Book Studies

You are invited to be part of this discussion group.  One group will meet on Tuesday evenings February 14 to March 6 at 7pm.  A morning group will meet on Wednesdays, February 15 to March 7 at 9:30 am.

The Wolf at Twilight,
Begins February 14, 2012

 Kent Nerburn=s book, The Wolf at Twilight is filled with Native American wisdom, keen insights into the dark side of American history, and soul-stirring observations about ceremonies, the Great Mystery, and the spiritual practice of listening.

  While the book is fictional, the story is based on history.   A tribal elder named Dan searches to find the history of his sister and put together some of the pieces of his own life.  His journey takes him, his family, and the white outsider friend and writer deep into reservation boarding-school mysteries, the dark confines of sweat lodges, and isolated Native homesteads far back in the Dakota hills in search of ghosts that have haunted Dan since childhood.

 We will consider two more books this spring.  Both books will help us touch our own spirituality with an interfaith perspective.  In her book, Taking the Leap, Pema Chödrön, popular teacher from the Buddhist tradition, gives practical suggestions of how to let go of the things that hook us. With anecdotes from her teachers and examples from her own and others' lives, Chödrön demonstrates that people can stop their suffering and access their natural intelligence, warmth and openness.

 John Philip Newell=s book, A New Harmony, will be the last book for our consideration until we resume our conversations in the fall.  Newell, a former warden of the Iona Abbey, offers a view of spirituality rooted in ancient insights that includes and extends beyond Christianity.   Pastor Bob will have had the privilege of hearing John Newell in person by the time we begin the book discussions and will be able to share the energy of those presentations.

 You are invited to participate in any or all of these discussions.