Our library in Hewett Centre is open every Sunday after service during Coffee Hour in Hewett Centre, and our Library Team offers related reading lists based on the topic of the Sunday service. Here is their list for the upcoming service on “The Sacred Circle”, featuring Rev. Shawn Gauthier on Sunday, April 12, 2026 at 11 a.m. All are welcome in Hewett Centre after the Sunday service to check out some books, and to have coffee and conversation.

VanU library books related to this Sunday’s sermon:

1. Threads – Poems from the Web of Life from the Canadian Unitarian Council, 2008, 821 CUC
Google AI Overview: “… It is a collection of poetry themed around the “web of life” and was part of a series of poetry chapbooks published by the CUC. The collection included contributions such as an early 1990s poem by Franci Louann.”

2. Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth by J. E. Lovelock, 1987, 113 LOV
From LibraryThing: “… puts forward his idea that life on earth functions as a single organism. Written for non-scientists, Gaia is a journey through time and space in search of evidence with which to support a new and radically different model of our planet. In contrast to conventional belief that living matter is passive in the face of threats to its existence, the book explores the hypothesis that the earth’s living matter air, ocean, and land surfaces forms a complex system that has the capacity to keep the Earth a fit place for life. Since Gaia was first published, many of Jim Lovelock’s predictions have come true and his theory has become a hotly argued topic in scientific circles. …”.

3. Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World by Karen Armstrong, 2023, 202 ARM
From LibraryThing: “A profound exploration of the spiritual power of nature–and an urgent call to reclaim that power in everyday life. Since the beginning of time, humankind has looked upon nature and seen the divine. In the writings of the great thinkers across religions, the natural world inspires everything from fear, to awe, to tranquil contemplation; God, or however one defined the sublime, was present in everything. … In this short but deeply powerful book, the best-selling historian of religion Karen Armstrong re-sacralizes nature for modern times.”

4. With Purpose and Principle: Essays About the Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism edited by Edward A. Frost, 1998, 288 FRO
Published by Skinner House Books. From LibraryThing: “This invaluable book contains a short history of the Principles and Purposes followed by essays from present-day UU leaders including John Buehrens, Marilyn Sewell, Earl Holt and Barbara Merritt. World community and the interdependent web of all existence are some of the topics explored.”.

5. The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature by David Suzuki, 2007, 304.2 SUZ
From LibraryThing: “… The world is changing at a relentless pace. How can we slow down and act from a place of respect for all living things? … David Suzuki reflects on the increasingly radical changes in science and nature-from the climate crisis to peak oil and the rise in clean energy-and examines what they mean for humankind. He also reflects on what we have learned by listening to Indigenous leaders, whose knowledge of the natural world is profound, and whose peoples are on the frontlines of protecting land and water around the world. Drawing on his own experiences and those of others who have put their beliefs into action, The Sacred Balance combines science, philosophy, spirituality, and Indigenous knowledge to offer concrete suggestions for creating an ecologically sustainable future by rediscovering and addressing humanity’s basic needs.”

6. The Diversity of Life by Edward O. Wilson, 1992, 574.5 WIL
From LibraryThing: “… conducts us on a tour through time, traces the processes that create new species in bursts of adaptive radiation, and points out the cataclysmic events that have disrupted evolution and diminished global diversity over the past 600 million years. The five enormous natural blows to the planet (such as meteorite strikes and climatic changes) required 10 to 100 million years of evolutionary repair. The sixth great spasm of extinction on earth – caused this time entirely by humans – may be the one that breaks the crucible of life. Wilson identifies this crisis in countless ecosystems around the globe: coral reefs, grasslands, rain forests, and other natural habitats. Drawing on a variety of examples such as the decline of bird populations in the United States, the extinction of many species of freshwater fish in Africa and Asia, and the rapid disappearance of flora and fauna as the rain forests are cut down, he poignantly describes the death throes of the living worlds diversity – projected to decline as much as 20 percent by the year 2020. All evidence marshaled here resonates through Wilson’s tightly reasoned call for a spirit of stewardship over the world’s biological wealth. … Cutting through the tangle of environmental issues that often obscure the real concern, Wilson maintains that the era of confrontation between forces for the preservation of nature and those for economic development is over; he convincingly drives home the point that both aims can, and must, be integrated. …”.

7. The Seven Principles in Word and Worship by Ellen Brandenburg, 2007, 230.91 BRA
Published by Skinner House Books. LibraryThing Review by PJWetzel: “… It is a short compendium of seven very short essays which are all written by young UU ministers – young enough to have been ordained after the UU statement of Seven guiding Principles was adopted in its current form in 1985.
In the interest of full disclosure one of these essays is by my own minister, Rev. Paige Getty.
…
In addition to the essays, each of which explores the individual’s personal take on one of the Principles, there are six short ‘Prayers and Readings’ appropriate to the theme.
…
In a nutshell, this is an excellent resource for people new to UUism, because it can serve as both a handbook and a jumping off point for the personal spiritual seeking that UUism so favors.”

8. This Sacred Earth by Roger S. Gottlieb, 2004, 304.2
From LibraryThing: “Updated with nearly forty new selections to reflect the tremendous growth and transformation of scholarly, theological, and activist religious environmentalism, the second edition of This Sacred Earth is an unparalleled resource for the study of religion’s complex relationship to the environment.”.

9. Our Seven Principles in Story and Verse: A Collection for Children and Adults by Kenneth Collier, 1997
From Amazon: “Creative responses to the seven Principles, each one illustrated with a story, a poem and a brief essay. For all ages, for worship and individual reading.”

10. Flight of the Hummingbird: A Parable for the Environment by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, 2008, 333 YAH
Gift of Eva Allen. From LibraryThing: “… a hummingbird makes a valiant effort to put out a raging fire that threatens her forest home — trip after trip, her beak is filled each time with just a drop of water. Her efforts show her woodland companions that doing something — anything — is better than doing nothing at all. The hummingbird parable, which originates with the Quechuan people of South America, has become a talisman for environmentalists and activists worldwide committed to making meaningful change. This retelling, … is suitable for all ages of would-be activists. Although environmental responsibility often seems like an overwhelming task, The Flight of the Hummingbird shows how easy it is to start and how great the effect could be if everyone just did what they could.”.

11. Walden and Other Writings by Henry David Thoreau, 1993, 818.3 THO
From LibraryThing: “From July 4, 1845 to September 6, 1847, Henry David Thoreau lived alone in the cabin he built on the shores of Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts. … framed as a narrative of the cycle of one year, beginning with summer. Thoreau uses the changes of the day, the seasons, and the year to symbolize the quiet revolution that is going on inside him. His specific observations of the natural life outside himself cause him to look inward and reflect upon the lives of quiet desperation most men lead; the erroneous economic thinking which leads them to accept their shackles; the liberating effects of nature and self-examination; and finally those “higher laws” which can only be glimpsed on those rare occasions when true living unites with true reflection. …”.

Our library in Hewett Centre is open every Sunday after service during Coffee Hour in Hewett Centre, and our Library Team offers related reading lists based on the topic of the Sunday service. Here is their list for the upcoming service on “The Newness of Life”, featuring Rev. Shawn Gauthier on Sunday, April 5, 2026 at 11 a.m. All are welcome in Hewett Centre after the Sunday service to check out some books, and to have coffee and conversation.

