By Betsey Heavener

Fifteen women sat around the table, leaning in on their elbows to hear every voice. What have you read recently? What kind of books do you read? How do books shape your ministry? How do books shape your soul? Titles, authors, characters and memories tumbled out for more than an hour. It was clear that books and conversation form faith and change lives.

"The book club at our church is the only place for conversation among people who have great theological diversity," said one woman. "We reserve the room at the local coffee shop for regular meetings, and choose books for several months ahead so people can get the books." Another church has a "study group" that has been meeting on Friday mornings for 14 years! A third church has a summer reading club for neighborhood children. Another church has a reading group for stay-at-home moms.

These groups read eclectically and widely. Here are some lighter, summer suggestions. For fiction, heads nodded in agreement at the suggestions of The Secret Life of Bees (Kidd), The Spiral Staircase (Armstrong), The Kite Runner (Hosseini), The Namesake (Lahiri), The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Edwards), and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night (Haddon). Water for Elephants (Gruen) was the most recently published contribution to the list.
 
For humor, the women chose Walking Across Egypt (Edgerton) and also agreed that Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind (Ross) is the best of that series. Several mentioned mystery series featuring women detectives and written by women: Janet Evanovich, Nevada Barr, Elizabeth Peters, and others.

For inspiration and encouragement, these women mentioned Kitchen Table Wisdom (Remen), Leaving Church (Taylor), and Too Small to Ignore: Why the Least of These Matters Most (Stafford and Merrill).

Finally, these women enter the realm of awe and wonder with children's books. Beyond Harry Potter and the Narnia books, they mentioned Philip Pullman's trilogy beginning with The Golden Compass. Newberry award winning Bridge to Terabithia (Paterson and Diamond), has been produced as a film by Disney. The Power of One (2007, Courtenay) is another suggestion.

Summer is a good time to pick up a book for your own pleasure and renewal.

• What are you reading?
• Have you set up or participated in an internet discussion group?

• Do you incorporate reading in your ministry?

• How do the themes, characters, and situations in popular literature become parables that help you put together your theological beliefs and real life?

Betsey Heavner is Director of Congregational Leader Formation at GBOD.

Reading with Deeper Eyes: The Love of Literature and the Life of Faith by William H. Willimon. (Upper Room, 1998.)

Some libraries have a "book club in a bag," which provides multiple copies of the same book, usually a "top ten" choice, and a discussion guide. Check your local library for their reading group options.

The Pastor Recommends selection (UMPH) is a monthly program that presents the latest in new faith-based literature for individual and group reading.

Church and Synagogue Library Association mainly for church librarians; and includes reviews of books and resources for various age levels and ministries.