Our library in Hewett Centre is open every Sunday after service during Coffee Hour in Hewett Centre. Here is the Library Team’s related reading list for the upcoming forum, sponsored by the IPA and Social Justice Teams, on Sunday, October 26, 2025 at 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the Fireside room.

VanU library books related to the forum:

1. Ending Homelessness in Canada: The Case for Homelessness Prevention, edited by James Hughes, 2024, 362.592709 [From LibraryThing: “More Canadians than ever lack a home. Almost every town and city now has homeless residents. Municipalities scramble to provide shelters, and local politicians debate whether to take action to end sleeping on vacant land and in parks. Social agencies providing services to the homeless see the need for new measures that prevent people from experiencing homelessness, rather than providing them with support once they have nowhere to live. In this book, leading figures involved in trying to end homelessness describe what they are doing, and make the case for a wide range of innovative measures.”].

2. Homeless Youth and the Search for Stability, by Jeff Karabanow, Sean Kidd, Tyler Frederick, and Jean Hughes, 2018 [From LibraryThing: “Youth are one of the fastest growing segments of the homeless population. Although there has been much research on how youth become homeless and survive on the streets, we know very little about their pathways off the street and the many challenges that present during this process. This book relates the lived experiences of homeless youth as they negotiate the individual, sociocultural, and economic tensions of transitioning out of homeless and street contexts and cultures. Through interviews, the authors gained privileged entry into the lives of youth in Toronto and Halifax over a year-long period. … participants spoke of courage, fortitude, strength, adversity, and at times, simple bad luck. Ultimately this became a story of fragility, complexity, living “on the edge”, and the (re)-building of identity.”].

3. Home Truths: Fixing Canada’s Housing Crisis, by Carolyn Whitzman, 2024 [From UBC Press: “This is the book that Canadians must read to understand, confront, and solve our housing crisis. Hundreds of thousands of Canadians exist on the edge. Renters fear eviction, homeowners feel trapped, and both are vulnerable to becoming homeless with a single stroke of misfortune. Unaffordable housing in Canada is tearing communities apart as long-time residents seek affordable housing elsewhere and businesses shutter because they cannot find staff who can afford to live nearby. For two generations, Canadians have watched affordable housing vanish while other nations have been tackling the problem. In Home Truths, housing expert Carolyn Whitzman reviews the decades of policy that have gotten us into this mess and shows how all levels of government can work together to provide affordable housing where it is needed. Her compelling arguments for policy solutions are backed by ideas from researchers, planners, politicians, developers, and housing advocates at home and abroad. …”].

4. Homelessness: the Making and Unmaking of a Crisis, by Jack Layton, 2000, 363.5 LAY [From LibraryThing: “Jack Layton, one of this country’s leading experts and outspoken activists on housing issues, addresses the crisis from its roots, in order not only to understand the problem, but to find workable solutions. With a stunning combination of rigorous research and compelling personal anecdote, and trenchant and timely analysis from such wide-ranging sources as social scientists, housing economists, mayors, journalists, clergy and the homeless themselves, Homelessness offers insight, perspective and proactive solutions to a seemingly intractable crisis.”].

5. V6A: Writing from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, by John Mikhail Asfour and Elee Kraljii Gardiner, 2012, 820.8 ASF [From LibraryThing: “Stories, essays and poems about life in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Canada’s most impoverished neighborhood.”].

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

7. Selavi, That is Life: A Haitian Story of Hope, by Youme Landowne, 2005, J+ EASY YOU [From LibraryThing: “A homeless boy on the streets of Haiti joins other street children, and together they build a home and a radio station where they can care for themselves and for other homeless children.”].

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 featuring Janet Pivnick on Sunday, October 26, 2025 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. Trusting Change: Finding Our Way Through Personal and Global Transformation, by Karen Hering, 2022, 248 HER [From LibraryThing: “… offers pastoral support and spiritual skills building for individuals on the cusp of personal change within the collective context of a world that is reshaping itself at a faster pace than ever. The book’s ten thresholding skills give readers practical tools for living on the threshold and through change, but this is not a typical “how-to” guide and its beautifully written and evocative language will connect readers with their own deeper consciousness. … Hering does not pretend that change is easy but notes its inevitability and some of the ways readers can participate in it, allowing them to trust it more in the future. Sharing wisdom found in nature and in metaphors, the reflections include evocative questions and creative, often embodied exercises that invite the reader into a larger story of change. …”].

2. 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. …”].

3. 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”].

4. Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power, by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone, 2022, 303 MAC [From Scorpio Books: “The challenges we face can be difficult even to think about. Climate change, war, political polarization, economic upheaval, and the dying back of nature together create a planetary emergency of overwhelming proportions. This revised, tenth anniversary edition of Active Hope shows us how to strengthen our capacity to face these crises 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. This process equips us with tools to face the mess we’re in and play our role in the collective transition, or Great Turning, to a life-sustaining society.”].

5. Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home, by Toko-pa Turner, 2017, 155 TUR [From the Vancouver Public Library: “We live in one of the most connected times on earth but never before have we been so lonely, so alienated from each other, from ourselves, and from the natural world. Whether this manifests as having difficulty finding community, feeling anxiety about your worthiness and place in the world, or simply feeling disconnected, the absence of belonging is the great silent wound of our times… In Belonging, Toko-pa explores the origins of our estrangement, how that alienation affects the choices we make as individuals, and as a culture, and what are those skills to which we can apprentice ourselves, to restore a sense of belonging in our lives, and in our world.”].

6. Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit, by Lyanda Lynn Haupt, 304 HAU [From Salt Spring Books: “Deepen your connection to the natural world with this inspiring meditation, “a path to the place where science and spirit meet” (Robin Wall Kimmerer).
In Rooted, cutting-edge science supports a truth that poets, artists, mystics, and earth-based cultures across the world have proclaimed over millennia: life on this planet is radically interconnected. Our bodies, thoughts, minds, and spirits are affected by the whole of nature, and they affect this whole in return. In this time of crisis, how can we best live upon our imperiled, beloved earth?”].

7. Rehearsals for Living, by Robyn Maynard and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, 306 MAY [From Quill & Quire: “A balm for despair, Rehearsals for Living is an epistolary dialogue between Robyn Maynard and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson that takes stock of our collapsing society and imagines what we might build from the wreckage. Over a year of correspondence, the authors share daily observations, ideas, and memories; these are interwoven with the words and thoughts of other activists, writers, and artists to create a polyphonic work of critical scholarship that radically reframes the concept of survival to map a feminist, abolitionist, and anti-racist path to the future.”].

8. A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence: What It Is, Where We Are, and Where We Are Going, by Michael Wooldridge, 2021, 006 WOO [From LibraryThing: “From Oxford’s leading AI researcher … The somewhat ill-defined long-term aim of AI is to build machines that are conscious, self-aware, and sentient; machines capable of the kind of intelligent autonomous action that currently only people are capable of. As an AI researcher with 25 years of experience, professor Mike Wooldridge has learned to be obsessively cautious about such claims, while still promoting an intense optimism about the future of the field. There have been genuine scientific breakthroughs that have made AI systems possible in the past decade that the founders of the field would have hailed as miraculous. Driverless cars and automated translation tools are just two examples of AI technologies that have become a practical, everyday reality in the past few years, and which will have a huge impact on our world. While the dream of conscious machines remains, Professor Wooldridge believes, a distant prospect, the floodgates for AI have opened. …”].

9. The Future We Choose: The Stubborn Optimist’s Guide to the Climate Crisis, by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, 2021, 363 FIG [Donated by John Boyle. From LibraryThing: “In this cautionary but optimistic book, Figueres and Rivett-Carnac–the architects of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement–tackle arguably the most urgent and consequential challenge humankind has ever faced: the world’s changing climate and the fate of humanity. … the authors outline two possible scenarios for the planet. In one, they describe what life on Earth will be like by 2050 if we fail to meet the Paris targets for carbon dioxide emission reduction. In the other, they describe what it will take to create and live in a carbon neutral, regenerative world. They argue for confronting the climate crisis head on, with determination and optimism. How we all of us address the climate crisis in the next thirty years will determine not only the world we will live in but also the world we will bequeath to our children and theirs. The Future We Choose presents our options and tells us, in no uncertain terms, what governments, corporations, and each of us can and must do to fend off disaster”].