VanU library books related to this Sunday’s sermon:

1. What Easter Means to Unitarians by Phillip Hewett, 1987, 394 HEW.

2. The Pagan Christ by Tom Harpur, 2005, 270.1 HAR
From LibraryThing: “A radical, ground-breaking examination of the role of ancient myth in the origins of Christianity, challenging the idea of the Gospels as historical truth – it will change the way many think about religion, faith, history, myth and belief.”.

3. For Christ’s Sake by Tom Harpur, 1986, 232.9 HAR
From LibraryThing: “This radical book reveals the real, historical Jesus – and reminds us what he actually said. Who was Jesus Christ? Was he God in human form? Was he the divine Son of God, conceived by a virgin, who came down to earth to found the one true religion? This is what the Church has been preaching since the Middle Ages, but the Church’s portrait is a far cry from the Jesus Christ described in the New Testament. For Christ’s Sake is Tom Harpur’s classic study of what the Bible actually tells us about Jesus. Controversial and radical, in that it goes to the roots of what is known, Harpur’s book strips away the mythology about Jesus to reveal a man whose message is still fresh and relevant today.”.

4. The Jesus Puzzle: Did Christianity Begin with a Mythical Christ?: Challenging the Existence of an Historical Jesus by Earl Doherty, 1999, 232.9 DOH
Gift of Arthur Hughes and signed by the author. From LibraryThing: “… A full and comprehensive survey of the question through an examination of the early Christian record, canonical and non-canonical, from Q to the Gospels, from the earliest Pauline epistles to the second century apologists, along with Jewish, Gnostic, and Greco-Roman documents of the time. The philosophy of the era, its religious expression in the pagan mystery cults, fascinating glimpses into the historical background of the period, an in-depth consideration of the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, are only some of the additional topics covered in the book. A richly-detailed, highly lucid and entertaining account of how Christianity began without an historical Jesus of Nazareth, who came to life only on the pages of the Gospels. …”.

5. Life After Death by Tom Harpur, 1991, 202.3 HAR
The Julian Fears Library. From the hardcover edition, shown in LibraryThing: “Is there life after death? … For thousands of years religions the world over have taught that life does not end at death. … Medieval Christendom was rife with graphic, “eye-witness” descriptions of heaven and hell. In the West today, many people claim to have seen or heard from the dead; others have “remembered” past lives while under hypnosis. Still other have experienced “death” and have returned with remarkably similar stories to tell. Yet sceptics, agnostics, and atheists have challenged or rejected the notion of an afterlife, arguing that there is no proof of it whatsoever. Who is right? In Life After Death, Tom Harpur, … takes a fresh and wide-ranging look at the question. … And the evidence he meticulously assembles points unfalteringly towards one, logical conclusion: “Death is very much like birth. It is the traumatic but essential passage into a new phase of life.” …”.

6. A Strange Freedom: The Best of Howard Thurman on Religious Experience and Public Life by Howard Thurman, 1999, 921 THU
Beacon Press publication. From LibraryThing: “A spiritual advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr.; the first black dean at a white university; cofounder of the first interracially pastored, intercultural church in the United States, Howard Thurman offered a transcendent vision of our world. This lyrical collection of select published and unpublished works traces his struggle with the particular manifestations of violence and hatred that mark the twentieth century. His words remind us all that out of religious faith emerges social responsibility and the power to transform lives.”.

7, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times, by Jane Goodall, Douglas Adams and Gail Hudson, 2021, 304 GOO
Donated by Elizabeth Murdoch. From LibraryThing: “… Jane Goodall, the world’s most famous living naturalist, and Douglas Abrams, the internationally bestselling co-author of The Book of Joy, explore through intimate and thought-provoking dialogue one of the most sought after and least understood elements of human nature: hope. In The Book of Hope, Jane focuses on her “Four Reasons for Hope”: The Amazing Human Intellect, The Resilience of Nature, The Power of Young People, and The Indomitable Human Spirit. …, The Book of Hope touches on vital questions, including: How do we stay hopeful when everything seems hopeless? How do we cultivate hope in our children? What is the relationship between hope and action? …”.

8. Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power by Joanna Macy, 2022, 303 MAC
From LibraryThing: “The challenges we face can be difficult even to think about. Climate change, the depletion of oil, economic upheaval, and mass extinction together create a planetary emergency of overwhelming proportions. Active Hope shows us how to strengthen our capacity to face this crisis so that we can respond with unexpected resilience and creative power. Drawing on decades of teaching an empowerment approach known as the Work That Reconnects, the authors guide us through a transformational process informed by mythic journeys, modern psychology, spirituality, and holistic science. …”

9. Myth and Ritual in Christianity by Alan W. Watts, 1971, 230 WA
Beacon Press publication. From LibraryThing: “… Using the lens of the “doctrine of mystical tradition”, Watts explores the development of church doctrine in relation to the procession of seasons and finds, contrary to many contemporary critics, that Christianity cultivates virtue and promotes living in the now.”.

10. Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today by Margot Adler, 1981, 299.93 ADL
From LibraryThing: “… Margot Adler attended ritual gatherings and interviewed a diverse, colorful gallery of people across the United States, people who find inspiration in ancient deities, nature, myth, even science fiction. In this revised edition, Adler takes a fascinating and honest look at the religious experiences, beliefs, and lifestyles of modern America’s Pagan groups.”.

11. In Stillness, Renewal: Meditations, by Jacob Trapp, 1983, 242 TRA
Gift of Petrt Aaloe and Ann Rieger.

Our library in Hewett Centre is open every Sunday after service during Coffee Hour in Hewett Centre, and our Library Team offers related reading lists based on the topic of the Sunday service. Here is their list for the upcoming service on “Building Hope Together”, featuring Rev. Shawn Gauthier on Sunday, March 29, 2026 at 11 a.m. All are welcome in Hewett Centre after the Sunday service to check out some books, and to have coffee and conversation.

VanU library books related to this Sunday’s sermon:

1. Three Prophets of Religious Liberalism: Channing Emerson Parker introduction by Conrad Wright, 1964. 2188 WRI
The Julian Fears library. Published by Beacon Press. From LibraryThing: “Three landmark addresses in the history of American Unitarianism in one convenient volume. Edited by one of the leading UU historians.”

2. Theodore Parker by Henry Steele Commanger, 1936/1947, 921 PAR
The classic biography of a Unitarian who has been called “the conscience of America.” From reprint publisher : “Commager traces Parker’s life from his early years in Massachusetts to his education at Harvard Divinity School, where he developed his radical ideas about religion and social justice. Parker’s beliefs were rooted in Unitarianism, but he rejected traditional Christian doctrines and advocated for the abolition of slavery, women’s rights, and other progressive causes. The book explores Parker’s role in the Transcendentalist movement, his involvement in the Underground Railroad, and his impact on American politics and culture.”

3. Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman, 2021, 128 BRE
From LibraryThing: “It’s a belief that unites the left and right, psychologists and philosophers, writers and historians. It drives the headlines that surround us and the laws that touch our lives. From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Dawkins, the roots of this belief have sunk deep into Western thought. Human beings, we’re taught, are by nature selfish and governed by self-interest. Humankind makes a new argument: that it is realistic, as well as revolutionary, to assume that people are good. The instinct to cooperate rather than compete, trust rather than distrust, has an evolutionary basis going right back to the beginning of Homo sapiens. By thinking the worst of others, we bring out the worst in our politics and economics too.  In this major book, internationally bestselling author Rutger Bregman … shows how believing in human kindness and altruism can be a new way to think–and act as the foundation for achieving true change in our society. It is time for a new view of human nature.”

