Our library in Hewett Centre is open every Sunday after service during Coffee Hour, and now the Library Team will be offering related reading lists based on the topic of Sunday service. Here is their list for the upcoming service.
VanU library books related to this Sunday’s sermon:
1. Compassion In Action: Setting Out on the Path of Service, by Ram Dass and Mirabai Bush, 1992, 158.3 RAM [From LibraryThing: “… this classic guide is for those ready to commit time and energy to relieving suffering in the world. No two people are better qualified to help us along this path than Ram Dass, who has spent more than 25 years teaching and writing on the subject of living consciously, and Mirabi Bush, who succeeded him as chairperson of the Seva Foundation”].
2. How Can I Help?: Stories and Reflections on Service, by Ram Dass and Paul Gorman, 1985, 158.3 RAM [From LibraryThing: “Not a day goes by without our being called upon to help one another-at home, at work, on the street, on the phone. . . We do what we can. Yet so much comes up to complicate this natural response: “Will I have what it takes?” “How much is enough?” “How can I deal with suffering?” “And what really helps, anyway?” In this practical helper’s companion, the authors explore a path through these confusions, and provide support and inspiration for us in our efforts as members of the helping professions, as volunteers, as community activists, or simply as friends and family trying to meet each other’s needs. Here too are deeply moving personal accounts: A housewife brings zoo animals to lift the spirits of nursing home residents; a nun tends the wounded on the first night of the Nicaraguan revolution; a police officer talks a desperate father out of leaping from a roof with his child; a nurse allows an infant to spend its last moments of life in her arms rather than on a hospital machine. From many such stories and the authors’ reflections, we can find strength, clarity, and wisdom for those times when we are called on to care for one another. How Can I Help? reminds us just how much we have to give and how doing so can lead to some of the most joyous moments of our lives.”].
3. The USC Story: A Quarter Century of Loving Service by the Unitarian Service Committee of Canada in Europe, the Middle east and Asia 1945-1970, by Lotta Hitschmanova, 1970, 288 UN [From the Unitarian Service Committee of Canada].
4. Random Acts of Kindness, by Conari Press, 1993, 177.7 CON [Introduction by Dawna Markova and foreward by Daphne Rose Kingma. From LibraryThing: “… Inspirational Stories Make a commitment to spread kindness wherever you go. Being kind doesn’t cost anything, but it can mean the world to those around you. What if all of a sudden everyone started performing daily good deeds? This inspiring collection presents true stories of people who’ve committed, received, and observed voluntary acts of kindness. Hearing their stories reveals how these simple, small acts of goodness can have a profoundly positive effect in the world. The true stories, thoughtful quotations, and suggestions for generosity in this book will inspire you to live more compassionately and be a kinder person. Join the kindness movement. In 1995, a small group of people at Conari Press, including M.J. Ryan, Will Glennon, and Dawna Markova, came together around the idea that small gestures and simple acts can make a difference in people’s lives. Thus, Random Acts of Kindness was born, but they had no idea how big this little idea would become. Soon, instead of the usual two or three letters from readers, they were getting bags of mail from readers submitting their own acts of kindness and stories of compassion. Now, twenty-five years later, over one million copies have been sold and it is a worldwide movement, with National Random Acts of Kindness Week, celebrated each February. An inspirational gift of kind words. Sometimes the smallest gesture makes the biggest difference. This little book shows how to start–with the small, with the particular, with the individual–in order to make a difference in the world. It features: True stories about acts of kindness and generosity of spirit Suggestions for living more compassionately Inspirational quotes to get you started Readers of motivational books and stories like Chicken Soup for the Soul: Random Acts of Kindness, A Pebble for Your Thoughts, I’ve Been Thinking…, or You Can Do All Things will love the encouraging, inspirational stories in Random Acts of Kindness”].