Reading Together

And if we learn from this moment to be better together, 

we won’t just endure this crisis. We will thrive. 

Vivek Murthy, March 2020

"Keep close. You can't understand most of the important things from a distance, Bryan. 

You have to get close."

Bryan Stevenson’s grandmother in “Just Mercy”

In the past, I read predominantly in the growing mountain of professional literature.  It required close attention to and knowledge of the material.   It was focused reading to bring the best and newest evidence to the pressing questions of diagnosis and prescription.  In my lifetime, this became facilitated by powerful computer searching tools and electronic media.

Now, my reading is frequently recommended by others and requires reading as a basis of the conversation that follows.  The communication is about the many ways the same story/information is understood and applied.  

Here is one example from my church community.  We began using the narrative lectionary that organizes how specific stories meet the larger narratives in the Bible.  This is a four year curriculum of directed faith community reading.  It has been a wonderful gift to see how the narrative connects to our individual lives and encourages all of us to struggle together.

An example was joining another community and reading “Just Mercy” together.  This was a broader group that we were able to have conversations around the many stories reported by Bryan Stevenson.  These reflective times allowed me to form relationships and learn together even at a distance.

Thanks for communities that practice reading together.

Marvin

References: 

Sharma, D.  Reading and Technology Reading And Technology In 2020: Why Writers Are Bypassing Bookstores To Find Fans And Community? 

http://www.businessworld.in/article/Reading-and-Technology-in-2020-Why-writers-are-bypassing-bookstores-to-find-fans-and-community-/07-10-2020-328864/

Murthy, V. H. (2020). Together : the healing power of human connection in a sometimes lonely world (First edition. ed.). New York, NY: Harper Wave, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Narrative Lectionary

https://www.workingpreacher.org/home-narrative-lectionary

Stevenson, B. (2014). Just mercy : a story of justice and redemption (First edition. ed.). New York: Spiegel & Grau.

Hage, M. L. (2018). Healing Together.

http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2018/01/

Hage, M. L. (2020). Our Healing.

http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2020/05/our-healing.html