4. The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times by Jane Goodall, 2021,  304 GOO
From LibraryThing: “Looking at the headlines – the worsening climate crisis, a global pandemic, loss of biodiversity, political upheaval – it can be hard to feel optimistic. And yet hope has never been more desperately needed.
In this urgent book, Jane Goodall, the world’s most famous living naturalist, and Douglas Abrams, the internationally bestselling co-author of The Book of Joy, explores through intimate and thought-provoking dialogue one of the most sought after and least understood elements of human nature: hope. In The Book of Hope, Jane focuses on her “Four Reasons for Hope”: The Amazing Human Intellect, The Resilience of Nature, The Power of Young People, and The Indomitable Human Spirit.”

5. Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power by Joanna Macy, 2022, 303 MAC
From LibraryThing: “The challenges we face can be difficult even to think about. Climate change, the depletion of oil, economic upheaval, and mass extinction together create a planetary emergency of overwhelming proportions. Active Hope shows us how to strengthen our capacity to face this crisis so that we can respond with unexpected resilience and creative power. Drawing on decades of teaching an empowerment approach known as the Work That Reconnects, the authors guide us through a transformational process informed by mythic journeys, modern psychology, spirituality, and holistic science.”

6. Hope in Shadows: Stories and Photographs of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside by Brad Cran, 2008, 971.1 CRA
From LibraryThing: “The poignant story of an at-risk community, in its residents’ own words and pictures.”

7. An Examined Faith: Social Context and Religious Commitment by James Luther Adams, c1991, 230.91 ADA
From the publisher via LibraryThing: “James Luther Adams has been a major force in American social ethics and liberal theology for more than half a century, from his work with anti-Nazi preachers in Germany in the late 1930s through his teaching at the University of Chicago and the Harvard Divinity School. In this latest collection of his inimitable essays, Adams explores the role of faith among the “communion of free spirits,” from Paul Tillich to Carl Sandburg, Jesus to Pope John XXIII. Adams encounters religion both in the “storms of our times” and in his own life and work.”-

8. Churchworks: A Well-Body Book for Congregations by Anne Odin Heller, 1999, 254.09 HEL
From LibraryThing: “Accessible and ingenious, this handbook uses the human body as a metaphor for the congregation and provides essential advice for growing and sustaining a healthy church.”

9. Salted with Fire: Unitarian Universalist Strategies for Sharing Faith and Growing Congregations by Scott W Alexander, c1994, 289.13 ALE
From the UUA: “Twenty-two essays written by a group of men and women who are passionately committed to the growth and extension of Unitarian Universalism. Not only inspirational, these essays also offer some practical advice to those who want to share the faith.”

Our library in Hewett Centre is open every Sunday after service during Coffee Hour in Hewett Centre, and our Library Team offers related reading lists based on the topic of the service. Here is their list for the upcoming service, “Returning Home…”, featuring Mei Jia Lam and Jin He, on Sunday, March 15, 2026 beginning at 11 a.m. All are welcome in Hewett Centre after the Sunday service to check out some books, and to have coffee and conversation.

VanU library books related to this Sunday’s sermon:

1. The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy, 1995, FIC CHO
From LibraryThing: The Chinese immigrant experience, featuring a girl and her two brothers. The girl is a budding tap dancer, one brother is a weakling, the other a boxer who joins the U.S. Marines. The novel is set in Vancouver, British Columbia, in the years leading to World War II. The anti-Japanese hysteria is also seen through their eyes. A first novel.

2. All That Matters by Wayson Choy, 2004, FIC CHO
From LibraryThing: Maclean’s Winner of the 2005 Trillium Book Award, finalist for the 2004 Giller Prize, and long-listed for the 2006 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, All That Matters is the eagerly anticipated sequel to Wayson Choy’s award-winning first novel, The Jade Peony. Kiam-Kim is three years old when he arrives by ship at Gold Mountain with his father and his grandmother, Poh-Poh. From his earliest years, Kiam-Kim is deeply conscious of his responsibility to maintain the family’s honor and to set an example for his younger siblings. However, his life is increasingly complicated by his burgeoning awareness of the world outside Vancouver’s Chinatown. Choy once again accomplishes the extraordinary: blending a haunting evocation of tenacious, ancient traditions with a precise, funny, and very modern coming-of-age story.

3. Tales from Gold Mountain: Stories of the Chinese in the New World, by Paul Yee, 1989, JFIC YEE
From LibraryThing: A collection of eight stories reflecting the gritty optimism of the Chinese who overcame prejudice and adversity to build a unique place for themselves in North America.

4. Being Chinese in Canada: The Struggle for Identity, Redress and Belonging, by William Ging Wee Gere
From LibraryThing: Dere explores the many obstacles in the Chinese Canadian community’s fight for justice, the lasting effects of state-legislated racism and the unique struggle of being Chinese in Quebec. But Being Chinese in Canada is also a personal story. Dere dedicated himself to the head tax redress campaign for over two decades. His grandfather and father each paid the five-hundred-dollar head tax, and the 1923 Chinese Immigration Act separated his family for thirty years. Dere tells of his family members’ experiences; his own political awakenings; the federal government’s offer of partial redress and what it means to move forward-for himself, his children and the community as a whole. Many in multicultural Canada feel the issues of cultural identity and the struggle for belonging. Although Being Chinese in Canada is a personal recollection and an exploration of the history and culture of Chinese Canadians, the themes of inclusion and kinship are timely and will resonate with Canadians of all backgrounds.

5. Disappearing Moon Cafe, by Sky Lee, 1990, FIC SKY
Gift of Nancy Lagey. From LibraryThing: Disappearing Moon Cafe was a stunning debut novel that has become a Canadian literary classic. An unflinchingly honest portrait of a Chinese Canadian family that pulses with life and moral tensions, this family saga takes the reader from the wilderness in nineteenth-century British Columbia to late twentieth-century Hong Kong, to Vancouver’s Chinatown. Intricate and lyrical, suspenseful and emotionally rich, it is a riveting story of four generations of women whose lives are haunted by the secrets and lies of their ancestors but also by the racial divides and discrimination that shaped the lives of the first generation of Chinese immigrants to Canada.

6. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan, 2008, 613 POL
From LibraryThing: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” These simple words go to the heart of food journalist Pollan’s thesis. Humans used to know how to eat well, he argues, but the balanced dietary lessons that were once passed down through generations have been confused and distorted by food industry marketers, nutritional scientists, and journalists. As a result, we face today a complex culinary landscape dense with bad advice and foods that are not “real.” Indeed, plain old eating is being replaced by an obsession with nutrition that is, paradoxically, ruining our health, not to mention our meals. Pollan’s advice is: “Don’t eat anything that your great-great grandmother would not recognize as food.”

7. Refugee Sandwich: Stories of Exile and Asylum by Peter Showler, 2006. 325.21 SHO
Gift of Anne Stuart and Roberta Kirby of the UCV Refugee Committee. From LibraryThing: Every year, about 25,000 people arrive in Canada, claiming to be refugees. All must eventually tell their story to a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board, who will decide whether to accept or reject their claim. But the process has always been politically controversial. Despite the promise of a new life for some, the Board is regularly criticized for its inefficiencies, patronage appointments, and occasional incompetence. Peter Showler, a former Chairperson of the Board, weighs into the debate with his recent book – Refugee Sandwich: Stories of Exile and Asylum. Through thirteen stories, he introduces us to the various participants in the process: board members, government hearing officers, lawyers, interpreters, and of course the refugees themselves.

