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Good Faith Book Club

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Formed in 2012, we now meet on the fourth Saturday in alternate months from 2pm to 4pm in the church coffee bar which is through the glass doors at the front of the church in Buckingham Street. Our meeting months are January, March, May, July, September and November.

So 2018 dates are: January 27th, March 24th, May 26th, July 28th, September 22nd, November 24th.

The aim is to provide a forum for people to explore and discuss matters of faith and what they believe through the discussion of a book in a relaxed, convivial, non-threatening atmosphere.

Everyone is welcome to come along and express their views or just listen over a cup of tea or coffee. The group decides which book to read next. Various members have written the following summaries of our discussions.

Contact Peter Green the Club Secretary:
Tel. 01296 424653
Email: peterb.green@ntlworld.com.

On God's Side

Written during his sabbatical in the Obama presidency, Jim Wallis's On God's Side forensically, or as one of our number preferred, depressingly, analysed the current state of politics, mainly in the US but with many global similarities. He illustrated the power of money over democracy and argues that all political parties seem to prefer winning over governing, ideology over civility and celebrity culture over leadership. Fear and blame he cites as the default policy, whilst meanwhile, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Since the book was written, we felt that things had only got worse.Wallis called for the need of both the personal responsibility credo of the 'conservatives' and the social responsibility of the 'liberals' and a return to seeking 'the common good'. However, he argued that with a broken political system in so many countries, real change has usually needed a background movement of popular support. We broadly agreed with this, as

Gilead

Most of the books we read and discuss are non-fiction of varying kinds, but this book is a novel. This proved a turn-off for two of our members, but the rest of us enjoyed it and found a lot to reflect on within it.It is in the form of a long letter, with no chapters — only pauses (and this too was a deterrent for some), written by an aging and dying father, the Rev. John Ames, to the son of his old age. It is not morbid, however, and is full of quiet and dry humour. John is a minister in a small town in Iowa. His letter tells how he lost his first wife and child and was supported in the ensuing loneliness by his friend Boughton, a Presbyterian minister in the same town. While remaining the best of friends they enjoy deep theological arguments as Boughton is a Calvinist and believes in the salvation of the elect. In spite of this unforgiving doctrine, Boughton is a loving minister, friend and family man. Ames' reflections on theology and life gave us plenty of opportunity for the

Pastrix: The Cranky Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint

Having already read — and in the main — enjoyed, Nadia Bolz-Weber's book 'Accidental Saints', we decided it would be good to read her earlier book, which tells us more about the journey of her life which had led to her becoming a Lutheran pastor to a highly-unusual congregation of societal 'misfits'.From her baptism, aged 12, in the Church of Christ, Nadia's questioning nature led her to see the gap between what she was being taught as the right way to live, and the actual behaviour of those in the Church. Her rebellion against this, took her into Wiccan practices, where she learnt to value female spirituality, but also into alcoholism. Despite her rejection of the Christianity of her upbringing, and her increasing reliance on alcohol, Nadia did not become an atheist, and felt guided by God, eventually feeling a call to be a pastor to the odd assortment of people with whom she found herself associating. In our discussion, there was appreciation of the fact tha

What is the Bible?

This was a book that led to a lot of lively discussion. Some members of the group found the informal style in which the book was written was too alien for them, while others, while not necessarily enjoying the style, which seemed to be aimed at a different kind of readership, found it refreshing. One or two people really enjoyed its informality. Those who overcame any reservations that they had about the style found that the actual content was very challenging, and offered a number of very helpful insights, both about the nature of the Bible in general, and also in relation to particular passages. The book does not approach the task of talking about the Bible in a systematic way but looks at it in a series of short but lively chapters. It takes a story or even a word, and explores it through raising questions and offering a range of possible interpretations and meanings that can be drawn from it.The way in which Rob Bell dots around with the subjects he covered was confusing for som

A Heart Broken Open

The book is Rev. Ray Gaston's account of his engagement with Islam in the majority Muslim population of the Inner City Leeds parish in which he ministered for twelve years. Views of the book were mixed with most people of the opinion that it was tough going, somewhat repetitive, inward-looking and intense. Despite that, it stimulated interesting and far-reaching discussion.Gaston made a good case for pacifism in his book and explained the differences between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam clearly. He also reminded us of, probably, the earliest example of a mutually respectful Christian-Muslim Interfaith dialogue almost 900 years ago when St Francis and Sultan Al-Kamil met during the time of the Fifth Crusade in 1219.We noted from Gaston's account that his efforts to reach out to his Muslim neighbours appeared one-sided, lacking reciprocity from the Islamic community with which he sought to engage. We considered possible reasons for this, drawing on our own experienc

