FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tamara Crabtree
Email: tcrabtree@umpublishing.org
8/15/2017
Nashville, TN - Abingdon Press has published today Strong for a Moment like This: The Daily Devotions of Hillary Rodham Clinton by UM pastor Bill Shillady.
We learned yesterday, August 14, that the devotion for November 9, 2016, the day after the election, was not attributed as it should have been. News of this omission was shared with CNN by the pastor whose blog post was used as a source after CNN published an excerpt from the book and featured the November 9 devotion. On the afternoon of August 14, CNN published another article with the headline, "Hillary Clinton's Pastor Plagiarized Portions of New Book."
This is an important omission by the author but represents one error in attribution in a volume that includes over 200 original source citations and dozens of other attributions. Reverend Shillady and the original author have had several email and phone exchanges in the last few hours sharing words of apology, forgiveness and support and he has graciously accepted Reverend Shillady’s apology. This morning, Matt Deuel offered these words, “Bill, you are in a moment. The truth about you is that you are a loved, forgiven, cherished son of the Living King. I pray that you don't forget your true identity, that you don't allow the voice of your critics to drown out the truth... and that our Heavenly Father will be gracious and abundant in the ways He reminds you of your true identity in Him.”
Mary Catherine Dean, Editor-in-Chief, has also contacted the original writer, and he will be included in all future editions of Strong for a Moment Like This. The digital editions are being corrected immediately as is the audio edition. Future printings of the book will cite Reverend Deuel as the source of the material included in the November 9 devotion.
This is the story than CNN ran on August 14:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/14/politics/clinton-pastor-plagiarism/index.html
This is Bill Shillady’s complete statement:
My entire approach to this book project has been to credit all of the many ministers and sources who contributed to the devotionals that were written for Hillary over the course of the campaign. In preparing the devotional on the morning of November 9, I was determined to provide comfort with the familiar adage that "It's Friday but Sunday Is Coming." I searched for passages that offered perspective of this theme. I now realize the similarity between Matt Deuel's blog sermon and my own. Clearly, portions of my devotional that day incorporate his exact words. This was completely an oversight on my part. I apologize to Matt for not giving him the credit he deserves.
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