Summer Book Club

A great way to connect this Summer is the St. James’s Summer Book Club. The clergy have selected three books to read, with a month to read each one. At the end of the month, there will a Zoom meeting led by the clergy who chose the book where we’ll discuss the month’s book.

The second book is On the Road With St. Augustine by James K.A. Smith, which has been chosen by Blake. On Monday, August 14 at 7:30, Blake will lead a discussion of the book on a Zoom call. Here’s the Zoom link.

Here are a few words from Blake about his Summer Book Club selection

Full disclosure, I hadn’t read On the Road with Saint Augustine before this summer, and I’m about a third of the way finished. I have, however, encountered the author, James K.A. Smith, on several occasions through his other works, appearances on podcasts, and public speaking events. In my experience, Smith is a brilliant scholar who manages to present profound theological truths in compelling and easy to understand ways that are relevant to the present moment. In particular, much of his work has centered around bringing Augustine (considered by many to be the most influential theologian of Western Christianity) into the 21st century. In On the Road with Saint Augustine, Smith blends the traditional genres of devotionals, history, and theology as he narrates the journey that so many of us are familiar with and the one that Augustine traveled and summarized with his famous quote from his Confessions, “Our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.” During a season of the year when many of us find ourselves literally “on the road”, I thought there was no better time to journey together, with Augustine as our guide, back to our heart’s true desire.

The final book of the Summer is What Christ Thinks of the Church: An Exposition of Revelation 1 – 4 by John Stott. On Monday, September 18, at 7:30, Doug will lead a discussion of the book on a Zoom call (details to follow).

Here are a few words from Doug about his Summer Book Club selection

I attended a lecture by John Stott years ago and he was asked, what would he preach as a new rector and his response was – the church. This small book (only 125 pages) gives us an opportunity to read what Christ thinks of the church based on the first chapters from Revelation. I look forward to hearing your responses during our lively discussion in September.