10. 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. …”].

11. The Archipelago of Hope: Wisdom and Resilience from the Edge of Climate Change, by Gleb Raygorodetsky, 2018, 304 RAY [From LibraryThing, on the book jacket: “… while our politicians argue, the truth is that climate change is already here. Nobody knows this better than Indigenous peoples who, having developed an intimate relationship with ecosystems over generations, have observed these changes for decades. For them, climate change is not an abstract concept or policy issue, but the reality of daily life. … shows how these communities are actually islands of biological and cultural diversity in the ever-rising sea of development and urbanization. They are an “archipelago of hope” as we enter the Anthropocene, for here lies humankind’s best chance to understand how to take care of the Earth. These communities are implementing creative solutions to meet these modern challenges. Solutions that are relevant to the rest of us. …”].

12. All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson, 2021, 363.7 [From LibraryThing: “… There is a renaissance blooming in the climate movement: leadership that is more characteristically feminine and more faithfully feminist, rooted in compassion, connection, creativity, and collaboration. While it’s clear that women and girls are vital voices and agents of change for this planet, they are too often missing from the proverbial table. More than a problem of bias, it’s a dynamic that sets us up for failure. To change everything, we need everyone. All We Can Save illuminates the expertise and insights of dozens of diverse women leading on climate in the United States – scientists, journalists, farmers, lawyers, teachers, activists, innovators, wonks, and designers, across generations, geographies, and race – and aims to advance a more representative, nuanced, and solution-oriented public conversation on the climate crisis. These women offer a spectrum of ideas and insights for how we can rapidly, radically reshape society. …”].

13. American Exodus: Climate Change and the Coming Flight for Survival, by Giles Slade, 2013, 304.8 SLA [Written by a UCV member. From Amazon: “… Giles Slade argues that we are entering a long period of global desperation which will be characterized by human migration on an unprecedented scale. American Exodus is a frighteningly believable survey of our immediate future, but it ends on a note of hope: we may yet survive the coming century of climatic change if we act now to safeguard our shelter of last resort. …”].

14. Just Cool It!: The Climate Crisis and What We Can Do – A Post-Paris Agreement Game Plan, by David Suzuki and Ian Hanington, 2017, 363.738 [Gift of Mei Jia Lam. From LibraryThing: “A resounding post-Paris Agreement wake-up call about the urgency of the climate crisis that offers a range of practical solutions-and above all, hope. Climate change is the most important crisis humanity has faced, but we still confront huge barriers to resolving it. So, what do we do, and is there hope for humanity? The problem itself is complex, and there’s no single solution. But by understanding the barriers to resolving global warming and by employing a wide range of solutions-from shifting to clean energy to planting trees to reforming agricultural practices-we can get the world back on track. … offers a comprehensive look at the current state of climate science and knowledge and the many ways to resolve the climate crisis, imploring us to do what’s necessary to live in a better, cleaner future. When enough people demand action, change starts happening-and this time, it could be monumental.”].

15. Time to Change: Essays, by David Suzuki, 1995, 333.7 SUZ [From LibraryThing: “… a time when we must change. The signs are everywhere; … first calls our attention to the signs and then considers the realms of science, politics and economics to find the source of our problems and also the ground on which we can – and cannot – place our hope for the future”].

16. 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. …”].

17. Social Action Heroes: Unitarian Universalists Who Are Changing the World, by Michelle Bates Deakin, 2012, 261 DEA [Published by Skinner House Books. From Amazon: “Unitarian Universalists are committed to acting on important issues of social justice throughout the world. Award-winning journalist Michelle Bates Deakin explores the actions of eleven individuals and the impact their actions have had on their communities and their souls. Compelling and inspiring, Social Action Heroes illuminates the potential for deep change inherent in each of us, and in Unitarian Universalism as a whole.”].

18. From Naked Ape to Super Species: A Personal Perspective on Humanity and the Global Ecocrisis, by David Suzuki and Holly Dressel, 1999, 304.2 SUZ [From LibraryThing: “… describe how we have evolved beyond our needs, trampling other species, believing that we can make the Earth work the way we want it to. And they introduce us to the people who are fighting back, those who are resisting the inexorable advance of the “global economy” juggernaut, the people whose voices are difficult to hear over the din of corporate public relations machines. …”].

19. Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, by Stephen R. Covey, 1990, 158 COV [From LibraryThing: “… presents a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. With insights and anecdotes, Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service, and human dignity — principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates.”].

20. The New Way Things Work, by David Macaulay, 1998, 600 MAC [From LibraryThing: “Text and numerous detailed illustrations introduce and explain the scientific principles and workings of hundreds of machines. Includes new material about digital technology.”].

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 featuring Michael Clague, Janet Pivnick and the UN Association in Canada on Sunday, October 19, 2025 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 United Nations: Its History and the Canadians Who Shaped It: Fifty Years of Struggle and Hope, by Desmond Morton, 1995, 341.23 MOR [Gift of Lucy Stewart. From LibraryThing: “For some children, the United Nations is a huge building in New York City. For others, it’s the blue-helmeted soldiers or the huge piles of relief food they see on TV. Or maybe when some kids think of the UN, they picture kids collecting money for UNICEF at Halloween. Whatever a child’s image of the United Nations, this book will explain its history and introduce the people who shaped it”].

2. Intent for a Nation: What Is Canada For? A Relentlessly Optimistic Manifesto for Canada’s Role in the World, by Michael Byers, 2007, 971.07 BYE [From LibraryThing: “In Intent for a Nation, Michael Byers argues that it is time for a clear-eyed appreciation of our strengths and weaknesses, of all we have and all we could be. A whole series of world events-the waning of US credibility; the increasing value of natural resources; the brain-gain; the ever-increasing interdependence of peoples, countries and continents-have combined to put Canada center stage in a new world order. Instead of emulating our increasingly isolated neighbor, we should be advancing the Canadian model, an idealistic, fiscally prudent, socially progressive vision that has never looked so good. Intent for a Nation is a fundamentally optimistic, informed and opinionated overview of where Canada stands in the world and what aggressive public policies are needed to carry the country forward in an ever more competitive and volatile world. …”].

3. Canada’s Global Future – Navigating a New World, by Lloyd Axworthy, 2003, 327.17 AXW [From the hardcover edition: “… As we meet refugees from civil war and drought, child soldiers and landmine victims, the moral imperative is clear: this is a deeply compassionate appeal to confront poverty, war and environmental disaster. Before Lloyd Axworthy entered global politics, “human security” — a philosophy calling for global responsibility to the interests of individuals rather than to the interests of the nation state or multi-national corporations — was a controversial and unfamiliar idea. When put into action, human security led to an international ban on landmines, initiatives to curtail the use of child soldiers, and the formation of the International Criminal Court. Today, with conflict raging across the planet — and building — the need for a humane, secure international governance is more vital than ever. …”].

4. Lotta and the Unitarian Service Committee Story, by Clyde Sanger, 1986, 921 HIT [From CM Archive: “… Lotta’s secure life in Prague was shattered by the war that left her homeless, and ultimately an orphan. In 1942 she arrived in Canada, and almost immediately started trying to alert Canadians to problems of European war victims. The USC, which she organized in Canada, started with European relief work and expanded to relief and rehabilitation programs in Korea, India, the Gaza strip, and Vietnam. Details of the successes and frustrations of Lotta’s efforts reveal a remarkably capable, persistent, and brave individual. … describing the recent shift in emphasis from small projects, with close personal contact, to larger integrated community development schemes. …”].

5. In Search of Progress in a Time of Fear and Disillusionment: Questions from a Life in Community Work, by Michael Clague, 2024, 307 CLA [Written by a UCV member. He writes, “In this time of multiple global crises, notably the coming climate collapse, the burden falls directly on communities. Community work is uniquely suited to mobilizing citizens for informed plans and actions in a democratic society. It offers a life raft of hope by calling on the best of the human spirit to solve these problems or at least survive them”].

