June 3, 2014
Dear St. Paul’s Family,
I’m not sure who originated the concept of “summer reading
lists,” but it must have been a person whose summer was much unlike most of
ours. There may have been a time when
summers were more relaxed, the pace less harried, and when “the livin’ was
easy” (to quote the old show tune.) I
know that’s not the case for most of us any more, but I hope that you still
find time to read a good book now and then.
So, once again, I offer my summer reading list to you, in
the hopes that it gives you some insight into what is of interest to me at the
present moment, both personally and professionally:
Ordinary Grace by
William Kent Krueger. The first of two
novels on my list is about the son of a Methodist preacher growing up in a
1950s small town in the Midwest. On the
surface, it’s a murder mystery, as the town is gripped by a series of untimely
deaths during the same summer. But it is
also a deep and substantive meditation on the nature of faith in the midst of
suffering, evidenced by this quote in the Prologue by the Greek playwright
Aeschylus: “He who learns must
suffer. And even in our sleep pain,
which cannot forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own
despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”
I Captured the Castle by
Dodie Smith. Yes, I know this book is
for young adult readers, and I know it’s been around for a while. But when I bumped into it in the book store
looking for something the girls and I could read together, I was hooked after
reading the first fifty pages alone. The
protagonist is a teenage girl of modest means living with her family in an
abandoned English castle. The first-person
narrative is drawn from the journals she wrote over a six-month period,
detailing all that occurs in the castle and her surrounding family. But the richest parts of the story (at least
so far), is the unfolding narrative within her own heart and mind, as she
learns to negotiate the changes around her, falls in love, and determines the
course of her future. I can’t wait to
finish it.
For the Sake of the
Bride: Restoring the Church to Her
Intended Beauty by Steve Harper.
Steve is a retired professor of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies
at Asbury Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida, and has been a spiritual
mentor to me for some time. His latest
book articulates a “third way” in the ongoing, divisive debate within the
United Methodist Church over the issue of homosexuality. It has been gaining major attention throughout
the Methodist connection, and rightfully so.
He writes with a voice that is both authentically personal and
profoundly constructive.
Brainstorm: The Teenage Brain from the Inside Out by
Daniel Siegel. Siegel is a clinical
professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and his latest book
dispels common myths about the developmental psychology and brain science of
teenagers. As a father of one teenager,
and another daughter soon to join her, I figure I could use some guidance from this
well-respected New York Times bestselling
author. But the scope of his book goes
beyond parenting: he claims that many
adults leave behind the much of what is psychologically valuable in their
teenage years, and by reclaiming it, we can live fuller and healthier
lives.
The Church of Mercy
by Pope Francis. This is a collection of
every address and sermon he has offered over this first year of his remarkable
papacy. Like many others, I have been impressed
by his humility, authenticity, and compassion, which has awoken the institution
of the Catholic church. Transformative
leaders maintain consistency between their actions and their words. I’ve admired his work; this book will help me
relish his words.
If you’ve read any of these would offer me your review, I’d
love to hear it. If you’re interested in
any of these books and would like to converse about them, let me know. And, as always, I’d love to know what’s on
your list this summer as well!
Grace, Peace, and a Happy Summer!
Magrey
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