An Altar in the World: Our book circle at St. Paul's

On Wednesday evening, 15 people met in the library at St. Paul's to begin a book circle on Barbara Brown Taylor's An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith.

It was my privilege to join them, and it will be my privilege to travel with them through this astounding book over the next few weeks.

We shared a little of our own stories, and we tried to answer, as best we could, the question Taylor poses in her book: "What saves your life now?" We heard some wonderful answers.

If you can join us on Wednesday evenings, we would love to have you. Or perhaps you can join us on this blog in reading this astounding book and offering us your blessing by sharing your thoughts and wisdom.

Here is Taylor's description of what she is trying to do in the book, and I think it a gem:

If you have run out of breath yourself -- or out of faith -- then this book is for you. Since it is a field guide and not a curriculum, you may start where you like and end where you like. I have no idea what you will see when you look at your life -- but if you are tired of arguing about religion, tired of reading about spirituality, tired of talk-talk-talking about things that matter without doing a single thing that matters yourself, then the pages that follow are dedicated to you. My hope is that reading them will help you see the red X under your feet. To put it another way, my hope is that reading them will help you recognize some of the altars in this world -- ordinary-looking places where human beings have met and may continue to meet up with the divine More that they sometimes call God.

Photo of Cathedral Peak, Yosemite, by Evan Russel, Ansel Adams Gallery, Yosemite