Our library in Hewett Centre is open every Sunday after service during Coffee Hour in Hewett Centre, and our Library Team offers related reading lists based on the topic of the Sunday service. Here is their list for the upcoming service on “Perspectives from Generation Z”, featuring Janet Pivnick, Madeline McPeck and Taylor Starkman on Sunday, March 8, 2026 at 11 a.m. All are welcome in Hewett Centre after the Sunday service to check out some books, and to have coffee and conversation.

VanU library books related to this Sunday’s sermon:

1. The Big Disconnect: The Story of Technology and Loneliness, by Giles Slade, 2012, 303.48 SLA
Written by a VanU member. From LibraryThing: “… the author offers a bracing look at an America where intimacy with machines is increasingly replacing mutual human intimacy. In a sweeping overview that ranges from the late nineteenth century to the present, he reveals how consumer technologies changed from analgesic devices that ameliorated the loneliness of a newly urban generation in the Gilded Age to prosthetic machines that act as substitutes for companionship in contemporary America. Mining insights from neuroscience, the author delves deeply into the history of this transformation, showing why Americans use certain technologies to mediate their connections with other human beings instead of seeking out face-to-face contacts. In a final investigative section, he describes ways in which some people are bucking the trend by consciously including interpersonal strategies that build empathy, community, and mutual acceptance. …”.

2. AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future, by Kai-Fu Lee and Quifan Chen, 2021, 006 LEE
From LibraryThing: “… the former president of Google China and a leading writer of speculative fiction join forces to answer an urgent question: How will artificial intelligence change our world over the next twenty years? AI will be the defining issue of the twenty-first century, but many people know little about it apart from visions of dystopian robots or flying cars. Though the term has been around for half a century, it is only now, Kai-Fu Lee argues, that AI is poised to upend our society, just as the arrival of technologies like electricity and smart phones did before it. In the past five years, AI has shown it can learn games like chess in mere hours-and beat humans every time. AI has surpassed humans in speech and object recognition, even outperforming radiologists in diagnosing lung cancer. AI is at a tipping point. What comes next? Within two decades, aspects of daily life may be unrecognizable. Humankind needs to wake up to AI, both its pathways and perils. … In ten gripping short stories that crisscross the globe, coupled with incisive analysis, Lee and Chen explore AI’s challenges and its potential”.

3. He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters, by Schuyler Bailar, 2023, 306 BAI
From LibraryThing: “… Schuyler has become a go to expert on gender identity for the media and has given hundreds of talks on gender literacy and inclusion. But at the same time, Supreme Court Justice nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson was asked in her confirmation hearing to define the word “woman,” a seemingly simple question that in that particular arena was too politically charged for her to answer. Meanwhile, anti-gay and anti-trans legislation in Florida and Texas shows that trans rights are under attack. Transgender suicides are up, transgender hotlines are buzzing, and the only thing that is certain is this: America is long overdue for a reckoning with gender. He/She/They uses storytelling and the art of conversation to give us the fundamental language and context of gender so that we can meet people where they are and pave the way to understanding, acceptance, and inclusion. As a transgender man, inclusion advocate, and LGBTQ educator, Schuyler Bailar is more than familiar with the myriad questions that come up. In He/She/They, he addresses them head on, such as why being transgender is not a choice, why pronouns are important, and what is biological sex. …”.

4. Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It, by Richard V. Reeves, 2024, 305 REE
From LibraryThing: “Boys and men are struggling. Profound economic and social changes of recent decades have many losing ground in the classroom, the workplace, and in the family. While the lives of women have changed, the lives of many men have remained the same or even worsened. Our attitudes, our institutions, and our laws have failed to keep up. Conservative and progressive politicians, mired in their own ideological warfare, fail to provide thoughtful solutions. The father of three sons, a journalist, and a Brookings Institution scholar, Richard V. Reeves has spent twenty-five years worrying about boys both at home and work. … tackles the complex and urgent crisis of boyhood and manhood. Reeves looks at the structural challenges that face boys and men and offers fresh and innovative solutions that turn the page on the corrosive narrative that plagues this issue. Of Boys and Men argues that helping the other half of society does not mean giving up on the ideal of gender equality.”.

5. Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Anxiety, by Britt Wray, 2023, 155 WRA
Donated by John Boyle. From LibraryThing: “An impassioned generational perspective on why climate anxiety is completely natural and necessary, and how we can be stronger for it. Climate and environment-related fears and anxieties are on the rise everywhere, with few resources to address them. As with any type of stress, eco-anxiety can lead to paralysis, burnout and avoidance. … seamlessly merges scientific knowledge with emotional insight to show how these complicated feelings are a sign of our humanity, and acknowledging and valuing them is key to making it through present and future crises. This isn’t a simple process, and it’s not a level playing field when it comes to our vulnerability, she notes. However, with the worsening situation, we are all on the field–and unlocking deep stores of compassion and care is a crucial step in healing our relationship to the planet and each other. With openness and curiosity, Britt explores her own fears about starting a family when evidence of dangerous environmental shifts creates an especially bleak picture of what lies ahead. …”.

6. As Gods: A Moral History of the Genetic Age, by Matthew Cobb, 2022, 660 COB
From LibraryThing: “… In 2018, scientists manipulated the DNA of human babies for the first time. As biologist and historian Matthew Cobb shows in As Gods, this achievement was one many scientists have feared from the start of the genetic age. Four times in the last fifty years, geneticists, frightened by their own technology, have called a temporary halt to their experiments. They ought to be frightened: Now we have powers that can target the extinction of pests, change our own genes, or create dangerous new versions of diseases in an attempt to prevent future pandemics. Both awe-inspiring and chilling, As Gods traces the history of genetic engineering, showing that this revolutionary technology is far too important to be left to the scientists. …”.

Our library in Hewett Centre is open every Sunday after service during Coffee Hour in Hewett Centre, and our Library Team offers related reading lists based on the topic of the Sunday service. Here is their list for the upcoming service on “A Tale of Two Frances”, featuring Janet Pivnick on Sunday, March 1, 2026 at 11 a.m. All are welcome in Hewett Centre after the Sunday service to check out some books, and to have coffee and conversation.

VanU library books related to this Sunday’s sermon:

Note that one of the main guiding principles of St. Francis of Assisi was to try to live like Jesus did, including a life of poverty, and also to encourage others to do likewise. He also taught love and reverence for all living creatures, and is considered the patron saint of ecology. Francis David was an early Unitarian leader in Hungary and Transylvania during the second half of the 16^th century.

1. Jesus and the Disinherited, by Howard Thurman, 1996, 261.8 THU [Beacon Press publication. From LibraryThing: “… helped shape the civil rights movement and changed our nation’s history forever. In this classic theological treatise, the acclaimed theologian and religious leader Howard Thurman (1900-1981) demonstrates how the gospel may be read as a manual of resistance for the poor and disenfranchised. Jesus is a partner in the pain of the oppressed and the example of His life offers a solution to ending the descent into moral nihilism. Hatred does not empower–it decays. Only through self-love and love of one another can God’s justice prevail.”].

2. For Faith and Freedom: A Short History of Unitarianism in Europe, by Charles A. Howe, 1997, 289.14 HOW [Published by Skinner House Books. From LibraryThing: “Untangling Polish, Transylvanian and English Unitarianism is a challenge even for the serious student. Charles Howe’s lucid account reclaims for modern readers the heroic martyrdom of Michael Servetus, the humane leadership of Faustus Socinus, the eloquent conviction of Francis David and the literary genius of Harriet Martineau.”].

