We are planning two book reading and discussion groups for the fall.

 On Thursdays at 2 p.m., beginning September 25, we will begin a discussion of a book by Rev. Ben Sternke and Rev. Matt Tebbe, Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms to Cultivate a Robust Faith (2022).  While we often start with good intentions, it feels like real transformation is elusive at best, and maybe even impossible. We deeply want to live in the freedom that Christ offers, but we are acutely aware of the gap between a transformed life and our reality. Having the Mind of Christ tackles the issues of lasting life change.

Copies of the book will be available at church beginning September 7 (they cost us $11.50 each).  Like our last book group, this group will meet in a hybrid format:  you can take part in person (we’ll meet in the church office) or join in via Zoom.

In addition, on Mondays at 10 a.m., beginning September 22, we’ll be starting a new reading and discussion group to meet at the Starbucks at 5976 12th Street on Fort Belvoir.  At our first session we’ll be discussing an interview with Rowan Williams, theologian and former Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, published in the New York Times in June 2025.  Copies of the interview are available at the church and at this link.  Once the group is established, we’ll decide on a future meeting schedule and reading group.

If you can’t make either of these groups but are interested in participating, we may open up an additional session at a more convenient time.  Let Pastor David know.

Other books we’ve read in the past include:

Andrew Root and Blair Bertrand, When Church Stops Working: A Future for Your Congregation Beyond More Money, Programs, and Innovation (2023)
David Bentley Hart, That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation (2019)
Austin Channing Brown, I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness (2018)
Brian Zahnd, Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God (2017).
Nadia Bolz-Weber, Accidental Saints (2015).
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (German 1939, English tr. 1954) - copy available here.

Please check the calendar of events for the latest schedule.