Chapters 18 -25

I have enjoyed reading this book. There were many instances when I laughed at her directness. I am in awe of both her dedication to and the scope of the food pantries she developed. She fed the body and the spirit. However, as the book progressed, I wanted to see her broaden her interpretation of communion. Initially she made a wonderful connection between the communion meal and reaching out to feed those in need physically and spiritually. Though,with the exception of her description of administering communion to her dying friend, I didn't get the sense that I shared the same understanding of communion. Communion as the representation of Christ's suffering and death for our salvation.

Discussion: Chapters 10-17

I am amazed at Sara's ability to continue to grow so much in her faith and to expand her love for God by serving others. In Chapter 17, The Desert, she talks about recognizing that the beautiful space and rituals we experience while attending church, while important, aren't the only places we should be "seeing" God. And this moves her to go searching in the nearby projects, delivering food in assistance to another pantry.Later, she writes that one of her friends notes that once "church powers" start to control how communion is handled, it gets "further and further from the power and the genius of that meal." What do you think about that?

Discussion: Chapters 1-9

I have to be honest, Take This Bread, isn't what I was expecting. It's a brutally honest look at religion from a person who had no faith to start with. Unlike, Girl Meets God, Sara Miles comes to church not knowing what to expect and being overwhelmed with the feelings she has when she receives communion. But as I read further, I appreciate her transformation and feeling that God has spoken to her and she hears, "Feed my sheep." Her connection with food reminds me a bit of another author, Ruth Reichel, and the beginning of the book reminded me of some of Reichel's tales. Reichel, a former food critic for the New York Times and editor of Gourmet, doesn't follow a religious path.

What has struck you the most about the book so far?

Live blog changes to Sept. 23

Hello everyone,
Hope you're all enjoying the book this session. There are several of us who have a conflict with next week's "live" blogging session. We will be moving that session to Thursday, Sept. 23. I apologize for the schedule change.

Beginning in September, we'll be reading Take this Bread by Sara Miles.

Linda Post Bushkofsky from the WELCA wrote this review of the book: "I thought this was going to be yet another memoir of a California-based journalist who finds religion and becomes an Episcopalian. There’ve been a lot of those. It was this, but then so much more. Miles’s faith is grounded in the Eucharist, the table to which Jesus invites all. Since she wasn’t raised in the faith, Miles doesn’t get bogged down in rituals and pretense, like so many cradle Christians do, and instead lives the Gospel and creates church – communion – in a food bank that serves all, without question."

The "live" blog will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 16 and will cover Chapters 1-9; Chapters 10-17 on October 21 and finish with Chapters 18-25 on November 18. If you have any questions about the blog, please contact Kim Shindle at kimstamps@comcast.net.

As I finished this book, I was struck by something profound Nora says in the chapter, Pentecost. As they prepare for their workshop on homosexuality, Mark, their priest questions where the church as been as people grapple with divorce, birth control, homosexuality and other issues. And both Mark and Nora suggest this is how the church has become irrelevant in so many people's lives. Because it is "standing on the sidelines or insisting on rigid standards while a whole generation dealt with sudden sexual liberation and confusion." I think this is a fascinating observation. And the process as this church tries to decide whether to call a homosexual pastor is another issue churches grapple with as well.

Lent, Holy Week, & Eastertide

I like the way she dovetails the message of the church season not only with her involvement in the church's life and mission, but also the events of her personal life. I find myself really identifying with her as she describes typical lay involvement in church activities. There were a few things that hit close to home! But, if I take only one thing from this text, it is the statement that it is (the monk's job) "to make sure I know where the gas stations are". What a great analogy for our need to know where we can be "filled up" or for that matter, that we need to periodically stop and fill up.

I liked the comment - "Holy week is the ultimate list". Do we get too caught up in the details, planning, and behind-the-scenes involvement that we lose sight of the message of a particular church season?

Believing Allows Us to See

Some folks say “seeing is believing.” Author Nora Gallagher, in her book Things Seen and Unseen, turns that cliché around to bring out a truth: Believing is seeing.

Gallagher shows through her description of a year in the life of her congregation that faith in God’s abiding presence in our world produces a type of seeing that opens up all kinds of possibilities for Christ-like love and service.

The phrase “things seen and unseen” reminds us of the familiar words of the first article of the Nicene Creed: We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. Nora understands it is often difficult to see God at work and present in our world. In fact, she even equates faith with peripheral vision, saying we can only hope to increase that peripheral seeing, even if it is not direct and clear.

