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].