Current, Ongoing Groups | all are welcome-jump in anytime!
Faith & Spirit Book Club
Our book club is open to the wider community!
Expanding our Perspectives
Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime.
Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.
Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.
Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might be “a very small thing,” but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever read.
Our book club offers another way of being in community. Whether you've read the book or not, you're welcome to come and listen or join in the discussions. Copies are available at Valley Bookseller in Stillwater with a 15% discount and at Washington County Library.
Join us Thursday, Oct. 8th at 6 pm at St. Croix United Church.
Learn more about the book and Virginia Evans here.
Here are the titles we have read in the past:
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
Mattering by Jennifer Breheny Wallace
He/She/They by Schuyler Bailar
Separation of Church and Hate by John Fugelsang
How We Learn to Be Brave by Mariann Edgar Budde
Grateful: The Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks by Diana Butler Bass
Antiracism as Daily Practice by Jennifer Harvey
Neither Wolf Nor Dog by Kent Nerburn
The False White Gospel by Jim Wallis
Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown
Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt
Braiding Sweetgrass By Robin Wall Kimmerer
Jesus' Alternative Plan: The Sermon on the Mount By Richard Rohr
The Five Invitations By Frank Ostaseski
Convictions by Marcus J. Borg
Freeing Jesus by Diana Butler Bass
The Flag + The Cross by Phillip S. Gorski & Samuel L. Perry
Dear White Peacemakers by Osheta Moore
See No Stranger by Valarie Kaur
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson
Fences & Ma Rainey's Black Bottom by August Wilson
Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal and Delight in our Busy Lives by Wayne Muller
Fireside Friends
(a twice monthly gathering of women)
Typically meets on 1st & 3rd Thursday mornings
indoors at church (sometimes outdoors in warm months)
We settle into our gatherings by reading and discussing a brief devotion from the UCC Daily Devotional. We find purpose and meaning in developing friendships. All are welcome and we encourage newcomers!
Contact Megan in the church office for time and location details of next gathering.
St. Croix United Church Choir
Our choir invites participation by any youth (gr. 6+) or adult who enjoys singing and reads music. We rehearse on Sunday mornings.