Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Always Learning

I’ve just returned from a month away from the church, which included a trip to the UUA General Assembly in St. Louis, some vacation in Oregon, Monterey and Gurenville, and some reading and study time.

I thought while the summer was still in swing, I’d share my reading with you in case you were still looking for some summer reading.

Most of the books I read on my study time had to do with the process of my leaving this congregation:

• Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer, which is a deep and insightful little book on how we clarify our own calling throughout our lives.

• Saying Goodbye: A Time of Growth for Congregations and Pastors by Edward White which gave advice about how I could support my congregation through the leaving process.

• A Time for Change? Revisioning Your Call by James E. Hightower and W. Craig Gilliam, which was written to help ministers clarify what might come next. Both are published by the Alban Institute, which offers books exclusively about how to grow healthy congregations.

I also read a couple of books for sermon fodder:

• Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell is a recently published book that explores how we are able to use our adaptive unconscious to process information before the conscious mind can catch up.

• The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali: A New Translation with Commentary by Chip Hartranft — I read both for its classic wisdom, and to ground my yoga practice more deeply in theology and philosophy.

I also read a beautiful book of poetry and art written by children: River of Words: Images and Poetry in Praise of Water by Pamela Michael, Robert Hass, and Thacher Hurd.

And while sunning my self by the river I read a few books for fun:

• Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

I hope you too have found some wonderful books that will bring you insight and joy this summer.