6. So, How Have I Been Doing At Being Who I Am?, by Michael Clague, 2023, 921 CLA [Written by a UCV member, and is a gift of the author. Reviews from Amazon.ca: “I do not remember a book that moved me so much as this one.” – Ray Spaxman. Former Director of Planning, City of Vancouver.
“Should be in the library of every school of social work, social planning and planning.” – Gordon Gram. Development industry and environmental and land use public sector planner.
“I liked this book very much. In my career in publishing and philanthropy I’ve read about many inspiring people, and I’m really impressed with his story telling skills. Like a friend sharing some of his life story over a coffee or a beer.” – Karen Theroux. Former writer/editor for the Carnegie Corporation, New York].

7. Transforming Liberalism: The Theology of James Luther Adams, by George Kimmich Beach, 2021, 230 BEA [From LibraryThing: “… “Adams was the most transforming figure in 20th-century Unitarian Univeralism. Having previously edited Adams’s essays, Beach masterfully gives us the master himself… the smiling prophet of liberal religion.” -John A. Buchrens, co-author of A Chosen 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 Sunday service. Here is their list for the upcoming service featuring Rev. Shawn Gauthier and Janet Pivnick on Sunday, October 12, 2025 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 Gift Of Thanks, by Margaret Visser, 2008, 179.9 VIS [From LibraryThing: “… considers cultural history, including the modern battle of social scientists to pin down the notion of thankfulness and account for it, and the newly awakened scientific interest in the biological and evolutionary roots of emotions. This fascinating inquiry into all aspects of gratitude ranges from the unusual determination with which parents teach their children to thank, to the difference between speaking the words and feeling them, to the ways different cultures handle the complex matters of giving, receiving, and returning favors and presents. It also illuminates the modern battle of social scientists to pin down the notion of thankfulness and discover its biological and evolutionary roots”].

2. Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort of Joy, by Sarah Ban Breathnach, 1995, 158.12 BAN [From LibraryThing: “…  is responsible for introducing two hugely popular concepts – the “Gratitude Journal” and the term “Authentic Self.” With daily inspirational meditations and reflections, the Simple Abundance phenomenon became a touchstone for a generation of women, helping them to reclaim their true selves, find balance during life’s busiest moments, and rediscover what makes them truly happy.
Simple Abundance‘s powerful messages are needed now more than ever, as we navigate the discord and stress instigated by a constant stream of “breaking news” cycles, and our 24/7 social media culture. … address the needs of a new generation, with her signature candor, wit, and wisdom that made her a trusted and compassionate confidant for millions of women.
…, Sarah’s work celebrates quiet joys, simple pleasures, and well-spent moments and reminds us how to find the beauty in the everyday”].

3. The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, illustrated by John Burgoyne, 2024, 581.63097 [From LibraryThing: “… harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth, its abundance of sweet, juicy berries, to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution insures its own survival.”].

4. Farm Folk City Folk: Stories, Tips and Recipes Celebrating Local Food for Food Lovers of All Stripes, by Herb Barbolrt, 1999, 641.3 BAR [Michael Marrapese is the photographer. Gift of the authors. Signed by one of the co-authors. From LibraryThing: “Farm Folk City Folk celebrates the importance of food in our lives and in our communities. In it’s pages you will be tantalized and inspired as you hear the stories behind successful companies and producers. Throughout, top chefs contribute recipes using local ingredients. Farm Folk City Folk is also jammed with practical tips on everything from growing edible flowers to organising a farmer’s market”].

5. The Art of Loving, by Erich Fromm and Ruth Nanda Ashen, 1989, 157 FRO [Gift of the Unitarian Family Life Centre. From LibraryThing: “… 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. …”].

6. A Grateful Heart: Daily Blessings for the Evening Meal from Buddha to the Beatles, edited by M. J. Ryan, 1994, 291.4 RYA [From LibraryThing: “… setting aside time before we eat to acknowledge the blessings in our lives. When we give thanks, we take our place in the great wheel of life, recognizing our connection to one another and to all of creation. Reclaim and enrich the tradition of pausing before the evening meal to give thanks. Drawing from a range of religious and cultural practices, the 365 blessings in this book celebrate friendship, love, peace, reconciliation, the body, nature, joy, and appreciation of the moment. … includes quotations from Martin Luther King Jr., Thich Nhat Hanh, Gandhi, …, among many others.”].

7. The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, by Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Carlton Abrams, 2016, 294 LAM [From LibraryThing: “… From the beginning the book was envisioned as a three-layer birthday cake: their own stories and teachings about joy, the most recent findings in the science of deep happiness, and the daily practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives. Both the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu have been tested by great personal and national adversity, and here they share their personal stories of struggle and renewal. Now that they are both in their eighties, they especially want to spread the core message that to have joy yourself, you must bring joy to others.
Most of all, during that landmark week in Dharamsala, they demonstrated by their own exuberance, compassion, and humor how joy can be transformed from a fleeting emotion into an enduring way of life”].

8. Blessings: Prayers and Declarations for a Heartful Life, by Julia Cameron, 1998, 291.432 CAM [From LibraryThing: “… reveals the keys she uses to reconnect herself with the source of her creative spirit. Focusing on gratitude and recognizing the power to change one’s surrounding world by changing one’s thinking, Cameron explains how she surrenders to the “deeper flow of life rather than willfully forcing artificial solutions.” By acknowledging the beauty, harmony, and synergy of life, readers learn through Cameron’s inspiring prose how to cherish the gifts they have been given and use them to their fullest. … will realize how to achieve harmony in their lives and embrace the notion that they are part of a larger whole that holds them in a benevolent and protective view. With Blessings, readers will understand the secrets of a life that is rich, beautiful, intricate, and valuable.”].

9. A Listening Heart: The Art of Contemplative Living, by David Steindl-Rast, 1983, 248.4 STE [Gift of Anne Ptolemy. From LibraryThing: “In this book, Brother David Steindl-Rast, who has been a monk for more than 50 years,  argues that every sensual experience – whether the joy of walking barefoot or the fragrance of the season – should be recognized as a spiritual one.”].

10. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, 2015, 305 KIM [From LibraryThing: “… As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowing together to reveal what it means to see humans as “the younger brothers of creation.” As she explores these themes, she circles toward a central argument: The awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the world. Once we begin to listen for the languages of other beings, we can begin to understand the innumerable life-giving gifts the world provides us and learn to offer our thanks, our care, and our own gifts in return”].

11. Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul: 101 Stories, by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Heather McNamara, 1999, 158.2 CAN [Gift of Hal Logan. From LibraryThing: “Presents over one hundred inspirational stories that offer encouragement to individuals who are facing challenging times].

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 featuring Rev. Shawn Gauthier and Kiersten Moore on Sunday, October 5, 2025 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 Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, by Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Carlton Abrams, 2016, 294 LAM [From LibraryThing: “… The occasion was a big birthday. And it inspired two close friends to get together in Dharamsala for a talk about something very important to them. The friends were His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The subject was joy. Both winners of the Nobel Prize, both great spiritual masters and moral leaders of our time, they are also known for being among the most infectiously happy people on the planet.
From the beginning the book was envisioned as a three-layer birthday cake: their own stories and teachings about joy, the most recent findings in the science of deep happiness, and the daily practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives. Both the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu have been tested by great personal and national adversity, and here they share their personal stories of struggle and renewal. Now that they are both in their eighties, they especially want to spread the core message that to have joy yourself, you must bring joy to others.
Most of all, during that landmark week in Dharamsala, they demonstrated by their own exuberance, compassion, and humor how joy can be transformed from a fleeting emotion into an enduring way of life”].

