Anglican Books You Have To Have

Think I’ve forgotten how to blog. Was sure this was going to happen when I looked at the various tasks before me all those months ago and decided I needed better people than me to come and post here for a while. The Main Thing is that I’m so grateful to have IRL friends and to know the kinds of people who think about things well enough to write them down. Which, I always think, is the point of writing–to think something all the way through. Or maybe the point of writing is for the clicks. Can’t remember which it is.

Anyway, I missed being here every day. Remembered, again, as I went through the Synodical Week rubbing shoulders with fascinating people who can do spectacular and beautiful things–sing, dance, organize with elegant precision, cook, sew gorgeous banners with the simple flick of the wrist, understand the flow of electricity through the guts of a building, build an organ in a single night, see into the future to know what problems may arise–that the only thing I’ve got is this blog every morning. In terms of the upbuilding of humanity towards some glorious utopian moment, it’s pretty lame. But as far as keeping me sane and not wandering off to do other stupid things, it’s impressively useful. So, I will try to learn how to write once again, and, since it only took me seven days to forget, you will have to be patient because it will probably take me months and months to remember.

In the spirit of jumping back in, here are three good things, in no particular order.

First, Dr. Gatiss came all the way from England to give me this book, which has a video and everything.

I started it this morning and then felt guilty (which is surely the point) and closed it and listened to some sundry chapters of the Bible, and then started it again and read through the first day. I love that each author is described and has a headshot in the Meet the Authors section. There is Martin Luther, of course, and John Calvin, Heinrich Bullinger (well bearded) and Thomas Cranmer and Lee Gatiss. The first four have hats, at least, and two have beards, whereas Dr. Gatiss has neither hat nor beard although he has matched the Reformation Expression pretty well. I’m excited about this because I’m too embarrassed to read my own book again and have so maligned all other devotional books that I was kind of stuck. So this must truly be the beginning of a great salvation.

Second, I came away with a much smaller but just as nicely bound book called Attend: Forty Soul Stretches Toward God by Laura Werezak. I’ve only made it through the introduction but I am loving Laura’s gentle, fluid style and look forward to the next forty days. I bet if you had Laura’s book in one hand, and Tish’s Liturgy of the Ordinary in the other, and were balancing Dr. Gatiss’ book on your nose, there is No Way you would avoid becoming Anglican, which I’m sure you are wanting to do but just didn’t know How.

And Third, continuing on in the truth that if you’re looking for something to be thankful about it’s got to be the books, I lugged twenty of my own to Synod to try to hock as best I could, planning to beg people to come and buy them, or just give me cash and not bother with the book. In the mercy of God, a really nice person came and bought all of them which lets me pay my credit card back post haste. I’m pretty sure he took them downstairs to sell at a profit (just kidding, I know he didn’t do that, but I kind of Wish that he had) to finance his trip back home. It’s That Valuable. Truly, cash is a lot lighter to carrier around than a box of books, so my happiness is complete.

Did you know you could still buy my book? It’s still there on Amazon. You can leave me an Amazon review and everything. Now that synod is over I’m going to write something else. Think it’s time to face down The Great Anglican Novel, a farcical account of a rag tag bunch of parishioners repainting and rewiring their whole church building on the night before Synod. Will the clever and competent Parish Administrator with her Perfect Notebook be able to calm down the Crazed and Sleepless Choir Master who has assembled an organ out of a cardboard box and six pieces of string? Will she be able to keep the rector from losing his keys? Will she manage to keep the rector’s wife from Insulting Everyone? You won’t be able to put down this Completely Fictional Page Turner, waiting line by line to find out if the bishop comes to his senses and chucks them all out!

And now, what’s the best way to google ‘Agent’. Gosh it’s good to be back. See y’all tomorrow!