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 Sunday, June 7, 2026 at 11 a.m. service on “Bridging Sunday”, featuring Rev. Shawn Gauthier & Youth Group. 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. Seasons of Life: Our Dramatic Journey from Birth to Death by John Kotre and Elizabeth Hall, 1990, 155 KOT
From LibraryThing: “Throughout the ages and in every culture, people have used the seasons as a metaphor to mark life’s transitions and to help understand the purpose and meaning of our mortal journey. In the last few decades, there has been an astonishing growth in our knowledge of human development through the entire life span; at the same time, there has been dramatic change in the timetables of our lives. … , interprets the fascinating work and discoveries of hundreds of social scientists and, through the personal stories of dozens of ordinary individuals, reveals the rich drama of life’s passages at the end of the twentieth century.”.
2. Guide My Feet: Prayers and Meditations on Loving and Working for Children by Marian Wright Edelman, 1995, 242.6 EDE
Published by Beacon Press. From LibraryThing: “… the well-being of America’s children by providing a counterweight to the lesson society is teaching this generation of children – to be soulless takers instead of empowered givers. Guide My Feet is a collection of prayers and meditations gathered from Edelman’s own holiday rituals and experiences and the writings of such inspiring leaders as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and Frederick Douglass. It urges readers to commit to and pray for strength and patience, and offers solace and direction for parents troubled by the commercialism and violence running rampant in today’s society. Filled with wisdom, compassion and understanding, it provides an important spiritual and moral resource all caregivers can turn to as they strive to instill values, integrity, self-discipline and faith in children.”.
3. Girl Within by Emily Hancock, 1990, 155.63 HAN
From LibraryThing: “Using the life stories of twenty women, psychologist Emily Hancock has identified a turning point in a women’s life when a girl crystallizes a distinct and vital sense of self, which she then loses in the process of growing up, and tries to regain as an adult. …”.
4. Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It by Richard V. Reeves, 2024, 305 REE
From LibraryThing: “Boys and men are struggling. Profound economic and social changes of recent decades have many losing ground in the classroom, the workplace, and in the family. While the lives of women have changed, the lives of many men have remained the same or even worsened. Our attitudes, our institutions, and our laws have failed to keep up. Conservative and progressive politicians, mired in their own ideological warfare, fail to provide thoughtful solutions. … Richard V. Reeves has spent twenty-five years worrying about boys both at home and work. … looks at the structural challenges that face boys and men and offers fresh and innovative solutions that turn the page on the corrosive narrative that plagues this issue. …”.
5. The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours by Marian Wright Edelman, 1992, 649.1 EDE
Published by Beacon Press. From LibraryThing: “A message for parents trying to raise moral children, an open letter to all of America, a timely message of hope and purpose.”.
6. Education and the Good Life by Bertrand Russell, 1926, 192 RU
From LibraryThing: “… Russell calls for an education that would liberate the child from unthinking obedience to parental and religious authority. He argues that if the basis of all education is knowledge wielded by love then society can be transformed. One of Bertrand Russell’s most definitive works, the remarkable ideas and arguments in On Education are just as insightful and applicable today as they were on first publication in 1926.”]
7. The Story of Your Life: Writing a Spiritual Autobiography by Dan Wakefield, 1990, 808.2 WAK
Published by Beacon Press. From LibraryThing: “Dan Wakefield shows us how to write about and share our most meaningful life experiences and in so doing to see our lives in a new light.”.
8. Trusting Change: Finding Our Way Through Personal and Global Transformation by Karen Hering, 2022, 248
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. … 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. This book is a conversation with the reader meant to also stir conversations between readers as we learn to live into and through our transformative times together.”.
9. The Seasoned Soul: Reflections on Growing Older by Eliza Blanchard, 2012, 204.4 BLA
Published by Skinner House Books. From LibraryThing: “Youth is a gift of nature. Aging is a work of art. No matter where we are on the path, growing older is a journey we all share. … provide guidance and encouragement, for navigating life changes, dealing with fear, retaining dignity and passion, and living a life of meaning. …”.