2. The Archipelago of Hope: Wisdom and Resilience from the Edge of Climate Change, by Gleb Raygorodetsky, 2018, 304 RAY [From LibraryThing, on the book jacket: “… while our politicians argue, the truth is that climate change is already here. Nobody knows this better than Indigenous peoples who, having developed an intimate relationship with ecosystems over generations, have observed these changes for decades. For them, climate change is not an abstract concept or policy issue, but the reality of daily life. … shows how these communities are actually islands of biological and cultural diversity in the ever-rising sea of development and urbanization. They are an “archipelago of hope” as we enter the Anthropocene, for here lies humankind’s best chance to understand how to take care of the Earth. These communities are implementing creative solutions to meet these modern challenges. Solutions that are relevant to the rest of us. …”].

3. Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying, by Ram Dass, 2001, 305.26 [From LibraryThing: “… In 1997, Ram Dass suffered a nearly incapacitating stroke that affected his speech and movement. The next two years he devoted to his healing and recovery. Drawing on this experience Ram Dass once again has produced a thought-provoking book that speaks to the soul. It is an appealing selection for those seeking insights and reassurance about the mature seasons of our lives.”].

4. Trusting Change: Finding Our Way Through Personal and Global Transformation, by Karen Hering, 2022, 248 HER [From LibraryThing: “… offers pastoral support and spiritual skills building for individuals on the cusp of personal change within the collective context of a world that is reshaping itself at a faster pace than ever. The book’s ten thresholding skills give readers practical tools for living on the threshold and through change, but this is not a typical “how-to” guide and its beautifully written and evocative language will connect readers with their own deeper consciousness. … Hering does not pretend that change is easy but notes its inevitability and some of the ways readers can participate in it, allowing them to trust it more in the future. Sharing wisdom found in nature and in metaphors, the reflections include evocative questions and creative, often embodied exercises that invite the reader into a larger story of change. …”].

5. Time to Change: Essays, by David Suzuki, 1995, 333.7 SUZ [From LibraryThing: “… a time when we must change. The signs are everywhere; … first calls our attention to the signs and then considers the realms of science, politics and economics to find the source of our problems and also the ground on which we can – and cannot – place our hope for the future”].

6. 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. …”].

7. Beyond Civilization: Humanity’s Next Great Adventure, by Daniel Quinn, 2000, 901 QUI [Gift of Shelagh Lindsey. From LibraryThing: “… We all know there’s no one right way to build a bicycle, no one right way to design an automobile, no one right way to make a pair of shoes, but we’re convinced that there must be only one right way to live — and the one we have is it, no matter what. … Examining ancient civilizations such as the Maya and the Olmec, as well as modern-day microcosms of alternative living like circus societies, Quinn guides us on a quest for a new model for society, one that is forward-thinking and encourages diversity instead of suppressing it. …”].

8. Gentle Roads to Survival: Making Self-Healing Choices in Difficult Circumstances, by Andre Auw, 1991, 158.1 AUW [From LibraryThing: “… suggestions on handling the challenges of life by using anecdotes and experiences from his years as a therapist.”].

9. Social Action Heroes: Unitarian Universalists Who Are Changing the World, by Michelle Bates Deakin, 2012, 261 DEA [Published by Skinner House Books. From Amazon: “Unitarian Universalists are committed to acting on important issues of social justice throughout the world. Award-winning journalist Michelle Bates Deakin explores the actions of eleven individuals and the impact their actions have had on their communities and their souls. Compelling and inspiring, Social Action Heroes illuminates the potential for deep change inherent in each of us, and in Unitarian Universalism as a whole.”].

10. From Naked Ape to Super Species: A Personal Perspective on Humanity and the Global Ecocrisis, by David Suzuki and Holly Dressel, 1999, 304.2 SUZ [From LibraryThing: “… describe how we have evolved beyond our needs, trampling other species, believing that we can make the Earth work the way we want it to. And they introduce us to the people who are fighting back, those who are resisting the inexorable advance of the “global economy” juggernaut, the people whose voices are difficult to hear over the din of corporate public relations machines. …”].

11. American Exodus: Climate Change and the Coming Flight for Survival, by Giles Slade, 2013, 304.8 SLA [Written by a UCV member. From Amazon: “… Giles Slade argues that we are entering a long period of global desperation which will be characterized by human migration on an unprecedented scale. American Exodus is a frighteningly believable survey of our immediate future, but it ends on a note of hope: we may yet survive the coming century of climatic change if we act now to safeguard our shelter of last resort. …”].

12. 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”].

13. The Free Church in a Changing World, by Dana McLean Greeley, 1963, 288 UUA [From GoodReads: “Reports of six commissions appointed in 1959 by Dana McLean Greeley (while president of American Unitarian Association) to survey, evaluate, and recommend possible future directions of UU congregations”].

14. Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, by Stephen R. Covey, 1990, 158 COV [From LibraryThing: “… presents a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. With insights and anecdotes, Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service, and human dignity — principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates.”].

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 featuring Rev. Shawn Gauthier and Laureen Stokes on Sunday, September 28, 2025 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. Tiná7 Cht Ti Temíxw: We Come From This Land: A Walk Through the History of the Squamish People, by the Squamish Nation, 2024, 971 TIN [From LibraryThing: “A story of the Sk_wx_wu´7mesh U´xwumixw (Squamish Nation): past, present, and future. One hundred years after Sk_wx_wu´7mesh (Squamish) leadership signed an amalgamation agreement that declared several communities in Squamish territory as one nation, this accessible history of the Sk_wx_wu´7mesh people traces our stories from ancient times to the present. … offers the culmination of generations of knowledge about the Squamish People and S?wx_wú7meshulh Temíx_w (Squamish People’s Territory). Today, we are over 4,100 people and growing, living within S?wx_wú7meshulh Temíx_w and beyond. Our 6,732-square-kilometre territory includes the watersheds of the Squamish River, Mamquam River, and Howe Sound in the north, and English Bay, False Creek, and Burrard Inlet in the south. It encompasses saltwater and rushing rivers, old-growth forests at valley bottoms, and alpine forests high above the ocean. Oral histories and archaeological sites demonstrate our relationship with the lands and waters going back over twelve thousand years. Here, we introduce ancient Squamish stories and ways, as well as describe relationships with our neighbours from time immemorial. We discuss early contact with Europeans and the disastrous effects of racism and colonialism, the Indian Act, reserves, and residential schools. We detail our engagement with the imperfect tool of the Canadian judicial system in several significant court cases that have advanced Indigenous rights. And we show how the Squamish Nation is taking back ownership and stewardship within our homelands. …”].

2. Standoff: Why Reconciliation Fails Indigenous People and How to Fix It, by Bruce McIvor, 2022, 342 McI [Author is a VanU member. From LibraryThing: “… In this series of concise and thoughtful essays, lawyer and historian Bruce McIvor explains why reconciliation with Indigenous peoples is failing and what needs to be done to fix it. … From Wet’suwet’en opposition to a pipeline in northern British Columbia, to Mi’kmaw exercising their fishing rights in Nova Scotia, McIvor has been actively involved in advising First Nation clients, fielding industry and non-Indigenous opposition to true reconciliation, and explaining to government officials why their policies are failing. … His writing covers many of the most important issues that have become part of a national dialogue, including systemic racism, treaty rights, violence against Indigenous people, Me tis identity, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) and the duty to consult. McIvor’s message is consistent and powerful: if Canadians are brave enough to confront the reality of the country’s colonialist past and present and insist that politicians replace empty promises with concrete, meaningful change, there is a realistic path forward based on respect, recognition and the implementation of Indigenous rights.”].

3. Indigenous Rights in One Minute: What You Need to Know to Talk Reconciliation, by Bruce McIvor, 2025, 341.4852 [Gift of the author. From LibraryThing: “… provides concise, plain answers to 100 essential questions being asked by Canadians across the country. … Why do Indigenous people have special rights? What is the Doctrine of Discovery? Who are the Métis? Why was the Calder decision important? What is reconciliation? … scrapping the technical language that confuses the issues, and speaks directly to everyone looking for straight answers. Throughout, McIvor shares his perspective on why reconciliation as envisioned by the courts and Canadian governments frustrates Indigenous people and what needs to change to overcome the impasse. … To ensure the country’s reconciliation project progresses from rhetoric to reality, ordinary Canadians need straightforward answers to fundamental questions. …”].