Accidental Saints

What a marvellous book! It is written by a Lutheran pastor in Denver, Colorado USA. She is no ordinary pastor, but in early life struggled with drugs, alcohol and depression and is heavily tattooed on arms and body. The Lutheran Church she started is called 'House for All Sinners and Saints'!! What would that look like on our plan? The rapidly growing congregation is made up of a whole mixture of seemingly disparate folk with many LGBT people as well as regular family groups and those who seem to be outsiders. The ethos of the Church is community with all members taking part in liturgy and all welcome to communion whether baptised or not. Her Church seems to be a peculiar mix of 'Do-it -Yourself ' Christianity combined with a great deal of Lutheran liturgy and ceremony.The nineteen chapters of the book stand alone and for preachers there is a sermon in each! She typically takes an encounter with one of her congregation or some other and through it shows how God can be

The Struggle Continues

"A Luta Continua... (The Struggle Continues) " by Rev. David HaslamThis book certainly aroused strong feelings! It was found to be both fascinating, irritating and enjoyable. The fascination was in the way David had taken on so many challenges: apartheid in South Africa; poverty in the city; racial justice at home; multi-national companies, World Council of Churches and then, more recently, the cause of Dalits (untouchables) in India &U.K. and the setting up of the Tax Justice Network. The book made it clear that the fight against injustice was the context in which our faith had to be lived. The irritating aspects were his repeated use of acronyms and people's names, which were unfamiliar to many of us.We all felt we were made to think about the issues, many of which should still challenge and exercise us today. It was pointed out that David's efforts were not without personal cost. We shared admiration for the continuing level of his commitment and his adoption

Falling Upward

Of all the books we have read over the last five years, I believe that Richard Rohr's Falling Upward has created the most disagreement. Part-way through, he said, "...if this book is not making it very simple for you, I am doing it wrong...". So, he was doing it wrong thought some. Others however, found nuggets of insight and experiences that they could relate with, that were helpful or even inspirational.The main thrust of the book was that the first half of life is about striving to establish our identities. The second half was about striving to find spiritual joy and the only way of doing that was by building on our failures, fallings and disappointments of the first half. This 'only way' contention was refuted by some who felt they had grown and experienced spiritual joy and peace whilst having a happy upbringing and experiencing no major traumas in their life so far. Nor did the 'first half and second half' idea sit well. Unlike a football match, the

Jail Bird

Some of us have been in prison, albeit in support of various former ministers who were part-time chaplains at Aylesbury, Bedford or Grendon Underwood prisons. Yet, whilst we already knew something of the work of prison chaplaincy, Rev. Sharon Grenham-Taylor's autobiography gave most of us further insights and even greater respect for the valuable, unsung contributions it makes. The 'Glam Vicar', a contributor to Radio 2's 'Pause for Thought', has managed a multi-faith chaplaincy team at Bedford jail for several years. However, it was her very unglamorous failings and difficulties with home, school, marriage and mental health that won our respect for the openness and honesty with which she shares these with her readers. It is also these very personal problems that have helped her to empathise with her prison population, especially the large number with mental health issues. Had it not been for her own discovery of faith, she believes that she could have trod a s

The Book of Joy

This is an unusual book but one which everyone found inspiring in both its subject matter and in the two people at the heart of the book. It tells of the meeting between two towering spiritual figures of the modern age — Archbishop Desmond Tutu and The Dalai Lama — and their observations about how one can find joy in the face of conflict and suffering.The book stimulated a lot of discussion about the nature of joy, and of the attitudes that we need to cultivate, in order to experience joy in our own lives. It provided a self-help approach to developing a positive attitude towards the difficulties that we inevitably encounter, and gave us insights into how to find joy in even the most difficult of these circumstances. It did not gloss over the obstacles to joy, but saw these challenges as opportunities for growth. There was some criticism of the structure of the book itself. The story was told through the eyes of Douglas Abrams, a Jew who was present at the meeting, and whilst this ma

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