Diocese Announces Diocesan-Wide Book Read During Lent
By Diocesan House
UPDATE - JAN. 2021: The Facebook Group created to host the Lenten Book Read described below has become the year-round Episcopal Diocese of NC Book Club. Launched in Jan. 2021, in its new iteration, every month we read a book related to one of our diocesan mission priorities, deepening our understanding of the topic, both on its own and how it relates to other priorities. We invite you to join us!
ORIGINAL POST FROM JAN. 2020: The Diocese of North Carolina has announced a diocesan-wide book read to take place during Lent.
As part of our ongoing commitment toward Becoming Beloved Community, all people and communities of the Diocese of North Carolina are invited to read Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited or Debby Irving’s Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race during the season of Lent. Both books invite self-examination and reflection about how racism continues to work against the dream of God and our call to love others and strive for justice and peace among all people. There are study and discussion guides available for both books that can easily be used to create a meaningful Lenten series. The hope is that reading these books will spark conversations within churches and local communities and create a catalyst for building deeper relationships around racial healing and reconciliation during this season of repentance.
The Rev. Howard Thurman (1899-1981) was a minister, educator, theologian and civil rights leader, whose counsel and witness served as a spiritual foundation for the nonviolent civil rights movements and whose writings continue to inspire. He connected with prophetic clarity how the inward journey of faith shapes our concerns for social justice. In Jesus and The Disinherited, Thurman’s seminal work, he wrote about the chains of oppression and how Jesus embodies liberation and transformation for all. Alongside the book, participants are encouraged to watch Backs Against the Wall: The Howard Thurman Story, a film that explores the extraordinary life and legacy of Thurman. There are a number of helpful study guides for both the book and film available.
In Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race, Debby Irving recounts her experience of being a white American woman and coming to terms with the complexity of race in the United States. With candor, Irving unpacks long-standing beliefs about colorblindness, being a good person and her desire to “help” people of color. The book contains conversation and reflection prompts at the end of each chapter. Study guides for Irving’s book are also available. An engaging and thoughtful speaker, Irving will be speaking at churches throughout our diocese from April 21-26, 2020, as part of the Race Matters Tour.
