.

Listening to this story unfold is an immersive experience, both times I listened to the story I was fully engaged and totally entertained by the final word. And I sat quietly contemplating the underlying theme of the story and its possibilities.

Since I listened to the story, it would be shortchanging the expert narrator to not mention her – J. F. Penn. Not a lot of authors narrate their books, but I’ve come to enjoy and look forward to Joanna’s narration or her stories. She does and awesome job of bringing her storis and characters to life.