3. Christianity and Ecology: Seeking the Well-Being of Earth and Humans (Religions of the World and Ecology), edited by Dieter T. Hessel and Rosemary Radford Ruether, 2000, 261 HES [From LibraryThing: “What can Christianity as a tradition contribute to the struggle to secure the future well-being of the earth community? This collaborative volume, …, announces that an ecological reformation, an eco-justice reorientation of Christian theology and ethics, is prominent on the ecumenical agenda. The authors explore problematic themes that contribute to ecological neglect or abuse and offer constructive insight into and responsive imperatives for ecologically just and socially responsible living.”].

4. The Jesus Sayings: The Quest for His Authentic Message, by Rex Weyler, 2008, 232 WEY [From LibraryThing: “Is it possible to reconcile Jesus, the Prince of Peace, with religious violence? From the Inquisition to the burning of women healers to modern pedophilia scandals, spiritual leaders and followers are deeply divided about how to reconcile the teachings of Jesus with the atrocities of church history. How did his message get misinterpreted, and what relevance does that message have in the 21st century? … explores the mystery surrounding the historical Jesus, whose voice and words have been distorted by centuries of revision. …”].

5. A History of Transylvanian Unitarianism Through Four Hundred Years of Sermons, by Imre GelleÌrd, 1999, 289.1 GEL [Gift of Mary Lage and Partner Church Committee. From AbeBooks: “… This very comprehensive history . . . is a portrayal of the content of beliefs and the structure of spiritual life that have nourished Transylvanian Unitarianism while it endured political and religious oppression during much of the four hundred years of its life. . . . Gellérd has provided not only an impressively complex account of major Unitarian preachers in the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries (and even some account of the early years of the twentieth century). He has also linked the ideas forming the contents of sermons to the dominant philosophical and religious currents that were encountered by ministers who lived at a particular time. His interpretive chapters include an especially useful account of the influences of the Enlightenment on Transylvanian Unitarian thought and an interesting concluding chapter on the early years of the twentieth century.”]

6. Let Me Explain, by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, 1973, 194 DeC [From GoodReads: “Extracts from Pierre Teilhard’s major works are presented to provide a basic understanding of his thought”. It also explains about the author: “… was a visionary French Jesuit, paleontologist, biologist, and philosopher, who spent the bulk of his life trying to integrate religious experience with natural science, most specifically Christian theology with theories of evolution. In this endeavor he became enthralled with the possibilities for humankind, which he saw as heading for an exciting convergence of systems, an “Omega point” where the coalescence of consciousness will lead us to a new state of peace and planetary unity. Long before ecology was fashionable, he saw this unity as being based intrinsically upon the spirit of the Earth. …”].

7, A History of Unitarianism: Socinianism and its Antecedents, by Earl Morse Wilbur, 1945, 288 WI [From AI summary of a Bing search: “… is a comprehensive exploration of the Unitarian movement, focusing on its origins and development within European Christianity. The book is a two-volume set that delves into the history of Unitarianism, including its roots in Transylvania, England, and America. Wilbur’s work is a significant contribution to the understanding of Unitarianism and its historical context.”].

8. The Day the World Stops Shopping: How Ending Consumerism Saves the Environment and Ourselves, by J.B. MacKinnon, 2021, 339 MAC [Gift of Mary Bennett. From LibraryThing: “… investigates how we may achieve a world without shopping. We can’t stop shopping. And yet we must. This is the consumer dilemma. The economy says we must always consume more: even the slightest drop in spending leads to widespread unemployment, bankruptcy, and home foreclosure. The planet says we consume too much: in America, we burn the earth’s resources at a rate five times faster than it can regenerate. And despite efforts to “green” our consumption-by recycling, increasing energy efficiency, or using solar power, we have yet to see a decline in global carbon emissions. Addressing this paradox head-on, …, What would really happen if we simply stopped shopping? Is there a way to reduce our consumption to earth-saving levels without triggering economic collapse? At first this question took him around the world, seeking answers from America’s big-box stores to the hunter-gatherer cultures of Namibia to communities in Ecuador that consume at an exactly sustainable rate. Then the thought experiment came shockingly true: the coronavirus brought shopping to a halt, and MacKinnon’s ideas were tested in real time. Drawing from experts in fields ranging from climate change to economics, MacKinnon investigates how living with less would change our planet, our society, and ourselves. Along the way, he reveals just how much we stand to gain: An investment in our physical and emotional wellness. The pleasure of caring for our possessions. Closer relationships with our natural world and one another. …”].

9. Our Unitarian Heritage: An Introduction to the History of the Unitarian Movement, by Earl Morse Wilbur, 1925, 288 WIL [From AI summary of a Bing search: “… a comprehensive guide that delves into the history of the Unitarian Movement. …, Wilbur’s work is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the roots and development of this religious movement. The book is published by Beacon Press and is a must-read for those seeking to understand the historical context of Unitarianism.”].

10. Epic of Unitarianism, by David Parke, 1992, 289.1 PAR [Unitarian Universalist Association. From LibraryThing: “This collection of writings spanning four hundred years provides a rich portrait of early Unitarian thought.”].

Our library in Hewett Centre is open every Sunday after service during Coffee Hour in Hewett Centre, and our Library Team offers related reading lists based on the topic of the Sunday service. Here is their list for the upcoming service on “A Celebration of Our Partner Church in Burundi”, featuring the VanU Partner Church Team on Sunday, February 22, 2026 at 11 a.m. All are welcome in Hewett Centre after the Sunday service to check out some books, and to have coffee and conversation.

VanU library books related to this Sunday’s sermon:

1. Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa, by Dambisa Moyo, 2009, 3338.9 MOY [From LibraryThing: “.. describes the state of postwar development policy in Africa that has channeled billions of dollars in aid but failed to reduce poverty and increase growth. He offers a new, more hopeful vision of how to address the desperate poverty that plagues millions.”].

2. The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis, by Amitav Ghosh, 2022, 363 GHO [From LibraryThing: “… a broader narrative about human entanglements with botanical matter-spices, tea, sugarcane, opium, and fossil fuels-and the continuities that bind human history with these earthly materials. Ghosh also writes explicitly against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter protests, and international immigration debates, among other pressing issues, framing these ongoing crises in a new way by showing how the colonialist extractive mindset is directly connected to the deep inequality we see around us today”].

3. Banker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty, by Muhammad Yunus, 2008, 332.1 YUN [From LibraryThing: “… This autobiography of the world-renowned, visionary economist who came up with a simple but revolutionary solution to end world poverty–micro-credit–has become the classic text for a growing movement”].

4. The World Trade Organization: A Citizen’s Guide, by Steven Shrybman, 1999, 382.3 SHR [Gift of Barbara Taylor. From Google Books: “Citizens of Canada and of nations around the world have felt the sting of WTO policies and decisions in fields as diverse and pervasive as labour rights, environmental protection and public health. So it’s not surprising that whenever politicians and government officials gather to negotiate new trade deals, ordinary citizens gather to protest. … This book offers an informed account of what the WTO is and how it is using its extraordinary powers to supervise and overrule the actions of national governments. … offers an independent view of WTO actions in areas ranging from agriculture and the environment to labour and culture, tracing how it promotes the interests of global corporations at the expense of citizens.”].

Our library in Hewett Centre is open every Sunday after service during Coffee Hour in Hewett Centre, and our Library Team offers related reading lists based on the topic of the Sunday service. Here is their list for the upcoming service on “All Kinds of Love Sunday”, featuring Rev. Shawn Gauthier on Sunday, February 15, 2026 at 11 a.m. All are welcome in Hewett Centre after the Sunday service to check out some books, and to have coffee and conversation.

