EVEN IN CAMBRIDGE - Reflect

February 2021 In Review

2/28/2021

FEBRUARY 2021 | IN REVIEW
READ | WRITE | DISCUSS | PRAY | SERVE | REFLECT

Even in Cambridge

Read

Love Poems (for Married People)

If you’re anything like me, at this point, a year into the pandemic, you might (at times) welcome some (great) distance from your spouse and paradoxically could also use an incredibly awesome date night to make up for lost time. Read John Kenney’s short book of poetry and remember why you tried marriage in the first place, and why you are yet grateful for that person who consistently leaves one unwashed utensil in the sink.

Write

Song for a Pandemic Puppy Acquired During a Nor’easter at Christmas

When it rains, it pours, so apparently if you decide to jump on the pandemic puppy bandwagon, you will end up acquiring said puppy in the middle of a Nor’easter just as your kids switch to remote learning while you’re frantically preparing for Christmas. Things could always be worse, you say. Then they get worse. By the time Christmas rolls around, you’re not exactly sure how to express your gratitude that you survived but it comes out in the form of a question, something akin to: Did anyone just see that?

Discuss

The Searcher

In this new mystery, Tana French captivates her audience and protagonist with the Irish landscape, scenery that threatens to pacify the most inquisitive detective and throw a hound off its scent. One of our readers could verify that the author did a great job nailing the cadence and dialect of the Irish characters' dialogue. While slow to start (and at other times), we found this an interesting window into personalities that play their cards close to the chest.

Pray

Sticky Faith (for Families)

While on a school playground recently, I overheard a conversation among teenage girls that gave me pause. Beginning with the question, You went through a Jesus phase in seventh, didn’t you?, the conversation quickly petered out, suggesting the topic gave those girls pause too. What struck me wasn’t that they were talking about faith. What struck me was that they didn’t know how to keep talking. All of this sent me into some reflection about how I might prepare my own kids for these kinds of conversations in their future.

Serve

La Collaborativa Food Pantry

It’s pretty hard to engage in service work during COVID when the predominant message for so long has been “Stay home.” It’s also pretty hard to get involved when I feel more likely to hop a plane to Hawaii or buy that farmhouse on 10 acres. Recently I was compelled to remember to live and serve in my community while I’m still here. With that in mind, it was pretty easy to shift gears and pitch in with a service project my church had already been involved in for weeks.

Reflect

Reflect

Check out the reflect button on the homepage where you can view this and all monthly newsletters.

Looking forward to reading & discussing with you!

January 2021 In Review

1/31/2021

JANUARY 2021 | IN REVIEW
READ | WRITE | DISCUSS | PRAY | SERVE | REFLECT

Even in Cambridge

Dear Reader,

During these past few months, I have read and written little. I did not send a newsletter for October, November or December. My church attendance (via YouTube) dropped off, and my prayer life diminished, though as some of my kids once again transitioned from remote to in person learning earlier this month, I noticed that my standing refrain switched from “Help me not kill them” to “Please keep them safe” -- same bottom line but very different sentiment. Our book club continued to meet virtually to discuss a text each month, and if you want to catch up on our reviews, check them out here. However, in the area of service, I have also felt like a dry well with nothing to give. This month, I experienced sparks of hope, and even more recently, as I began to hear of needs in our surrounding communities, I began to feel like perhaps I could find the energy to join in the efforts.

In Luke 4:38-40, we can read of Jesus’ healing power and be reminded of what we are supposed to do once we have recovered from illness:

“Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them.”

Once we are made well, we are meant to serve and help the next person in line. Today I’d like to offer the single essay that I wrote this month, a book review that also describes how the text intersects with my own writing and prayer life. It is my hope that in sending it your way it lifts your spirits and serves you as well, so that you can shine light wherever you are now.

Warmly,
Caroline

Write

Lit

Sometimes truth comes at you from the most unexpected places.

