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Cathedral Book Club The Cathedral Reads ... The Cathedral Book Club came into existence in January 2009, with the goal of bringing together Cathedral members and friends for an opportunity to socialize and engage in thought-provoking discussion. Books chosen may have a spiritual theme, but are not necessarily religious in nature. Discussion is informal and friendly. Meetings are held every few months, at the home of a Book Club member. All are welcome! Book Club Selections 2009 2010 2011 March 12, 2011: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving May 28, 2011: The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks July 9, 2011: The Towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay
Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom Jack's Life - The Life Story of C. S. Lewis by Douglas Gresham Angel of Repose by Wallace Stegner Descent Into Hell by Charles Williams The Towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay The Heaven Tree by Edith Pargeter A Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks Nomad by Ayaan Hirsi Ali God's Secretary by Adam Nicholson The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein The Bell by Iris Murdoch The Spire by William Golding The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway Cathedral Under the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb Comments: From the flyleaf of A Prayer for Owen Meany: "Its two main characters, and almost all the rest, are appealing, as are its themes - the presence of friendship through adversity, the combat of conscience and mediocrity, and the search for the father and oneself...Irving skillfully intertwines the two quests … for truth and evil ... in a plausible and suspenseful way". New York Magazine Bio of Rose Macaulay: Born 1881 in Warwickshire, England, died 1958. She was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1958. A prolific writer, Macaulay's final book, The Towers of Trebizond is generally thought to be her masterpiece. An ardent secularist for most of her life, religious themes pervade her novels. She returned to the Anglican Church six years before her death. Review of The Spire: Dean Jocelin of the Cathedral Church of the Virgin Mary has set himself and Roger Mason's building crew an impossible task : to add a 400 foot stone spire to the Cathedral, despite the fact that the building has no foundation and can not possibly support such a structure. When the very rock of the cathedral itself starts to sing from the strain of supporting the spire, it is only the force of Jocelin's will that holds the building up … Review of The People of the Book: When Hanna Heath, a manuscript conservator, first touches the centuries-old Hebrew codex known as the Sarajevo Haggadah, she feels a "strange and powerful" sensation, something "between brushing a live wire and stroking the back of a newborn baby's head." It's the spring of 1996 in Sarajevo, and Hanna has been called in to examine the book before it's put on display. From the flyleaf of The Alchemist: In the Spanish plains of Andalusia, a shepherd boy named Santiago dreams while sleeping in a barren church that a boy carries him to the pyramids before telling him that a great treasure lies waiting for him in Egypt. In a village he meets a man claiming to be the King of Salem, who tells Santiago of the "Personal Legend," the one thing a person is called upon by the world to achieve. The old man gives him special stones, tells him to read the omens he sees, and walks away. So begins Santiago's journey, which aims him across the Gibraltar Strait through the Sahara, to the Egyptian pyramids. The subtitle of Simon Winchester's new book, ''A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary,'' suggests one of the odder thematic combinations in recent publishing history. One might even suspect that no true story could bring these three elements together. But ''The Professor and the Madman,'' the story of two oddly matched figures who were instrumental in creating the monumental O.E.D., entirely fulfills its promise. The madman of Mr. Winchester's title (and the murderer of the subtitle) is William Chester Minor, an American doctor who, out of what we might now call a psychotic fantasy of persecution, killed a man he had never met. The professor is James Murray, the philologist and lexicographer who directed the enormous project to compile a complete record of the history and meanings of every word in English. Mr. Winchester has laid out a fascinating, spicy, learned tale in his account of the strange collaboration between the two men. Richard Bernstein, New York Times, Saturday, October 31, 2009 Comments on Mary Called Magdalene: Magdalene first appears as a woman possessed by demons -- seven of them, to be exact -- which Jesus effortlessly exorcises. She goes on to play the most extraordinary, if undervalued, role of any of Jesus' disciples: She was the first person to whom Jesus appeared after he rose from the dead. And it was Mary Magdalene -- a woman, not one of the 12 apostles -- whom Jesus honored by first calling to the ministry after his resurrection, instructing her to "spread the good news." While early Christian texts are notoriously stingy with biographical facts - - George notes that even the Gnostic "Gospel According to Mary" reveals more mystical insights than personal ones -- the author's embellishments remain true to the time and setting of Mary's life. Guest speaker Dr. Diana Patterson on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: Some Christians have condemned JK Rowling's Harry Potter books, accusing them of promoting witchcraft and paganism. Diana teaches at Mount Royal University, and is editor of the book Harry Potter's World Wide Influence. Diana will discuss religious symbolism in the first book of the series, and will comment on several religious critiques of Harry Potter, including John Granger's Looking for God in Harry Potter, Connie Neal's What's a Christian to do with Harry Potter, and her The Gospel According to Harry Potter, and John Killinger's God, the Devil & Harry Potter. Cathedral Contact Person
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