4. Making Native Space: Colonialism, Resistance, and Reserves in British Columbia, by R. Cole Harris, 2002, 971.1 HAR [Written by a VanU member. From LibraryThing: “… a geographical history of the Indian reserve in British Columbia. Cole Harris analyzes the impact of reserves on Native lives and livelihoods and considers how, in light of this, the Native land question might begin to be resolved. The account begins in the early nineteenth-century British Empire and then follows Native land policy – and Native resistance to it – in British Columbia from the Douglas treaties in the early 1850s to the formal transfer of reserves to the Dominion in 1938.”].

5. The Best of Chief Dan George, by Dan George, 2017, 811.54 [From LibraryThing: “… Included in this edition is the Lament for Confederation by Chief Dan George. Poetic and spiritual, this book has a universal message to all people. Chief Dan George was an accomplished performer, poet, philosopher, champion of Native peoples and loving patriarch of a large family.”].

6. The Reconciliation Manifesto: Recovering the Land, Rebuilding the Economy, by Arthur Manuel, 2017, 305 MAN [From LibraryThing: “… show how governments are attempting to reconcile with Indigenous Peoples without touching the basic colonial structures that dominate and distort the relationship. They review the current state of land claims. They tackle the persistence of racism among non-Indigenous people and institutions. They celebrate Indigenous Rights Movements while decrying the role of government-funded organizations like the Assembly of First Nations. They document the federal government’s disregard for the substance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples while claiming to implement it. These circumstances amount to what they see as a false reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. Instead, Manuel and Derrickson offer an illuminating vision of what Canada and Canadians need for true reconciliation. …”].

7. From Where I Stand: Rebuilding Indigenous Nations for a Stronger Canada, by Jody Wilson-Raybould, 2019, 970 WIL [From LibraryThing: “… Drawn from speeches made over a ten-year period both at home and abroad, Jody Wilson-Raybould reveals why true reconciliation will occur only when Canada moves beyond denial, recognizes Indigenous Rights, and replaces the Indian Act. We have the solutions. Now is the time to end the legacy of colonialism and replace it with a future built on foundations of trust, cooperation, and Indigenous self-government.”].

8. Unitarian Universalism and the Quest for Racial Justice 1967-1982, by Victor Carpenter, 1993, 288 CAR [Gift of Ann Buckmaster].

9. Soul Work: Anti-Racist Theologies in Dialogue, by Unitarian Universalist Association, edited by Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley and Nancy Palmer Jones, 2002, 261.8 BOW [Published by Skinner House Books. From LibraryThing uufnn review: “… an anti-racism consultant and trainer in the UUA Metro New York District and for the Unitarian Universalist Association. … was a founding member of the African American Unitarian Universalist Ministry (AAUUM). In this work nine essays are presented and there are two respondents for each essay, with the exception of the first one, which only has one respondent. Then a dialogue is held and study questions are provided for each essay. …”].

10. Social Action Heroes: Unitarian Universalists Who Are Changing the World, by Michelle Bates Deakin, 2012, 261 DEA [Published by Skinner House Books. From Amazon: “Unitarian Universalists are committed to acting on important issues of social justice throughout the world. Award-winning journalist Michelle Bates Deakin explores the actions of eleven individuals and the impact their actions have had on their communities and their souls. Compelling and inspiring, Social Action Heroes illuminates the potential for deep change inherent in each of us, and in Unitarian Universalism as a whole.”].

11. A Brief History of the Unitarian Church of Vancouver 1909-1979, by Peggy Woods, 1979, 288 WOO [Signed by the author].

12. Unitarianism On The Pacific Coast: The First Sixty Years, by Arnold Crompton, 1957, 289.1 CRO [Published by Beacon Press].

13. The First Nations of British Columbia: An Anthropological Survey, Second Edition, by Robert Muckle, 2004, 971.1 MUC [From LibraryThing: “… familiarizes readers with the history, diversity, and complexity of First Nations to provide a context for contemporary concerns and initiatives. … Explains the current treaty negotiation process – Provides highlights of agreements between First Nations and governments up to the present – Details past and present government policies – Identifies the territories of major groups in the province – Gives information on populations, reserves, bands, and language groups – Summarizes archaeological, ethnographic, historical, legal, and political issues. …”].

14. Who We Are: Four Questions For a Life and a Nation, by Murray Sinclair, 2024, 971.004973 [From LibraryThing: “… As Canada moves forward into the future of reconciliation, one of its greatest leaders guides us to ask the most important and difficult question we can ask of ourselves: Who are we? For decades, Senator Sinclair has fearlessly educated Canadians about the painful truths of our history. He was the first Indigenous judge in Manitoba, and only the second Indigenous judge in Canadian history. He was the Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and remains one of the foremost voices on Reconciliation. And now, for the first time, he will share his full story–and his full vision for our nation–with readers across Canada. … will examine the roles of history, resistance, and resilience in the pursuit of finding that path forward, and healing the damaged relationship between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. …”].

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 featuring Janet Pivnick, Intern Minister on Sunday, September 21, 2025 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. Trusting Change: Finding Our Way Through Personal and Global Transformation, by Karen Hering, 2022, 248 HER [From LibraryThing: “… offers pastoral support and spiritual skills building for individuals on the cusp of personal change within the collective context of a world that is reshaping itself at a faster pace than ever. The book’s ten thresholding skills give readers practical tools for living on the threshold and through change, but this is not a typical “how-to” guide and its beautifully written and evocative language will connect readers with their own deeper consciousness. From the book’s first page, the reader is greeted by a warm storyteller ready to journey with them through uncertainty and change. Hering does not pretend that change is easy but notes its inevitability and some of the ways readers can participate in it, allowing them to trust it more in the future. Sharing wisdom found in nature and in metaphors, the reflections include evocative questions and creative, often embodied exercises that invite the reader into a larger story of change. …”].

2. From Beginning to End: The Rituals of Our Lives, by Robert Fulghum, 1995, 128 FUL [From LibraryThing: “… My thinking was set in motion by those who, knowing I was a parish minister for many years, have asked me for advice about ceremonies and celebrations. They wanted words to use at graduations, funerals, and the welcoming of children. They inquired about grace at family meals, the reaffirmation of wedding vows, and ways to heal wounds suffered in personal conflict. People requested help with the rituals of solitude, such as meditation, prayer, and contemplation. . . . 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.”].

3. Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, by Stephen R. Covey, 1990, 158 COV [From LibraryThing: “… presents a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. With insights and anecdotes, Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service, and human dignity — principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates.”].

4. 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”].

5. The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, by Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Carlton Abrams, 2016, 294 LAM [From LibraryThing: “… The occasion was a big birthday. And it inspired two close friends to get together in Dharamsala for a talk about something very important to them. The friends were His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The subject was joy. Both winners of the Nobel Prize, both great spiritual masters and moral leaders of our time, they are also known for being among the most infectiously happy people on the planet.
From the beginning the book was envisioned as a three-layer birthday cake: their own stories and teachings about joy, the most recent findings in the science of deep happiness, and the daily practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives. Both the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu have been tested by great personal and national adversity, and here they share their personal stories of struggle and renewal. Now that they are both in their eighties, they especially want to spread the core message that to have joy yourself, you must bring joy to others.
Most of all, during that landmark week in Dharamsala, they demonstrated by their own exuberance, compassion, and humor how joy can be transformed from a fleeting emotion into an enduring way of life”].

6. Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America, by Barbara Ehrenreich, 2010, 155.23 HER [From LibraryThing: “… 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. In this utterly original take on the American frame of mind, Barbara Ehrenreich 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. Evangelical mega-churches preach the good news that you only have to want something to get it, because God wants to “prosper” you. The medical profession prescribes positive thinking for its presumed health benefits. Academia has made room for new departments of “positive psychology” and the “science of happiness.” Nowhere, though, has bright-siding taken firmer root than within the business community, where, as Ehrenreich shows, the refusal even to consider negative outcomes-like mortgage defaults-contributed directly to the current economic crisis. With the myth busting powers for which she is acclaimed, Ehrenreich 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. An Introduction to The Unitarian and Universalist Traditions, by Andrea Greenwood, 2011, 230.91 GRE [From LibraryThing: “… This book will help the reader to understand the contemporary liberal religion of Unitarian Universalism in a historical and global context. Andrea Greenwood and Mark W. Harris challenge the view that the Unitarianism of New England is indigenous and the point from which the religion spread. Relationships between Polish radicals and the English Dissenters existed and the English radicals profoundly influenced the Unitarianism of the nascent United States. Greenwood and Harris also explore the US identity as Unitarian Universalist since a 1961 merger and its current relationship to international congregations, particularly in the context of twentieth-century expansion into Asia.”].

