Hops & Hope: Book & Discussion Group
Hops and Hope: Book and Discussion Group
Join us each month as we read a book on faith, justice and what it means to find hope in Christ amid a messy and complex world. Each month we will read a book related to Immanuel’s “Just Like Jesus” theme and will gather at a local brewery to discuss and explore how the words we read impact the lives we live. All are welcome to join, whether you finish the book or not.
Next Meeting & Book
The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East, by Sandy Tolan
Tuesday, February 21, 6:30 - 8 p.m., Boom Island Brewery
We decided to continue focusing on Palestine and will be reading the book, The Lemon Tree. You can find the description of this book below:
In 1967, Bashir Al-Khayri, a Palestinian twenty-five-year-old, journeyed to Israel, with the goal of seeing the beloved old stone house, with the lemon tree behind it, that he and his family had fled nineteen years earlier. To his surprise, when he found the house he was greeted by Dalia Ashkenazi Landau, a nineteen-year-old Israeli college student, whose family fled Europe for Israel following the Holocaust. On the stoop of their shared home, Dalia and Bashir began a rare friendship, forged in the aftermath of war and tested over the next thirty-five years in ways that neither could imagine on that summer day in 1967. Based on extensive research, Sandy Tolan brings the Israeli-Palestinian conflict down to its most human level, suggesting that even amid the bleakest political realities there exist stories of hope and reconciliation.
Savannah will be ordering a copy for the library if you would like to borrow it.
Please let savannah@immanuel.us know if you have any questions.
Ordering Books
Savannah will be ordering a copy of each for the Immanuel library if you’d like to borrow it, or if you prefer to buy a copy of your own, here are a couple links that help you support local bookstores through your purchase. If you’re looking to support a Native owned bookstore, Birchbark Books in Minneapolis is a great option!
- Bookshop - online book retailer with lots of inventory, and you choose the bookstore that will be supported through your purchase
- Book Store Link - helps you order directly from local bookstores (can either have them delivered or picked up)
A couple things to note:
- You are not required to lead a discussion to be part of the group. If you prefer to just participate, that is great too! Also, if you would like to lead with another person you can sign up together.
- Leading the discussion doesn’t have to be anything huge or formal, your role will just be helping facilitate the conversation that month and bringing some questions for the group.
- If you have a topic you are interested in but do not have a specific book or children’s book in mind, feel free to sign up with just your topic and I can send along some book ideas for you to choose from.
- Once our list is finalized, I will order a copy of each of the books for our library and will send out a final list to everyone so you can plan ahead.
- Take a look at a list of some possible books, but there are many more options out there!
- Some ideas for topics include (but aren’t limited to):
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- Racial Justice / Womanist or Black Theology
- Liberation Theology
- Mujerista Theology
- Native/Indigenous Theology
- Immigration and Welcoming the Stranger
- Asian Theology
- Interfaith / Global Perspectives
- Faith and Sexuality
- Environmental Theology
- Women’s Rights / Feminist Theologies
- Food or Economic Justice
- Theology and Mental Health
Sign Up to lead a book discussion here.
Questions
Please contact Deacon Savanah Olaphson, savannah@immanuel.us
A member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America