Let’s say, for example, that you’re reading the third memoir in a row about substance abuse -- and all of the really really awful choices people make when they feel unloved -- and you’re wondering to yourself why people can’t write about beautiful things for a change. You know you’re not the only one who needs a pick me up... Continue reading here….

Reflect

Reflect

Check out the reflect button on the homepage where you can view this and all monthly newsletters.

Looking forward to reading & discussing with you!

September 2020 In Review

9/30/2020

SEPTEMBER 2020 | IN REVIEW
READ | WRITE | DISCUSS | PRAY | SERVE | REFLECT

Even in Cambridge

Read

The Lemon Tree

This is one to pick up if you missed it the first time around. Tolan’s pain-stakingly detailed history embedded in a personal Israeli-Palestinian struggle will pull at your heart-strings and make you wish for one more person to do the next right thing. For someone like me who has trouble with dates and circumstances, Tolan breathed life and relevance into a conflict that for too many years felt intractable, and over there.

Write

(Not) Back to School: Advice from the Panel

Earlier this month I sat in on a virtual panel discussion hosted by Newton Covenant Church attempting to address the broad concerns of parents approaching a new, unusual and ever-shifting school year. Incredibly, experts in child psychology and education offered useful tidbits of advice that I was able to use to construct a new mindset and step more peacefully into day one.

Discuss

The Giver of Stars

This page-turner about packhorse librarians in Kentucky in the 1930s will shock you with its relevance. As entertained as we were (some likened the ease of the storytelling to that of a beach read), we were subdued and discontented by hard societal issues that remind us how far we have come...and how much we remain stuck in the same battles. We enjoyed the happy ending but wished that our society could reap such similar rewards.

Pray

Cross Vision: How the Crucifixion of Jesus Makes Sense of Old Testament Violence

How do we reconcile the violence of the God of the Old Testament with Jesus’s message to love your enemy? Before we lose any more believers due to unsatisfactory explanations, I urge you to consider Boyd’s hopeful interpretation, one that challenges us to view troubling events through the eyes of the cross, and one that reassures us that God is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Serve

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America

This was a difficult book to read, both because of its content and its structure. Chronicling the origins and intersections of segregationist, assimilationist and anti-racist ideas, Kendi debunks myths that have become embedded in American culture: that hate and ignorance led to racism and discrimination, that racism is in the past, and that anti-racism is intuitive and easy. On these points, Kendi says we have got it all wrong.

Reflect

Reflect

Check out the reflect button on the homepage where you can view this and all monthly newsletters.

Looking forward to reading & discussing with you!

August 2020 In Review

8/31/2020

AUGUST 2020 | IN REVIEW
READ | WRITE | DISCUSS | PRAY | SERVE | REFLECT

Even in Cambridge

Read

The Nightingale

Not only had I been meaning to read this book for a while, Kristin Hannah’s characters satisfied a recent itch I had to read about female WWII heroines. This epic spans the entire war and aftermath, but Hannah’s use of short scenes kept me turning the pages despite the horrors. I recommend gathering your own courage to open this book and remember the stories of those who never got a parade for bravery.

Write

The Art of Memoir

This month I felt daunted by the writing task ahead of me: revision. When I picked up her book on craft, Mary Karr seemed to know exactly how to commiserate and how to encourage. It was great to hear from someone who had “been there”, someone who could provide new insights into how to keep going with my project.

Discuss

Heads of the Colored People

Overall, we enjoyed reading this short story collection. While some of the characters were incredibly unlikable, we loved the connections between the stories, as well as the diversity of Black experiences in different places in life. We felt challenged and stretched and grateful for this chance to rethink what it means to be Black, and how being Black can mean many different things.

Pray

From Motivated Infernalist to Hopeful Prayer Warrior

When my writing group insisted I share my beliefs about hell in my memoir, I balked at committing to a theory. Months later, a friend of mine recommended a book that offers a detailed analysis of Christian biblical explanations. I dove into the research. By the end, I still felt confused about the Bible’s message and yet satisfied in my commitment to pray for the worst, and hope for the best.