VanU library books related to this Sunday’s sermon:

1. The Art of Loving, by Erich Fromm and Ruth Nanda Ashen, 1989, 157 FRO [Gift of the Unitarian Family Life Centre. From LibraryThing: “The international bestseller that launched a movement with its powerful insight: “Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.” The Art of Loving is a rich and detailed guide to love – an achievement reached through maturity, practice, concentration, and courage. … Erich Fromm, a celebrated psychoanalyst and social psychologist, clearly and sincerely encourages the development of our capacity for and understanding of love in all of its facets. He discusses the familiar yet misunderstood romantic love, the all-encompassing brotherly love, spiritual love, and many more. A challenge to traditional Western notions of love, The Art of Loving is a modern classic about taking care of ourselves through relationships with others. …”].

2. How to Expand Love: Widening the Circle of Loving Relationships, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, edited and translated by Jeffrey Hopkins, Ph.D., 2006, 294.3 BST [From LibraryThing: “In our quest for true happiness and fulfillment during the course of our lives, nothing is more essential than giving and receiving love. But how well do we understand love’s extraordinarily transformative powers? Can we really cultivate and appreciate its priceless gifts? In How to Expand Love, … offers a simple yet illuminating program for transforming self-centered energy into outwardly directed compassion. Drawing on exercises and techniques established in Tibetan monasteries more than a thousand years ago, the Dalai Lama guides us through seven key stages. First, we learn ways to move beyond our self-defeating tendency to put others into rigid categories. We discover how to create and maintain a positive attitude toward those around us, in ever-widening circles. By reflecting on the kindnesses that close friends have shown us, particularly in childhood, we learn to reciprocate and help other people achieve their own long-term goals. And in seeking the well-being of others, we foster compassion, the all-encompassing face of love. …”].

3. All About Love: New Visions, by bell hooks, 2018, 306 HOO [From LibraryThing: “”The word ‘love’ is most often defined as a noun, yet we would all love better if we used it as a verb,” writes bell hooks …. offers a proactive new ethic for a society bereft with lovelessness – not the lack of romance, but the lack of care, compassion, and unity. People are divided, she declares, by society’s failure to provide a model for learning to love. … Razing the cultural paradigm that the ideal love is infused with sex and desire, she provides a new path to love that is sacred, redemptive, and healing for individuals and for a nation. …”].

4. Love and Friendship, by Allan Bloom, 1993, 809.9 BLO [From the library of Harold Brown. From LibraryThing: “… is a searching examination of the basic human connections at the center of the greatest works of literature and philosophy throughout the ages. In a spirited polemic directed at our contemporary culture, Allan Bloom argues that we live in a world where love and friendship are withering away. Science and moralism have reduced eros to sex. Individualism and egalitarianism have turned romantic relationships into contractual matters to be litigated. Survey research has made every variety of sexual behavior seem normal, and thus boring. In sex education classes, children learn how to use condoms, but not how to deal with the hopes and risks of intimacy. We no longer know how to talk and think about the peril and promise of attraction and fidelity. What has been lost is what separates human beings from beasts–the power of the imagination, which can transform sex into eros. Our impoverished feelings are rooted in our impoverished language of love. To recover the danger, the strength, and the beauty of eros, we must study the great literature of love, in the hope of rekindling the imagination of beauty and virtue that fuels eros. We must love to learn, in order to learn to love again. …”].

5, Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch, 1995, J+ MUN [Gift of Nancy Lagey. From LibraryThing: “… A young woman holds her newborn son and looks at him lovingly. Softly she sings to him:
“I’ll love you forever
I’ll like you for always
As long as I’m living
My baby you’ll be.”
So begins the story …”].

6. Mama, Do You Love Me?, by Barbara M. Joosse and illustrated by Barbara Lavallee, 1992, J+ JOO [From LibraryThing: “A child living in the Arctic learns that a mother’s love is unconditional.”].

7. Love: A Celebration of Humanity (M.I.L.K.), by Milk Project, 2001, 779.93 PHU [From LibraryThing: “The 100 breathtaking photographs in this book have been chosen from many thousands entered by both professional and amateur photographers from 164 countries in the most ambitious photographic competition ever staged.”].

8. Love and Salt Water, by Ethel Wilson, 1990, FIC WIL [From LibraryThing: “… Saddened by a painful childhood, Ellen has adopted a skeptical independence and learned too well to hold her heart in reserve. But, as the novel unfolds, Ellen undergoes something of a sea-change learning to accept love along with the sorrow that is rarely far from love. … Love and Salt Water is a mature and, at times, disturbing synthesis of Ethel Wilson’s major themes: the independence of human lives, the strange alchemy of chance, and the healing illumination of love.”].

9. The Republic of Love, by Carol Shields, 1994, FIC SHI [Gift of Kim Bothen. From LibraryThing: “A romantic comedy about the barriers facing lovers in the 21st century.”].

10. Loving an Addict, Loving Yourself, by Candace Plattor, 2009, 362.29 PLA [Gift of the author. From LibraryThing: “Are you feeling exasperated and helpless about your family member’s addiction? Are you at your wit’s end, having tried everything you can think of to make them stop? If someone you love is engaging in addictive behaviors such as alcohol and drug misuse, eating disorders, smoking, gambling, Internet addiction, sex addiction, compulsive overspending, or relationship addiction, you are undoubtedly experiencing unpredictability in your relationship. Some of the most common emotions you will experience include: Guilt and shame; Anger and anxiety; Confusion and powerlessness. Whether the addict in your life is your spouse, partner, parent, child, friend, or colleague, the key to changing this reality for yourself lies in shifting your focus from your loved one’s addiction to you own self-care. This book presents a dramatically fresh approach to help you get off the roller-coaster chaos of addiction, maintain your own sanity and serenity, and live your best life.”].

11. The Welcoming Congregation, edited by the Rev. Scott W. Alexander, 1990, 289.1 ALE [Unitarian Universalist Association. From LibraryThing: “This manual, prepared by the UUA’s Office of Lesbian and Gay Concerns, is designed to help interested congregations become more welcoming places for the gay, lesbian, and bisexual people in their midst and in the wider community”].

12. Life Preservers: Staying Afloat in Love and Life, by Harriet Goldhor Lerner, 1996, 155.6 LER [From LibraryThing: “… Dr. Harriet Lerner gives readers the tools to solve problems and create joy, meaning and integrity in their relationships. Women will find Life Preservers … to be an invaluable motivational guide that covers the landscape of work and creativity, anger and intimacy, friendship and marriage, children and parents, loss and betrayal, sexuality and health and much more. With new insights and a results-oriented approach, Dr. Lerner answers women’s most frequently asked questions and offers the best advice for problems women face today: I always pick the wrong guys. Should I move in with him? I can’t stand my boss. Should I leave my marriage? How can I recover from his affair? Is my fantasy abnormal? Is my therapy working? I miss my mother. I can’t believe I was fired.”].

13. The Soul of Sex: Cultivating Life as an Act of Love, by Thomas Moore, 1998, 306.7 MOO [From LibraryThing: “In our age of science and psychology, it’s tempting to think of human sexuality in terms of biology and interpersonal relationships. But in The Soul of Sex, Thomas Moore regards sex as an experience of the soul and emphasizes the more human themes of fantasy, desire, meaning, and morality. Moore turns especially to the religious traditions of the world, to rites, stories, and visual imagery that see in sex some of the most profound mysteries of life. He finds spirituality inherent in sex, and at the same time explores the many ways in which spiritual values can sometimes wound our sexuality. He recommends chastity and celibacy for everyone, as aspects of sexuality, and presents them as a means of developing a sensuous spirituality. …”].