8. The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions, by Karen Armstrong, 2006, 200.9 ARM [From LibraryThing, the publisher description: “In the ninth century BCE, the peoples of four distinct regions of the civilized world created the religious and philosophical traditions that have continued to nourish humanity to the present day: Confucianism and Daoism in China, Hinduism and Buddhism in India, monotheism in Israel, and philosophical rationalism in Greece. Later generations further developed these initial insights, but we have never grown beyond them. Now, Karen Armstrong reveals how the sages of this pivotal “Axial Age” can speak clearly and helpfully to the violence and desperation that we experience in our own times. The Axial Age faiths began in recoil from the unprecedented violence of their time. There was a remarkable consensus in their call for an abandonment of selfishness and a spirituality of compassion. The traditions of the Axial Age were not about dogma–all insisted on the primacy of compassion even in the midst of suffering.”].

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 featuring Rev. Shawn Gauthier on Sunday, September 14, 2025 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 Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety, by Alan W. Watts, 1951, 128.3 WAT [The Julian Fears Library. From LibraryThing: “… Watts offers the liberating message that true certitude and security come only from understanding that impermanence and insecurity are the essence of our existence. He highlights the futility of endlessly chasing moving goalposts, whether they consist of financial success, stability, or escape from pain, and shows that it is only by acknowledging what we do not know that we can learn anything truly worth knowing. …”].

2. Fear and Other Uninvited Guests: Tackling the Anxiety, Fear, and Shame That Keep Us from Optimal Living and Loving, by Harriet Lerner, 2004, 152.46 LER [Gift of Dawn Stewart. From LibraryThing: “… Often unrecognised, fear and shame drive our choices and attitudes in ways that most of us never figure out. As Lerner explains, fear is not an amorphous unknown to be transcended or overcome but an emotion to be recognized, explored, decoded and embraced. Once we befriend fear, it can actually help us achieve calm, clarity and fundamental peace. Lerner teaches us the best ways to deal with fear: to expect, allow, and accept its presence in our lives, to mindfully observe and attend to how it feels in our bodies and, ultimately to own it. We can become experts on our personal triggers of anxiety, learning when fear signals real danger and when it’s best to plough through it because it comes with the territory of making necessary changes. The very worst thing we can do in the face of fear is to run from it or try to avoid it. Fear is not something to be conquered or eliminated–or even tackled, for that matter. Instead, we need to pay close attention to the message it is trying to convey. Using her wonderfully rich and inviting therapeutic voice along with personal memories and examples drawn from her practice, Lerner gives fear its due. We needn’t let anxiety, fear, and shame silence our authentic voice, close our hearts to the different voices of others, or stop us from acting with dignity, integrity and brio. We need to harness fear and put it in service to our best selves.”].

3. 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. …”].

4. Why Do I Feel So Bad?, by Chris Williams, 2008, 158 WIL [From LibraryThing, regarding this book as part of a group called “Pick Me Ups”: “… meets the reader at a point of low mood or unhelpful thinking, and guides them through rational thought processes to a more positive mood and a healthier outlook on life. Based on CBT, which aims to change patterns of thinking or behaviour that are behind people’s difficulties and so change the way they feel (and currently the subject of major government investment), Pick Me Ups can enable readers to feel happier, to sleep better, to do more and to feel more confident. …”].

5. Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, 1997, 818.3 THO [From LibraryThing: “In 1845 Henry David Thoreau, one of the principal New England Transcendentalists, left the town for the country. Beside the lake of Walden, he built himself a log cabin and returned to nature, to observe and reflect while surviving on eight dollars a year. From this experience emerged one of the great classics of American literature, a deeply personal reaction against the commercialism and materialism that he saw as the main impulses of mid-19th century America.”].

6. The War on Terror: Taking Aim at the Anxiety Disorders: A Primer for Sufferers and Loved Ones, by David Buchanan, 2015, 152.46 BUC [Written by VanU librarian. From LibraryThing: “… is written for a general readership (e.g., sufferers of anxiety disorders and those near and dear to them, and others interested in the topic) and no prior knowledge of the topic is necessary to fully appreciate this book. This book could be used as a text for a psychology or psychiatry course, for instance. In addition, it is the author’s hope that medical and psychological clinicians and researchers will gain a fresh perspective on their fields of expertise after reading this book. Ingrid Söchting, Clinical Assistant Professor at University of British Columbia wrote: “I was impressed by the wealth of information and your ability to clearly and succinctly synthesize it all. A wonderful resource for anyone seeking help with or information on anxiety.””].

7. Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape, by Barry Holstun Lopez, 1986, 508.98 LOP [From LibraryThing: “… carries readers on a breathtaking journey into the heart of one of the world’s last frontiers … explores the ways the human imagination engages with a landscape at once barren and beautiful, perilous and alluring, austere yet teeming with vibrant life, and shot through with human history. The Arctic has for centuries been a destination for the most ambitious explorers-a place of dreams, fears, and awe-inspiring spectacle. Based on Lopez’s years spent traveling the Arctic regions in the company of Eskimo hunting parties and scientific expeditions alike, Arctic Dreams investigates the unique terrain of the human mind, thrown into relief against the vastness of the tundra and the frozen ocean. Eye-opening and profoundly moving, it is a magnificent appreciation of how wilderness challenges and inspires us. …”].

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 featuring Rev. Shawn Gauthier on Sunday, September 7, 2025 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. Shoreline – Water Poems, from the Canadian Unitarian Council, 2007, 821 CUC.

2. From Beginning to End: The Rituals of Our Lives, by Robert Fulghum, 1995, 128 FUL [From LibraryThing: “… My thinking was set in motion by those who, knowing I was a parish minister for many years, have asked me for advice about ceremonies and celebrations. They wanted words to use at graduations, funerals, and the welcoming of children. They inquired about grace at family meals, the reaffirmation of wedding vows, and ways to heal wounds suffered in personal conflict. People requested help with the rituals of solitude, such as meditation, prayer, and contemplation. . . . 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. FULGHUM From the Paperback edition”].

3. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, 2015, 305 KIM [From LibraryThing: “… As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowing together to reveal what it means to see humans as “the younger brothers of creation.” As she explores these themes, she circles toward a central argument: The awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the world. Once we begin to listen for the languages of other beings, we can begin to understand the innumerable life-giving gifts the world provides us and learn to offer our thanks, our care, and our own gifts in return”].

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 featuring Leslie Hill on Sunday, August 31, 2025 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. Dressed for Dancing: My Sojourn in the Findhorn Foundation, by Leslie Anne Hill, 2012, 921 HIL [Written by a VanU member. From Amazon: “”I wasn’t going to commit suicide, but I could imagine waking up one day and deciding not to get out of bed. Ever.” Leslie Hill can’t recover from her husband’s death. Work and therapy don’t help. Trying to escape her grief through travel, she visits a cousin who is living in the Findhorn Foundation, a New Age community in northern Scotland. Although Leslie dislikes the culture of emotional openness and transparency, she is intrigued enough to do a workshop. When a three- month visit turns into a five-year stay, she begins a journey of self-discovery that will change everything.”].

2. Pilgrimage – Story Spirit Witness Place, 2013, 808.88 HIL [Chapter by Leslie Hill, VanU member. From the Pilgrimage Magazine – About Us: “… The magazine is dedicated to exploring story, spirit, witness, and place in and beyond the American Southwest. We welcome creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, translation submissions and feature one artist per issue. …”].