But as Nora continues telling the story of that particular church year in her congregation, we discover what she discovers—that we truly have a God who has chosen to be incarnate, “in the flesh.” Because God is incarnate, and not detached and “from a distance,” God is to be seen again and again: In the meal of Holy Communion which nourishes Nora, and which she lovingly distributes to others as a communion assistant. In the faces of the poor and hungry who come to her parish to eat in the soup kitchen. In the people who prepare and serve those meals to the hungry each day. In her fellow sisters and brothers as they strive to live faithfully in spite of frailties and foibles, always seeking God’s strength and direction and grace. In the person of her brother, Kit, who is slowly dying of AIDS.

During Pentecost Season (also called “Ordinary Time”), she meets a poor gentleman at a church meeting. She realizes how easily someone such as this homeless man could be rendered invisible, could be “not seen.” She writes, “In our midst is a man without a blanket and shoes too large for his feet. We have organized our lives so that he is hidden from us. He lives, like God, in invisibility. But when we do see him, I think tonight, we keep a rendezvous. In the seeing is a glimpse, a foretaste of the kingdom: it will be a place where everyone is seen, including us. Here we are together, in Ordinary Time, learning how to see.”

May Nora’s thoughtful words help us to see God in the places we travel, in the people we meet, and in the ways we serve.

New book blog begins in June

We'll be starting a new book blog in June and we're changing the date for the "live" blogging. In June, we'll begin discussing tThings Seen and Unseen: A Year Lived in Faith by Nora Gallagher. We'll be dividing the book into three parts and blog June, July and August. I've talked with a few people and Tuesdays have created some conflict. I'm thinking we might try the third Thursday of each month (which would also keep us away from summer holiday weeks. That would mean we would follow this schedule: Thursday, June 17: Chapters Advent, Christmas and Ephiphany (pages 3-79); Thursday, July 15: Chapters Lent, Holy Week, and Eastertide (pages 80-157); and August 19: Chapters Pentecost and Ordinary Time (pages 158-234).

Final blogging

I don't know about you, but I found Lauren's thoughts about the Book of Ruth to be very interesting. She suggests in the book, that biological parentage in not the only kind of parentage that counts. And then draws us to the Gospel of Matthew where the genealogy of Jesus Christ is discussed. And Christ himself had more than two parents.

Last discussion in April

Hello everyone,

Our last discussion on "Girl Meets God" is in April, covering the last two chapters, Pentecost and Advent. Several are unable to make this coming April so we are going to move our live discussion to Thursday, April 15 @ 7:30. I hope you will all be able to attend.

I have talked to several of you to start a discussion through the summer, splitting a book into three months (June-August). Please let me know or email me if Tuesday doesn't work for you through the summer. I'm looking at a couple of books and will let you know as soon as possible when the book is selected. If anyone has suggestions, please let me know. The books I'm looking at have been recommended by a couple of different people.

Looking forward to our final discussion!

Good evening. I don't know about all of you, but I found this chapter to be quite a puzzle.
I hope our disscussion helps put the pieces in place.

Lauren goes to extreme lengths to make her confessions. Yet, even after traveling 2 hours from home, why do you think she is still reluctant to fully confess her sins? What are your thoughts/reactions to her approach to confession?

On page209 she expresses her concern over looking ordinary and normal and not impressive or kindred in Father Peter's eyes. This concern seems contradictory to the wonderful analogy she gave between her teacher and a loving, forgiving God who accepts us as imperfect individuals. Is confession more psychological then theological for her?

There are numerous references throughout this chapter to God, Jesus and Heaven being up above us. In what ways do we draw closer to and connect with God? Does a private vs public confession strengthen our connection to God?

This chapter is titled Eastertide. How do all the threads of this chapter connect to the resurection?

March Blogging Next Week

Hello everyone,
We'll be live blogging next Tuesday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. and we'll be finishing the discussion in April. We're considering doing another book over the summer, probably several chapters each month. Please let us know if you're interested.
Thanks!

Blogging in February

Hello everyone,
Just a reminder that we'll be live blogging on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Judy Collins will be our host for the evening and we'll be discussing the chapter titled "Holy Week," found on page 157. Looking forward to discussing this with all of you!

Live blogging begins again in January

Hello --- Just a reminder that the live blog will be on Tuesday, January 12 at 7:30 p.m. We'll be discussing the chapter titled, "Lent," which begins on page 117.