14. Coming Out in Faith: Voices of LGBTQ Unitarian Universalists, by Susan Gore and Keith Kron, 2011, 289.13 GOR [From a review on LibraryThing: “This collection of poignant testimonials illuminates the lived experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Unitarian Universalists”].

15. If Sarah Will Take Me: Poem, by Dave Bouchard, paintings by Robb Terrence Dunfield, 1997, J+ BOU [Gift of Robb Dunfield. Autographed by Robb Dunfield. From LibraryThing: “Illustrated with paintings by a physically disabled artist. The poem was inspired by the artist’s successful courtship of a nurse.”].

16. Away from Her, by Alice Munro, 2007, FIC MUN [From LibraryThing: “… As she follows Grant, a retired professor whose wife Fiona begins gradually to lose her memory and drift away from him, we slowly see how a lifetime of intimate details can create a marriage, and how mysterious the bonds of love really are.”].

17. Inland Passage, by Jane Rule, 2002, FIC RU [From LibraryThing: “The stories in this remarkable collection by Jane Rule explore the relationships among men and women, women and women, and families–both conventional and unconventional  From traditional families to relationships that break new ground, this anthology runs the gamut of human emotions. The eponymous heroine “Dulce” is a self-proclaimed muse, witch, whore, “preying lesbian,” and “devouring mother” who has a profound effect on the lives of the women and men around her. “His Nor Hers” tracks the unraveling of a marriage–with unexpected results. “The Real World” explores the moral universe of a female mechanic who creates an unconventional family. In “A Matter of Numbers,” a divorced math professor falls in love with her twenty-year-old student. And the title story introduces two women–one widowed, one divorced–who rediscover romance aboard a cruise ship. …”].

Our library in Hewett Centre is open every Sunday after service during Coffee Hour in Hewett Centre, and our Library Team offers related reading lists based on the topic of the Sunday service. Here is their list for the upcoming service on “Promises to Keep”, featuring Rev. Shawn Gauthier on Sunday, February 8, 2026 at 11 a.m. All are welcome in Hewett Centre after the Sunday service to check out some books, and to have coffee and conversation.

VanU library books related to this Sunday’s sermon:

1. Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential, by Caroline Myss, 2002, 158.1 MYS [From LibraryThing: “What is the sacred purpose of your life? According to Caroline Myss, there is no question more important in our lives than this one. Now you have a “compass” to help you find your divine destiny, … Rich with possibilities for personal discovery and divine connection, … will point the way to your own higher life path and its ultimate destination. Highlights: How before birth, we each contract with heavenly guides to become vessels for divine power and evolutionary change. Who belongs in your life, and how to recognize the energetic bonds that seal your sacred contracts with them. A unique system for divining your life purpose, using 12 central archetypes and a symbolic Wheel of Life.”].

2. What is Marriage For?, by E. J. Graff, 2000, 306.81 GRA [Published by Beacon Press. From LibraryThing: “In the wake of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s historic Goodridge decision, a reissue of the bible of the same-sex marriage movement. Will same-sex couples destroy “traditional” marriage, soon to be followed by the collapse of all civilization? That charge has been leveled throughout history whenever the marriage rules change. … tour through the history of marriage in the West, has always been a social battleground, its rules constantly shifting to fit each era and economy. The marriage debates have been especially tumultuous for the past hundred and fifty years-in ways that lead directly to today’s debate over whether marriage could mean not just Boy + Girl = Babies, but also Girl + Girl = Love.”].

3. Great Occasions: Readings for the Celebration of Birth, Coming-Of-Age, Marriage, and Death, by Carl Seaburg, 2004, 808.819354 [From LibraryThing: “Birth, maturity, marriage and death: These are the four cornerstones of human life, the great occasions. Over 650 memorable selections to commemorate the milestones of life. Poetry and prose from a broad spectrum of highly regarded writers, … This treasury of words pays tribute to the watershed events of life. … Originally designed for ministers by a beloved New England pastor who spent years officiating at such occasions, this useful reference will be valued by anyone who is called upon to officiate, speak or contribute to ceremonies that commemorate the great passages of life. …”].

4. The Book of Forgiving: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World, by Desmond Tutu, 2015, 179 TUT [From LibraryThing: “How do I forgive? … This book is his answer. Writing with his daughter, Mpho, an Anglican priest, they lay out the simple but profound truths about the significance of forgiveness, how it works, why everyone needs to know how to grant it and receive it, and why granting forgiveness is the greatest gift we can give to ourselves when we have been wronged. They explain the four-step process of forgiveness-Telling the Story, Naming the Hurt, Granting Forgiveness, and Renewing or Releasing the Relationship-as well as offer meditations, exercises, and prayers to guide the reader along the way. …”].

5. Forgiveness, by Mark Sakamoto, 2014, 940.54 SAK [From LibraryThing: “… When the Second World War broke out, Ralph MacLean chose to escape his troubled life on the Magdalen Islands in eastern Canada and volunteer to serve his country overseas. Meanwhile, in Vancouver, Mitsue Sakamoto saw her family and her stable community torn apart after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Like many young Canadian soldiers, Ralph was captured by the Japanese army. He would spend the war in prison camps, enduring pestilence, beatings and starvation, as well as a journey by hell ship to Japan to perform slave labour, while around him his friends and countrymen perished. Back in Canada, Mitsue and her family were expelled from their home by the government and forced to spend years eking out an existence in rural Alberta, working other people’s land for a dollar a day.
By the end of the war, Ralph emerged broken but a survivor. Mitsue, worn down by years of back-breaking labour, had to start all over again in Medicine Hat, Alberta. A generation later, at a high school dance, Ralph’s daughter and Mitsue’s son fell in love.
Although the war toyed with Ralph’s and Mitsue’s lives and threatened to erase their humanity, these two brave individuals somehow surmounted enormous transgressions and learned to forgive. Without this forgiveness, their grandson Mark Sakamoto would never have come to be.”].

6. A Strange Freedom: The Best of Howard Thurman on Religious Experience and Public Life, by Howard Thurman, 1999, 921 THU [A Beacon Press publication. From LibraryThing: “A spiritual advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr.; the first black dean at a white university; cofounder of the first interracially pastored, intercultural church in the United States, Howard Thurman offered a transcendent vision of our world. This lyrical collection of select published and unpublished works traces his struggle with the particular manifestations of violence and hatred that mark the twentieth century. His words remind us all that out of religious faith emerges social responsibility and the power to transform lives.”].

7. The Heart of Buddha’s Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy & Liberation, by Thich Nhat Hanh, 1999, 294 NHA [From Amazon: “With poetry and clarity, Thich Nhat Hanh imparts comforting wisdom about the nature of suffering and its role in creating compassion, love, and joy – all qualities of enlightenment.”].

Our library in Hewett Centre is open every Sunday after service during Coffee Hour in Hewett Centre, and our Library Team offers related reading lists based on the topic of the Sunday service. Here is their list for the upcoming service on “A Celebration of Imbolc”, featuring the Lay Chaplain Team on Sunday, February 1, 2026 at 11 a.m. All are welcome in Hewett Centre after the Sunday service to check out some books, and to have coffee and conversation.