3. Trusting Change: Finding Our Way Through Personal and Global Transformation, by Karen Hering, 2022, 248 HER [From LibraryThing: “… offers pastoral support and spiritual skills building for individuals on the cusp of personal change within the collective context of a world that is reshaping itself at a faster pace than ever. The book’s ten thresholding skills give readers practical tools for living on the threshold and through change, but this is not a typical “how-to” guide and its beautifully written and evocative language will connect readers with their own deeper consciousness. From the book’s first page, the reader is greeted by a warm storyteller ready to journey with them through uncertainty and change. Hering does not pretend that change is easy but notes its inevitability and some of the ways readers can participate in it, allowing them to trust it more in the future. Sharing wisdom found in nature and in metaphors, the reflections include evocative questions and creative, often embodied exercises that invite the reader into a larger story of change. …”].

4. Man’s Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy, by Viktor E. Frankl, 1984, 150.19 FRA [The Julian Fears Library. From LibraryThing: “… Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the experiences of others he treated later in his practice, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl’s theory – known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos (“meaning”) – holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful. …”].

5. Gentle Roads to Survival: Making Self-Healing Choices in Difficult Circumstances, by Andre Auw, 1991, 158.1 AUW [From LibraryThing: “… suggestions on handling the challenges of life by using anecdotes and experiences from his years as a therapist.”].

6. Grownupedness, by Clarissa P Green, 2020, 155 GRE [Gift of Leslie Hill. From LibraryThing: “Grownupedness is a personal memoir, rich with the insight of Clarissa P. Green’s decades-long career as a university professor and family therapist working with aging parents and their mid-life children. In finding that the search for authenticity and the desire to appear and act “grown up” was shared among those families that she counselled, Clarissa brings to life her stories, insights and personal family experiences-making her deep understanding of aging and family life available to all families or individuals struggling with age and family relationships. Using her own similar family struggles and sharing the deeply personal process of her family’s history and future interlocking through time, Clarissa explores when and how “grownupedness” emerges and evolves, what threatens or cobbles it, and what it looks and sounds like in action over time.”].

7. Always Becoming – Forever! A Journal of Conscious Living/Conscious Dying, by Clare M. Buckland and Diana C. Douglas, 1999, 921 BUC [From LibraryThing: “What is conscious dying, anyway? For three years, Clare Buckland and Diana Douglas have been asking themselves this question. This book is the result. These two women have written a remarkably honest and human account of what it means to prepare for conscious dying…and ultimately, for conscious living.”].

8. Missing Sarah: A Memoir Of Loss, by Maggie De Vries, 2008, 306.74 DEV [Written by a VanU member            . From LibraryThing: “On April 14, 1998, Sarah de Vries disappeared from her usual spot on the corner of Princess and Hastings in Vancouver. She became one of the many women who had vanished from the Downtown Eastside – women, most of them sex workers and drug addicts – whose DNA would later be found on the Pickton farm. Reflecting on her adopted sister’s story, through Sarah’s own poetry and journals and the recollections of those close to her at home and downtown, Maggie uncovers the portrait of a bright, charismatic woman who found herself trapped in a downward spiral of self-loathing, prostitution, drugs, and violence. In this achingly honest book, the reader is drawn into revelations and understanding just as Maggie was. Tragic though it was in many ways, Sarah’s life had meaning.”].

9. Further Along the Road Less Traveled: The Unending Journey Toward Spiritual Growth, by M. Scott Peck, 1994, 158.1 PEC [From LibraryThing: “… takes the lectures of Dr. Peck and presents his profound insights into the issues that confront and challenge all of us today: spirituality, forgiveness, relationships, and growing up. In this aid for living less simplistically, you will learn not to look for the easy answers but to think multidimensionally. You will learn to reach for the “ultimate step,” which brings you face to face with your personal spirituality. It will be this that helps you appreciate the complexity that is life. …”].

10. What I Didn’t Know: True Stories of Becoming a Teacher, by Lee Gutkind, introduction by Jahana Hayes and Irvin Scott, 2016, 371.1 GUT [VanU contributor – Leslie Hill. From LibraryThing: “Teachers delve into the most difficult, rewarding, and transformative moments of their careers, as they discover that succeeding at teaching is a test not just of training or of subject matter, but of resolve, dedication, faith, and character. Whether in a New England prep school or a public school in South Central LA, a preschool in Malawi or a high school in China, the fundamental challenges of becoming a teacher are the same: finding authority, forging an authentic connection with students, and making a space where learning can occur. In these twenty personal narratives, teachers provide us with a fascinating insight into a profession that touches us all.”].

11, The Story of Your Life: Writing a Spiritual Autobiography, by Dan Wakefield, 1990, 808.2 WAK [Beacon Press Publication. From LibraryThing: “… how to write about and share our most meaningful life experiences and in so doing to see our lives in a new light. …”].

12, Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, by Stephen R. Covey, 1990, 158 COV [From LibraryThing: “… presents a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. With insights and anecdotes, Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service, and human dignity — principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates.”].

13. Always Becoming: An Autobiography, by Clare M. Buckland, 1996, 921 BUC [From LibraryThing: “Mentor, educator and Jungian analyst, Clare Buckland recounts the remarkable story of her life journey.”].

14. Living Revision: A Writer’s Craft as Spiritual Practice, by Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew, 2018, 801 AND [From LibraryThing, a description from Amazon: “… guides writers through the writing and revision process. With insight and grace, Andrew asks writers to flex their spiritual muscles, helping them to transform their writing as they in turn transform themselves into more curious and reflective human beings.”].

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 featuring Rev. Shawn Gauthier on Sunday, August 24, 2025 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. A Faith for All Seasons: Liberal Religion and the Crises of Life, by William R. Murry, 1990, 288 MUR [From GoodReads: “A liberal religious understanding of the pain and suffering in life which mirrors a Unitarian Universalist philosophy. It is a refreshing approach to the crisis of life that will help many people deal with their feelings of blame and guilt when a loved one dies. This book is a solid reference for those dealing with providing comfort to those grieving. It deals with providing meaning and purpose to individuals who can’t find it in their lives”].

2. Salted with Fire: Unitarian Universalist Strategies for Sharing Faith and Growing Congregations, by Scott W. Alexander, 1994, 289.13 ALE [Published by Skinner House Books].

3. Challenge of a Liberal Faith, George N. Marshall, 1988, 289.1 MAR [From Goodreads: “Here is a faith that is not external, but internal. The Unitarian Universalist church makes no other offer than this: to help a person develop the faith that is in him.”].

4. Faith Without Certainty: Liberal Theology In The 21st Century, by Paul Rasor, 2005, 230.04 RAS [Published by Skinner House Books. From LibraryThing: “This innovative critical analysis of religious liberalism probes the dynamic tensions of a theology that is committed to individual freedom and autonomy on the one hand and a greater sense of community on the other. Much more than a primer, Faith Without Certainty lays out the basic characteristics of liberal theology, delving into historical and philosophical sources as well as social and intellectual roots. Clear-eyed but ultimately hopeful, Rasor explores the ambiguous and creative nature of liberal theology today. Ideal for readers who want a better understanding of liberal theology, a religious tradition that is rooted not in authority but in one’s own experience and conscience.”].

5. A Holy Curiosity: Stories of a Liberal Religious Faith, by Bruce T Marshall, 1990, 288 MAR [Gift of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington].

6. Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith, by Anne Lamott, 2008, 921 LAM [From LibraryThing, the publisher description: “Wherever you look, there’s trouble and wonder, pain and beauty, restoration and darkness–sometimes all at once. Yet amid the confusion, if you look carefully, in nature or in the kitchen, in ordinariness or in mystery, beyond the emotion muck we all slog through, you’ll find it eventually: a path, some light to see by, moments of insight, courage, or buoyancy. In other words, grace. Lamott knows and lives by this belief, most of the time. In these essays, she recounts the missteps, detours, and roadblocks in her walk of faith”].

