"We gather these gifts of language as we go along-lines from poems, verses from Scripture, quips, turns of phrase, or simply words that delight us. We use them in moments of need. We share them with friends, and we reach for them in our own dark nights. They bring us into loving relationship with the large, loose 'communion of saints' who have written and spoken truths that go to the heart and the gut and linger in memory. So our task as stewards of the word begins and ends in love. Loving language means cherishing it for its beauty, precision, power to enhance understanding, power to name, power to heal. And it means using words as instruments of love." - Marilyn McEntyre (taken from Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies, p. 23)

I love to read. I love to read because like Marilyn McEntyre, I have felt the power of words to shape my life. Reading books has stood at the center of my own faith formation. I have sought to "read my way through life"-ever exploring the ideas, intuitions, speculations, fears and dreams of others as a way of illuminating my own. Books can be like friends; companions on a journey. Reading books can be done alone or with others. Both should be cherished and enjoyed. From time to time throughout the year, I will be inviting any and all who would like to join me in regular periods of reading good books together. I desire to share with others what has become such a beautiful gift to my own life-the joy of reading!

I am calling this Reading For Life. What I mean by this is three-fold. First, this name reflects my personal commitment or obsession to "Read for my lifetime". Reading is a habit that I will continue until my last day. The name also speaks to my experience of a life that has been made better through regular reading. And lastly, it underlines the sheer passion and hunger for the gift of language itself-for the word, and the food that the word provides!

What is Reading for Life?

From Advent to Pentecost, Reading for Life is exploring Social Teachings of the Christian Year by Viva D. Scutter. "Carefully sifting through the liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer, Scudder reveals to us the luminous face of a God who forswears dominating hierarchy within a Trinitarian life, and she asks why the world can't look more like that God. Brimming with quotations from radicals throughout the Church's history, Scudder's godly reflections are a testament to her quest for personal and communal holiness." Contact Fr. Chris for meeting times and more information.

Previous Reading for Life Books

  • The Courage To Be, Paul Tillich

  • Purity of Heart, Soren Kierkegaard

  • Regret, Paul Griffiths

  • The Freedom of a Christian, Martin Luther

  • Knowing Jesus, James Alison

  • Confessions, Augustine

  • Evangelical Anxiety: A Memoir, Charles Marsh

  • Letter Concerning Toleration, John Locke