Serve

Animal Therapy and More

I learned about this charity through some friends who keep this group close to their hearts. The charity has always worked to provide integrative therapies to children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses, and now they also have an emergency fund to help families who are suffering further from circumstances due to the COVID pandemic. Consider making a donation today.

Reflect

Reflect

Check out the reflect button on the homepage where you can view this and all monthly newsletters.

Looking forward to reading & discussing with you!

July 2020 In Review

7/31/2020

JULY 2020 | IN REVIEW
READ | WRITE | DISCUSS | PRAY | SERVE | REFLECT

Even in Cambridge

Read

If The Oceans Were Ink

Eleven years ago a patient offered me a copy of the Quran. Why would I read it, I wondered? I was happy with my religion. The thing is, I came to feel that I should study it in order to better understand those who practice its teachings. As I followed Carla Power’s deep dive into this sacred text, I also appreciated the space to examine what I believe within a safe yet probing interfaith conversation.

Write

The Situation and the Story

As part of my continuing journey to learn the memoir form, I took a short writing course this month. Halfway through I wondered why my instructor didn’t spend more time teaching. Once I picked up Gornick’s short book on craft, I realized that the magic is in the reading -- dissecting the work of others as well as continuing to reread my own.

Discuss

The Water Dancer

There was a lot to dig into with this book! We were drawn into this story by its suspense, were fascinated by the idea of Conduction, and found a different selection of images and struggles than those we have found in prior reads of enslaved people. Above all, this is a story which makes it all too uncomfortably easy to draw parallels to the injustices that still pervade our society today.

Pray

Mere Christianity

I approached this classic text a little nervously, hoping it would live up to the hype. By the end though, I lost count of how many times I wanted to quote a passage. For now, I want to highlight Lewis’s response to one of the critic’s biggest objections to Christianity -- How can you claim to believe in one God and yet say he is three persons?

Serve

Summer Blast 2020 - Focus Fundraiser

This year during Summer Blast, our church leaders put a new twist on their annual fundraiser. Rather than just asking the kids to bring in money to donate to an identified church mission, the kids would raise money for each time they served a family member. My kids balked at this -- We do the work and they get the money? And yet, by the end, the exercise turned out to be unexpectedly fruitful.

Reflect

Reflect

Check out the reflect button on the homepage where you can view this and all monthly newsletters.

Looking forward to reading & discussing with you!

June 2020 In Review

6/30/2020

JUNE 2020 | IN REVIEW
READ | WRITE | DISCUSS | PRAY | SERVE | REFLECT

Even in Cambridge

Read

The New Jim Crow

Back in high school I was asked to view two photos, one of a white man and one of a Black man, and identify which was the criminal. Even back then I was aware of my own bias. But what should I do about it? After digging into Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow and learning how the creation of the image of Black people as criminals has led to the crisis of mass incarceration of today, I walked away with ideas for how to elevate the Black image from this injustice.

Write

Is this for real?

I’m sure we are all familiar with compassion fatigue by now. Even in places that have been hit hard. But to insist that things return to normal is to turn a blind eye to suffering. Consider my experience in Cambridge. Then consider that trusting in God in this moment might not be asking for protection for yourself; it might look like asking for softening of your heart towards those still in the fray.

Discuss

Dear Mrs. Bird

We enjoyed escaping into this story, even though we found some key elements a little contrived. We marveled at the English fortitude to maintain a stiff upper lip and forge ahead with life amidst the bombs dropping around them. We compared their altered world to our current pandemic and our challenge to live our lives despite not knowing where our invisible enemy will strike next.

Pray

What is your church doing about this?

One of the silver linings of the coronavirus pandemic has been the frequency with which my friends and neighbors have asked me how my church is responding. I have felt more freedom to talk about my church in my community than ever before. And yet, when they didn’t ask me what my church is doing about systemic racism, I felt ashamed. Today, I want to say: Hold the church accountable. We need to be a part of this too.