VanU library books related to this Sunday’s sermon:

1. From Beginning to End: The Rituals of Our Lives, by Robert Fulghum, 1995, 128 FUL [From the author in the paperback edition, as stated on LibraryThing: “… Rituals do not always involve words, occasions, officials, or an audience. Rituals are often silent, solitary, and self-contained. The most powerful rites of passage are reflective–when you look back on your life again and again, paying attention to the rivers you have crossed and the gates you have opened and walked on through, the thresholds you have passed over. I see ritual when people sit together silently by an open fire. Remembering. As human beings have remembered for thousands and thousands of years.”].

2. Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Practice, by Lauren Artress, 2006, 291.3 Art [From LibraryThing: “’Walking the Labyrinth’ has re-emerged today as a metaphor for the spiritual journey and a powerful tool for transformation. This walking meditation is an archetype, a mystical ritual found in all religious traditions. It quiets the mind and opens the soul. Walking a Sacred Path explores the historical origins of this divine imprint and shares the discoveries of modern day seekers. It shows readers the potential of the labyrinth to inspire change and renewal, and serves as a guide to help us develop the higher level of human awareness readers need to survive in this century.”].

3. The Road Less Traveled, by M. Scott Peck, 1978, 158.1 PEC [From LibraryThing: “… continues to help us explore the very nature of loving relationships and leads us toward a new serenity and fullness of life. It helps us learn how to distinguish dependency from love; how to become a more sensitive parent; and ultimately how to become one’s own true self. Recognizing that, as in the famous opening line of his book, “Life is difficult” and that the journey to spiritual growth is a long one, Dr. Peck never bullies his readers, but rather guides them gently through the hard and often painful process of change toward a higher level of self-understanding.”].

4. Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today, by Margot Adler, 1981, 299.93 ADL [From LibraryThing: “… continues to be the only detailed history of the burgeoning but still widely misunderstood Neo-Pagan subculture. Margot Adler attended ritual gatherings and interviewed a diverse, colorful gallery of people across the United States, people who find inspiration in ancient deities, nature, myth, even science fiction. In this revised edition, Adler takes a fascinating and honest look at the religious experiences, beliefs, and lifestyles of modern America’s Pagan groups.”].

5. Twelve Weeks in Spring: The Inspiring Story of Margaret and Her Team, by June Callwood, 1986, 362.1 CAL [Gift of Ann Foster. From LibraryThing: “… inspiring story of a group of people who came together to help a friend battling cancer, and thereby discovered their own unexpected strength and humanity. In February 1985, 68-year-old Margaret Frazer was told by her doctor she had terminal cancer. A retired, single woman, whose family was far away, she faced a situation all too familiar in our society — a lonely death in a sterile hospital. Margaret’s lifetime of giving to others was repaid, however, when many of the people she had touched made a remarkable choice. Most of these people were strangers to each other, and sometimes even to Margaret. The Friends of Margaret developed into a smoothly functioning hospice team that cared for Margaret in the comfort of her own home. …”].

Our library in Hewett Centre is open every Sunday after service during Coffee Hour in Hewett Centre, and our Library Team offers related reading lists based on the topic of the Sunday service. Here is their list for the upcoming service on “The Price of Perfection”, featuring Rev. Shawn Gauthier on Sunday, January 25, 2026 at 11 a.m. All are welcome in Hewett Centre after the Sunday service to check out some books, and to have coffee and conversation.

VanU library books related to this Sunday’s sermon:

1. The blessings of imperfection: Reflections on the mystery of everyday life, by G. Peter Fleck, 1987, 248.4 FLE [Published by Beacon Press. From LibraryThing, Susan Allen Toth writes: “A beautifully crafted series of meditations on how to live. . . . Stimulating and comforting.”].

2. The Spirituality of Imperfection: Modern Wisdom from Classic Stories, by Ernest Kurtz, 1992, 291.4 KUR [Gift of Carol Anne Owen. From LibraryThing: “The spirituality of imperfection, steeped in the rich traditions of the Hebrew prophets and Greek thinkers, Buddhist sages and Christian disciples, is a message as timeless as it is timely. This insightful work draws on the wisdom stories of the ages to provide an extraordinary wellspring of hope and inspiration to anyone thirsting for spiritual growth and guidance in these troubled times.”].

3. Learning to Fall: The Blessings of an Imperfect Life, by Philip Simmons, 2003, 291 SIM [Gift of Gerta Moray. From LibraryThing: “… Philip Simmons was just thirty-five years old in 1993 when he learned that he had ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, and was told he had less than five years to live. As a young husband and father, and at the start of a promising literary career, he suddenly had to learn the art of dying. Nine years later, he has succeeded, against the odds, in learning the art of living. … he chronicles his search for peace and his deepening relationship with the mystery of everyday life. … by sharing the wonder of his daily life, he offers us the gift of connecting more deeply and joyously with our own.”].

4. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, by Lynne Truss, 2004, 428.2 TRU [From LibraryThing: “We all know the basics of punctuation. Or do we? … Through sloppy usage and low standards on the internet, in email, and now text messages, we have made proper punctuation an endangered species. … former editor Lynne Truss dares to say, in her delightfully urbane, witty, and very English way, that it is time to look at our commas and semicolons and see them as the wonderful and necessary things they are. This is a book for people who love punctuation and get upset when it is mishandled. …”].

5. Prisons We Choose to Live Inside, by Doris Lessing, 1987, 823 LES [From LibraryThing: “… addresses directly the prime questions before us all: how to think for ourselves, how to understand what we know, how to pick a path in a world deluged with opinions and information, and how to look at our society and ourselves with fresh eyes.”].

6. Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America, by Barbara Ehrenreich, 2010, 155.23 HER [From LibraryThing: “A sharp-witted knockdown of America’s love affair with positive thinking and an urgent call for a new commitment to realism. Americans are a “positive” people-cheerful, optimistic, and upbeat: this is our reputation as well as our self-image. But more than a temperament, being positive, we are told, is the key to success and prosperity. … traces the strange career of our sunny outlook from its origins as a marginal nineteenth-century healing technique to its enshrinement as a dominant, almost mandatory, cultural attitude. … exposes the downside of America’s penchant for positive thinking: On a personal level, it leads to self-blame and a morbid preoccupation with stamping out “negative” thoughts. On a national level, it’s brought us an era of irrational optimism resulting in disaster. …”].

7. All My Puny Sorrows, by Miriam Toews, 2014, FIC TOE [From LibraryThing: “Elf and Yoli are sisters. While on the surface Elfrieda’s life is enviable (she’s a world-renowned pianist, glamorous, wealthy, and happily married) and Yolandi’s a mess (she’s divorced and broke, with two teenagers growing up too quickly), they are fiercely close – raised in a Mennonite household and sharing the hardship of Elf’s desire to end her life. After Elf’s latest attempt, Yoli must quickly determine how to keep her family from falling apart, how to keep her own heart from breaking, and what it means to love someone who wants to die. …”].

8. Essays By Ralph Waldo Emerson First Series, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1928, 814.3 EME [From LibraryThing: “… Summing up his work, Emerson said that his primary principle was “the infinitude of the private man”, and advised to “make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.” His First Series collects together the following 12 essays: History, Self-Reliance, Compensation, Spiritual Laws, Love, Friendship, Prudence, Heroism, The Over-Soul, Circles, Intellect and Art.”].

9. The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, by A. J. Jacobs, 2008, 220.6 JAC [From LibraryThing, the book jacket: “… decides to attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to stone adulterers. The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal and will make you see history’s most influential book with new eyes. … He wrestles with seemingly archaic rules that baffle the 21st-century brain, and he discovers ancient wisdom of startling relevance.”].