Christians in Action Book Club
Do you love to read? Do you like to have conversations about the books you read? Has a book (other than the Bible) strengthened your faith? One of the hopes we have for Christians in Action Ministry is to build relationships across our congregations. With this in mind the CIA Book Club has formed. We meet the last Tuesday of the month at 7pm over Zoom and/or in person depending on who is planning to attend. To join the Book Club send Pastor Susan Haukaas an email. Each month we will pick another book to read and discuss. Everyone is welcome!
Interested in joining the CIA Book Club & receiving the Zoom link? Send an email with the subject:
"CIA BookClub" to Pastor Susan at [email protected]
Interested in joining the CIA Book Club & receiving the Zoom link? Send an email with the subject:
"CIA BookClub" to Pastor Susan at [email protected]
Book of the Month for December Discussion 12/23 @ 7pm
"The Serviceberry" by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Robin Wall Kimmerer 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 ensures its own survival. As Kimmerer explains, “Serviceberries show us another model, one based upon reciprocity, where wealth comes from the quality of your relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency.”
Click the image of this month's book to order from Amazon.com (available in ebook and audiobook as well)
Robin Wall Kimmerer 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 ensures its own survival. As Kimmerer explains, “Serviceberries show us another model, one based upon reciprocity, where wealth comes from the quality of your relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency.”
Click the image of this month's book to order from Amazon.com (available in ebook and audiobook as well)
Book of the Month for January Discussion 1/27 @ 7pm
"The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis
A sly and ironic portrayal of human life and foibles from the unique vantage point of Screwtape, a highly placed assistant to “Our Father Below.” At once wildly comic, deadly serious, and strikingly original, C.S. Lewis gives us the correspondence of the wordly-wise devil to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man. The Screwtape Letters is the most engaging account of temptation—and triumph over it—ever written.
Pr. Susan has copies from the Jamestown Library you can borrow, just stop by the Trinity church office.
Click the image of this month's book to order from Amazon.com (available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook)
A sly and ironic portrayal of human life and foibles from the unique vantage point of Screwtape, a highly placed assistant to “Our Father Below.” At once wildly comic, deadly serious, and strikingly original, C.S. Lewis gives us the correspondence of the wordly-wise devil to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man. The Screwtape Letters is the most engaging account of temptation—and triumph over it—ever written.
Pr. Susan has copies from the Jamestown Library you can borrow, just stop by the Trinity church office.
Click the image of this month's book to order from Amazon.com (available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook)
Previous Books we've read together:
November 2025 - "The Lemon Tree" by Sandy Tolan
October 2025 - "Peace By Chocolate" by Jon Tattrie
September 2025 - "The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon
August 2025 - "The Hiding Place" by Corrie TenBoom
July 2025 - "Tiny Habits" by BJ Fogg PhD
June 2025 - "A is for Alabaster" by Anna Carter Florence
May 2025 - “A Witness: The Haiti Earthquake, a Song, Death, and Resurrection” by Renee Splichal Larson
April 2025 - “The Measure” by Nikki Erlick
March 2025 - “The Collected Regrets of Clover” by Mikki Brammer
February 2025 - “Where God Meets Man” by Gerhard O. Forde
January 2025 - “The Day the World Came to Town” by Jim DeFede
December 2024 - "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens
November 2024 - "Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers” by Anne Lamott
October 2024 - "The Man in the Dog Park" by Cathy A. Small
September 2024 - "Love Without Limits" by Jacqueline A Bussie
November 2025 - "The Lemon Tree" by Sandy Tolan
October 2025 - "Peace By Chocolate" by Jon Tattrie
September 2025 - "The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon
August 2025 - "The Hiding Place" by Corrie TenBoom
July 2025 - "Tiny Habits" by BJ Fogg PhD
June 2025 - "A is for Alabaster" by Anna Carter Florence
May 2025 - “A Witness: The Haiti Earthquake, a Song, Death, and Resurrection” by Renee Splichal Larson
April 2025 - “The Measure” by Nikki Erlick
March 2025 - “The Collected Regrets of Clover” by Mikki Brammer
February 2025 - “Where God Meets Man” by Gerhard O. Forde
January 2025 - “The Day the World Came to Town” by Jim DeFede
December 2024 - "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens
November 2024 - "Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers” by Anne Lamott
October 2024 - "The Man in the Dog Park" by Cathy A. Small
September 2024 - "Love Without Limits" by Jacqueline A Bussie