ST. MATTHEW'S BOOK GROUP

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SUMMER READING: ONE PARISH, ONE BOOK

Canoeing the Mountains:

Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory 

by Tod Bolsinger

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During his talk on mission at Vestry School earlier this month, Bishop Jeff Lee encouraged the leaders from the Evanston deanery, including our own clergy, vestry, and trustees to read Tod Bolsinger's book, Canoeing the Mountains. The book realistically considers church in our present moment, and what will be required for churches to thrive in the 21st century. Incorporating insights from different schools of thought including leadership studies, family systems theory, futurist scholarship
and Christian theology with relevant stories, the book provides a sturdy framework
to confront the realities St. Matthew's faces with confidence, honesty, courage, imagination and hope.

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I invite the entire St. Matthew's community to read the book this spring and summer. The book is a leadership book, and while written for the layman, still requires our full attention. I encourage everyone interested in the conversation about our future to set aside time to read it over the next few months. We will gather to start a process of reflection on how best we might engage with its wisdom in mid-August.

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It's my dearest hope that everyone who has an interest in maintaining a strong, healthy and vibrant St. Matthew's will join us in this effort. I can imagine a time when, as we enter the new program year this fall, the concepts and vocabulary of
the Rev. Dr. Bolsinger's work become ours, that we so steep ourselves in its ideas
they naturally becomes a part of our communal language.

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I hope that you will join us as we chart a course together for St. Matthew's. We cannot say where the adventure will take us, but with God's help, the journey is sure to be rich and its discoveries profound.

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With you on the journey,
Charlie+