Serve

Let’s hear from the Black community

One of my pastors says that the first way we can serve others is to listen, and then to keep listening. This month I listened in on three panel discussions led by School Committee Vice Chair Manikka Bowman and former Cambridge mayor and sitting City Councillor Denise Simmons as they explored challenges facing the Black community during the coronavirus pandemic as well as another recently declared public health emergency, systemic racism. Catch the entire series on Cambridge Community Television.

Reflect

Reflect

Check out the reflect button on the homepage where you can view this and all monthly newsletters.

Looking forward to reading & discussing with you!

May 2020 In Review

5/31/2020

MAY 2020 | IN REVIEW
READ | WRITE | DISCUSS | PRAY | SERVE | REFLECT

Even in Cambridge

Read

What’s Leftover

This month I read two books that tempted me to compare our current reality with fictionalized pseudo-apocalyptic and otherwise completely restrictive living situations. Walk with me through The Leftovers and Room and hope with me that when all of this is over, we’ll retain some semblance to who we want to be.

Write

What We Carry

At a time when I was repeatedly disappointed by losses of connection to the writing community, I got to sit in on a virtual talk with author Maya Lang. Her readings, and the free copy of her memoir that the publisher offered me, proved soothing comfort and encouragement to keep writing.

Discuss

I Capture the Castle

We highly recommend this book, especially if you’re “cocooning” during this pandemic, as we were happily engrossed in Cassandra's bubble and didn't even pay attention to the fact that the story was set almost 100 years ago. We also appreciated the similarly timeless English tendency to relate scenarios back to Austen. If you missed this back in 1948, grab a copy and enjoy a laugh!

Pray

Born Again This Way

Back in March I attended Rachel Gilson’s book launch and was blown away by her articulate and persuasive voice. I was able to swipe a free copy of the book from the back of the church on my way out, but I encourage you to grab a copy of your own. You may know what the Bible says about same-sex relationships. Then again, you may, like me, find yourself surprised to hear it through Rachel’s words.

Serve

Rethinking Fight Strategy

COVID is the closest thing to a world war my generation has seen. Like so many others, I have wanted to join the fight. But very quickly, I realized that I didn’t know how. With so many aspects of our life evolving during this time, perhaps it’s no surprise that I needed to shift my own strategy for serving.

Reflect

Reflect

Check out the reflect button on the homepage where you can view this and all monthly newsletters.

Looking forward to reading & discussing with you!

April 2020 In Review

4/29/2020

APRIL 2020 | IN REVIEW
READ | WRITE | DISCUSS | PRAY | SERVE | REFLECT

Even in Cambridge

Read

A Scream Goes Through The House

A brief conversation with my neighbor is about all the face-to-face contact I have with any person outside of my house these days, but speaking to her reminded me that during times of isolation, we can turn to reading about the shared experience. I dusted off an old book I’ve had on the shelf for over fifteen years...and found striking truths about how humankind has persevered through past plagues.

Write

Musing about the distance between us

I had so many writing goals for April that, on the surface, felt dashed by COVID-19. I also felt disconnected from the writing community I was just starting to find. But then I looked a little harder...and realized that those writers are still there, and if I would just pick up their books, I could still learn from them, until we meet again.

Discuss

Writers & Lovers

While we found King’s latest novel a fairly easy, compelling read, we appreciated the nuanced characters, especially Casey who drew us into her dreams and had us celebrating with her at the (fairytale) end.

Pray

The Gap Between Hope and Reality

This month, I reflected on how, in some ways, Easter 2020 was no different than prior Easters. I also read Anne Lamott’s short book Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers, and I appreciated her reminder that we can pray all three of these prayers, even in these circumstances.

Serve

From sap to syrup, school to home

In March, I volunteered to help my son’s elementary classroom collect sap from a couple of trees they had tapped. The aim was to boil it down to make maple syrup, to be enjoyed with pancakes! Now we don’t know when they will be able to do that. But a recent hike taught me that our learning continues at home.

Reflect

Reflect

Check out the reflect button on the homepage where you can view this and all monthly newsletters.