7. How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith, by Mariann Edgar Budde, 2023, 179.6 [From LibraryThing: “… During her prayer service for Donald J. Trump’s second inauguration, Bishop Budde addressed the president directly, imploring him “to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now,” from those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community to immigrants and refugees. But for Bishop Budde, this moment was the culmination of a lifetime spent thinking about those pivot points when we’re called on to push past our fears and act with strength. With How We Learn to Be Brave, she teaches us that being brave is not a singular occurrence; it’s a journey that we can choose to undertake every day. Here, Bishop Budde explores the full range of decisive moments, from the most visible and dramatic (the decision to go), to the internal and personal (the decision to stay), to brave choices made with an eye toward the future (the decision to start), those born of suffering (the decision to accept that which we did not choose), and those that come unexpectedly (the decision to step up to the plate). Drawing on examples ranging from Harry Potter to the Gospel According to Luke, she seamlessly weaves together personal experiences with stories from scripture, history, and pop culture to underscore both the universality of these moments and the particular call each one of us must heed when they arrive. … will provide much-needed fortitude and insight to anyone searching for answers in uncertain times.”].

8. On Being Human Religiously, by James Luther Adams, 1976, 230 ADA [Published by Beacon Press. From LibraryThing: “Adams speaks passionately and lucidly on religion’s ties to everyday life.”].

9. Three Prophets of Religious Liberalism: Channing Emerson Parker, Introduction by Conrad Wright, 1961, 288 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.”].

10. Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning, by James W. Fowler, 1981, 234.2 FOW [From LibraryThing: “… He has talked with men, women, and children of all ages, from four to eighty-eight, including Jews, Catholics, Protestants, agnostics, and atheists. … Faith, as approached here, is not necessarily religious, nor is it to be equated with belief. Rather, faith is a person’s way of leaning into and making sense of life. More verb that noun, faith is the dynamic system of images, values, and commitments that guide one’s life. It is thus universal: everyone who chooses to go on living operated by some basic faith. Building on the contributions of such key thinkers as Piaget, Erikson, and Kohlberg, Fowler draws on a wide range of scholarship, literature, and firsthand research to present expertly and engagingly the six stages that emerge in working out the meaning of our lives–from the intuitive, imitative faith of childhood through conventional and then more independent faith to the universalizing, self-transcending faith of full maturity. Stages of Faith helps us to understand our own pilgrimage of faith, the passages of our own quest for meaning and value.”].

11. The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason, by Sam Harris, 2005, 200 HAR [From LibraryThing: “An impassioned plea for reason in a world divided by faith. … Harris offers a vivid historical tour of mankind’s willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when those beliefs are used to justify harmful behavior and sometimes heinous crimes. He asserts that in the shadow of weapons of mass destruction, the world can no longer tolerate views that pit one true god against another. Most controversially, he argues that we cannot afford moderate lip service to religion — an accommodation that only blinds us to the real perils of fundamentalism. While warning against the encroachment of organized religion into world politics, Harris also draws on new evidence from neuroscience and insights from philosophy to explore spirituality as a biological, brain-based need. He calls on us to invoke that need in taking a secular humanistic approach to solving the problems of this world.”].

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 featuring Rev. Shawn Gauthier on Sunday, August 17, 2025 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. Me to We: Turning Self-Help on Its Head, by Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger, 2004, 177.7 KIE [Gift of Jessica Campbell. From LibraryThing, the publisher description: “Imagine waking up every morning believing that your actions can make a significant change in the world. For everyone who has ever yearned for a better life and a better world, the authors share a blueprint for personal and social change that has the power to transform lives, one act at a time. Through inspirational stories from all walks of life, the Kielburgers reveal that a more fulfilling path is ours for the taking when we find the courage to reach out. This book describes an approach to life that leads us to recognize what is truly valuable, make new decisions about the way we want to live, and redefine the goals we set for ourselves and the legacy we want to leave. Above all, it creates new ways of measuring meaning, happiness, and success in our lives, and makes these elusive goals attainable.”].

2. A New Earth Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, by Tolle Eckhart, 2008, 204.4 TOL [From LibraryThing, the publisher description: “Tolle presents readers with an honest look at the current state of humanity: he implores us to see and accept that this state, which is based on an erroneous identification with the egoic mind, is one of dangerous insanity. However, there is an alternative to this potentially dire situation. Humanity now, perhaps more than in any previous time, has an opportunity to create a new, saner, more loving world. This will involve a radical inner leap from the current egoic consciousness to an entirely new one. In illuminating the nature of this shift, Tolle describes in detail how our current ego-based state of consciousness operates. Then gently, and in very practical terms, he leads us into this new consciousness. We will come to experience who we truly are–which is something infinitely greater than anything we currently think we are.”].

3. Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life: How to Finally, Really Grow Up, by James Hollis, 2005, 155.6 HOL [From LibraryThing: “… We assume that once we “get it together” with the right job, marry the right person, have children, and buy a home, all is settled and well. But adulthood presents varying levels of growth and is rarely the respite of stability we expected. Turbulent emotional shifts can take place anywhere between the age of thirty-five and seventy when we question the choices we’ve made, realize our limitations, and feel stuck – commonly known as the “midlife crisis”. Jungian psychoanalyst James Hollis believes that it is only in the second half of life that we can truly come to know who we are and thus create a life that has meaning. … explores the ways we can grow and evolve to fully become ourselves when the traditional roles of adulthood aren’t quite working for us. Offering wisdom to anyone facing a career that no longer seems fulfilling, a long-term relationship that has shifted, or family transitions that raise issues of aging and mortality, …”].

4. 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. …”].

5. Life Work, by Donald Hall, 1993, 921 HALL [Published by Beacon Press. From LibraryThing, various reviews: “… “A sustained meditation on work as the key to personal happiness …” – Dana Gioia, Los Angeles Times, … “I am delighted and moved by Donald Hall’s Life Work, his autobiographical tribute to sheer work–as distinguished from labor–as the most satisfying and ennobling of activities, whether one is writing, canning vegetables or playing a dung fork on a New Hampshire farm.” – Paul Fussell, The Boston Globe, … ”].

6. What Really Matters, by Tony Schwartz, 1995, 128 SCH [From LibraryThing, in the book jacket: “”In 1988, at the height of his career as a journalist, happily married and co-author of a smash number one bestseller, Tony Schwartz hit an unexpected wall. Why did the success he’d sought for so long suddenly feel empty? What was a truly meaningful and complete life, and who could show him how to live it? And how could he explore this wider vision without giving up his life in the “real world”?” “During the next five years he crisscrossed the country, meeting with mystics, psychologists, philosophers, physicians, and scientists. Blending the hunger of a seeker with a journalist’s commitment to hardheaded inquiry, Schwartz interviewed, challenged, worked with, and sometimes befriended the key figures of a new, distinctively American wisdom tradition.””].

7. Compassion In Action: Setting Out on the Path of Service, by Ram Dass and Mirabai Blish, 1992, 158.3 RAM [From LibraryThing: “… Here is a guide for those who are just beginning to realize that self-fulfillment is possible through service to others. … Ram Dass’s spiritual autobiography, in which he reflects on the lessons of his own life and addresses two vital questions: “What in us responds to the needs of others?” and “What can we actually do to alleviate suffering?” Mirabai Bush then counsels readers on how to identify their most useful talents, gives direction for finding opportunities. to serve in the community, and offers very practical suggestions on how to get started. What we have to give is who we are. We need to grow in awareness and insight if we wish to become more effective instruments for change. …”].

8. Lifecraft: The Art of Meaning in the Everyday, by Forrest Church, 2001, 248.4 CHU [Published by Beacon Press. From LibraryThing: “… A joyous book on the art of finding meaning in daily life. Forrest Church challenges much of the modern search for meaning-indeed, the entire thrust of modern theology.”].

9. Thoreau as Spiritual Guide: A Companion to Walden for Personal Reflection and Discussion, by Barry M. Andrews, 2000, 200 AND [From LibraryThing: “… Thoreau and the Trancendentalists tried to achieve a balance in their lives between work and leisure, nature and civilization, society and solitude, spiritual aspirations and moral behavior. This guide helps one “walk” through Walden again and find its soul while expanding your own.”].