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 Sunday service. Here is their list for the upcoming service featuring James Chamberlain on Sunday, June 29, 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. Coming Out in Faith: Voices of LGBTQ Unitarian Universalists, by Susan Gore and Keith Kron, 2011, 289.13 GOR [From Amazon: “This collection of poignant testimonials illuminates the lived experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Unitarian Universalists. Coming Out in Faith also helps to raise awareness of Unitarian Universalism’s active role in promoting a vision of humanity that not only embraces LGBTQ people but actively seeks to learn from the unique strengths they bring to questions of personal faith and organizational vitality.”].
2. He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters, by Schuyler Bailar, 2023, 306 BAI [From LibraryThing: “… Schuyler has become a go to expert on gender identity for the media and has given hundreds of talks on gender literacy and inclusion. But at the same time, Supreme Court Justice nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson was asked in her confirmation hearing to define the word “woman,” a seemingly simple question that in that particular arena was too politically charged for her to answer. Meanwhile, anti-gay and anti-trans legislation in Florida and Texas shows that trans rights are under attack. Transgender suicides are up, transgender hotlines are buzzing, and the only thing that is certain is this: America is long overdue for a reckoning with gender. He/She/They uses storytelling and the art of conversation to give us the fundamental language and context of gender so that we can meet people where they are and pave the way to understanding, acceptance, and inclusion. As a transgender man, inclusion advocate, and LGBTQ educator, Schuyler Bailar is more than familiar with the myriad questions that come up. In He/She/They, he addresses them head on, such as why being transgender is not a choice, why pronouns are important, and what is biological sex. …”].
3. Men of the Global South: A Reader, by Adam Jones, 2006, 305.31 JON [Gift of David Buchanan. From LibraryThing: “… provides a framing introduction that surveys the growing literature on Southern men and masculinities, and links it to the broader study of gender and development. Six main sections portray different aspects of male experience in the global South: ‘Family and Sexuality’, ;Ritual & Belief’, ‘Work’, ‘Governance and Conflict’, ‘Migrations’ and ‘Masculinities in Motion’. … serves as an ideal introduction to the lives of men and boys from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America/the Caribbean. …”].
4. What is Marriage For?, by E. J. Graff, 2000, 306.81 GRA [Published Beacon Press. From LibaryThing: “In the wake of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s historic Goodridge decision, a reissue of the bible of the same-sex marriage movement Will same-sex couples destroy “traditional” marriage, soon to be followed by the collapse of all civilization? That charge has been leveled throughout history whenever the marriage rules change. But marriage, as E. J. Graff shows in this lively, fascinating tour through the history of marriage in the West, has always been a social battleground, its rules constantly shifting to fit each era and economy. The marriage debates have been especially tumultuous for the past hundred and fifty years-in ways that lead directly to today’s debate over whether marriage could mean not just Boy + Girl = Babies, but also Girl + Girl = Love.”].
5. The Sexual Spectrum: Exploring Human Diversity, by Olive Skene Johnson, 2005, 155.3 JON [Gift of the author. Autographed by the author. From LibraryThing: “Questions of sexuality and gender are in the forefront of public discourse. Every day there are stories in the newspaper about such issues as same-sex marriage, and gay and lesbian parenting. … Drawing on the scientific findings of experts and on a wide range of personal experiences from everyday people, Johnson explores questions such as: Is sexual diversity new? Why do men and women think differently? Apart from their sexuality, are homosexuals and heterosexuals different? Why do some people feel compelled to change their gender? How do genes, hormones and society affect our sexuality? Answering these and related questions in a rational and entertaining way, Johnson provides a wealth of information about our own sexuality and asserts that only familiarity with the concept of sexual diversity will breed tolerance and understanding.”].
6. The Eye in the Door, by Pat Barker, 1995, 823.914 [Gift of Nancy Lagey. From LibraryThing: “It is the spring of 1918, and Britain is faced with the possibility of defeat by Germany. A beleaguered government and a vengeful public target two groups as scapegoats: pacifists and homosexuals. Many are jailed, others lead dangerous double lives, the “the eye in the door” becomes a symbol of the paranoia that threatens to destroy the very fabric of British society.”].