Looking forward to reading & discussing with you!

March 2020 In Review

3/31/2020

MARCH 2020 | IN REVIEW
READ | WRITE | DISCUSS | PRAY | SERVE | REFLECT

Even in Cambridge

Read

Barbed Wire Baseball

Last summer, my kids wanted to learn more about Zeni, a Japanese American baseball player who was imprisoned in an internment camp during World War II. I told them I would request related titles, but then life got in the way...or maybe I wasn’t ready to face the hard stuff. This winter, when they asked again, we got the books and tried our best to honor the struggles and hopes of those who suffered.

Write

Beyond Handwashing: Writing Class Goes Virtual

Writers, like everyone these days, are trying to cling to normalcy. But how do you write while anxious? Some writer friends I know have detoured from their projects to address how COVID-19 is affecting their lives. Others have been having trouble coaxing any ink from their pens. And I have been treading water, perhaps circling the drain on pre-written work, but not wanting to give way either.

Discuss

Maid

We found Maid to be readable and compelling, if not the best writing we've ever seen. Our eyes were opened to what it is like to live on government assistance, and some of us will start paying our babysitters more because of reading this. We questioned whether this was really the most powerful and effective story Land might have told, and we'll be curious to see what she chooses to write next.

Pray

Sustaining lessons from Ephesians

Prior to the start of this new reality of isolation, my church small group shared many life concerns, and I’m so grateful that this group was already in place when our whole world changed. Like many groups and workplaces, we too are meeting virtually, praying together and reminding each other of God’s love and faithfulness.

Serve

Just Mercy

Reading this book made me wonder if I should have been a lawyer. Mr. Stevenson and his team sure seem to have a gift for delivering justice...even while cultural roadblocks prevent them from succeeding as often as they and their clients would like. So was there anything I could do, as a lay person, to further their message? Well, when my son got yanked off the school bus one day, all of a sudden I got an idea...

Reflect

Reflect

Check out the reflect button on the homepage where you can view this and all monthly newsletters.

Looking forward to reading & discussing with you!

February 2020 In Review

2/29/2020

FEBRUARY 2020 | IN REVIEW
READ | WRITE | DISCUSS | PRAY | SERVE | REFLECT

Even in Cambridge

Read

Reset

Ellen Pao didn’t grow up feeling excluded. She was raised to believe in a meritocracy, and for most of her life, as she worked hard, she saw her efforts pay off. Then she tried her hand at venture capital...and ran into discrimination too blatant to ignore. In her memoir, she reveals an even more painful societal problem: that many of her female employees “never knew before that this wasn’t okay.”

Write

On Writing Groups

Last month, Belmont Books hosted a successful writing group to lead a panel discussion on what makes writing groups work well. Two of my own writing group members met me there to take notes. We left feeling pretty good about the rhythm and routines we had established for ourselves and exhilarated to join the writing conversation with a roomful of aspiring and active writers.

Discuss

The Nickel Boys

This was a challenging read, but those who made it through said they were glad to have read it. When I talk about injustice with my kids -- slavery, the Civil Rights movement and the like -- I try to impress upon them that this isn't history of long ago but rather the current state of our country. The school that Whitehead depicts in The Nickel Boys didn't close until 2014. How many other schools might still exist that may have operated in a similar fashion?

Pray

Want to read the Bible this year?

I read 59 books in 2019. And yet, I was intimidated when my friend asked me to read the Bible with her this year. Sure, there are 66 books in the Protestant Bible, but some of those are less than a page long. What’s the big deal?

Serve

My Social Network

The first time I read this bumper sticker, I nearly rolled my eyes. Over ten years on the East Coast will make you quite fine with remaining in your own bubble, only speaking to others if absolutely necessary. But in the past few years, I have witnessed the power of introductions, and two weeks ago, I learned my lesson all over again when I found a lost wallet on the sidewalk.

Reflect

Reflect

Check out the reflect button on the homepage where you can view this and all monthly newsletters.

Looking forward to reading & discussing with you!