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, January 18, 2026 at 11 a.m. All are welcome in Hewett Centre after the Sunday service to check out some books, and to have coffee and conversation.
VanU library books related to this Sunday’s sermon:
1. The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, by Richard Dawkins, 2009, 576.8 DAW [From LibraryThing: “… stunning counterattack on advocates of “Intelligent Design,” explaining the evidence for evolution while exposing the absurdities of the creationist “argument.””].
2. Evolution and Natural Selection, by Charles Darwin, 1959, 575 DA [Published by Beacon Press].
3. The Marriage of Sense and Soul: Integrating Science and Religion, by Ken Wilber, 1998, 215 WIL [Gift of Hal Logan. From LibraryThing: “… one of today’s most important philosophers articulates how we might begin to think about science and religion in ways that allow for their reconciliation and union, on terms that will be acceptable to both camps. Wilber clearly and succinctly explores the schism between science and religion, and the impact of this “philosophical Cold War” on the fate of humanity. He systematically reviews previous attempts at integration, explaining why romantic, idealistic, and postmodern theories failed. And he demonstrates how science is compatible with certain deep features common to all of the world’s major religious traditions. …”].
4. The Future of Man, by P. Teilhard De Chardin, 1964, 113 TEI [The Julian Fears Library. From LibraryThing: “… introduction to the thoughts and writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, one of the few figures in the history of the Catholic Church to achieve renown as both a scientist and a theologian. Trained as a paleontologist and ordained as a Jesuit priest, Teilhard de Chardin devoted himself to establishing the intimate, interdependent connection between science–particularly the theory of evolution–and the basic tenets of the Christian faith. At the center of his philosophy was the belief that the human species is evolving spiritually, progressing from a simple faith to higher and higher forms of consciousness, including a consciousness of God, and culminating in the ultimate understanding of humankind’s place and purpose in the universe. The Church, which would not condone his philosophical writings, refused to allow their publication during his lifetime. Written over a period of thirty years and presented here in chronological order, the essays cover the wide-ranging interests and inquiries that engaged Teilhard de Chardin throughout his life: intellectual and social evolution; the coming of ultra-humanity; the integral place of faith in God in the advancement of science; and the impact of scientific discoveries on traditional religious dogma. …”].
5. Here On Earth: A Natural History Of The Planet, by Tim Flannery, 2012, 304.2 FLA [Gift of Lars Anderson. From LibraryThing: “An explorer and environmentalist offers a natural history of the Earth as well as a biography of the human species.”].
6. The Way of the Earth: Encounters With Nature in Ancient and Contemporary Thought, by T. C. McLuhan, 1994, 113.09 McL [From LibraryThing, the book jacket: “… draws upon both ancient and contemporary sources to examine the significance of the earth from the perspective of six different cultures and how these spiritual traditions have valued, perceived, and understood the earth. At first glance the peoples of aboriginal Australia, Japan, Greece, Africa, South America, and Native North America couldn’t be more different. But by taking a closer look, the author shows that there are many more similarities than differences- all revere mountains as a source of inspiration and holiness, all feel a spiritual connection to the soil itself, all create art and literature to celebrate their connection to the land, and all see themselves as inextricable from the land they call home. … It demonstrates that no matter where on the planet we exist, and no matter what time period we live, we all have a profound connection to the earth.”].
7. Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth, by J. E. Lovelock, 1987, 113 LOV [From LibraryThing: “… puts forward his idea that life on earth functions as a single organism. Written for non-scientists, Gaia is a journey through time and space in search of evidence with which to support a new and radically different model of our planet. In contrast to conventional belief that living matter is passive in the face of threats to its existence, the book explores the hypothesis that the earth’s living matter air, ocean, and land surfaces forms a complex system that has the capacity to keep the Earth a fit place for life. Since Gaia was first published, many of Jim Lovelock’s predictions have come true and his theory has become a hotly argued topic in scientific circles. …”].
8. This Sacred Earth, by Roger S. Gottlieb, 2004, 304.2 [From LibraryThing: “Updated with nearly forty new selections to reflect the tremendous growth and transformation of scholarly, theological, and activist religious environmentalism, the second edition of This Sacred Earth is an unparalleled resource for the study of religion’s complex relationship to the environment.”].
9. The Mind of God: The Scientific Basis for a Rational World, by Paul Davies, 1992, 215 DAV [The Julian Fears Library. From LibraryThing: “Throughout history, humans have dreamed of knowing the reason for the existence of the universe. … In his quest for an ultimate explanation, Davies reexamines the great questions that have preoccupied humankind for millennia, and in the process explores, among other topics, the origin and evolution of the cosmos, the nature of life and consciousness, and the claim that our universe is a kind of gigantic computer. … theories of such scientists as Newton, Einstein, and more recently Stephen Hawking and Richard Feynman have altered our conception of the physical universe. Davies puts these scientists’ discoveries into context with the writings of philosophers such as Plato. Descartes, Hume, and Kant. His startling conclusion is that the universe is “no minor byproduct of mindless, purposeless forces. We are truly meant to be here.” By the means of science, we can truly see into the mind of God.”].
10. Walden and Other Writings, by Henry David Thoreau, 1993, 818.3 THO [From LibraryThing: “From July 4, 1845 to September 6, 1847, Henry David Thoreau lived alone in the cabin he built on the shores of Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts. Walden is the classic account of his stay–his experiment in essential living. This book is framed as a narrative of the cycle of one year, beginning with summer. Thoreau uses the changes of the day, the seasons, and the year to symbolize the quiet revolution that is going on inside him. His specific observations of the natural life outside himself cause him to look inward and reflect upon the lives of quiet desperation most men lead; the erroneous economic thinking which leads them to accept their shackles; the liberating effects of nature and self-examination; and finally those “higher laws” which can only be glimpsed on those rare occasions when true living unites with true reflection. …”].
11. 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”].