My Zoom Book Group
Before the pandemic I started a Patreon page, and the most popular thing I did there was labeled “The Education.” For $8.33 per month (that comes out to $100 per year) you get access to an ongoing series of videos that take you into a topic or text from the history of Christianity and it’s theological riches.
Some were pastors who missed seminary-level input.
Some were not pastors, but really valued access to seminary-level input.
Then came COVID and lockdowns. Life was isolated. I put out an invitation to the participants: Why not have live weekly discussions of the current book or topic via Zoom?
We tried it. We liked it. We still do it.
Every time we start a new book I open it up to new participants.
That’s happening again–most likely next week. We meet on Fridays, 4:00 to 5:00 Eastern time. People come from other time zones. Turns out it’s Saturday morning if you live in New Zealand.
Julian of Norwich
So what’s the book, you ask?
It’s Julian of Norwich’s “Showings,” also known as “Revelations of Divine Love.”
Julian was an “anchoress,” sort of like a nun who lived in seclusion connected with a church in Norwich England in the 14th century. So you get some interesting windows into the history of what Christian devotion looked like in the Middle Ages.
Most famously, she had a series of visions, encounters with Jesus, which she meditated on for the rest of her life. So you get windows into Christian mysticism, and you get some remarkable theological reflections.
The book is wildly different from most anything written today. Not everyone will love it. That’s okay. It will stretch you, and it may well inspire you. Julian was amazing.
We’ll be reading the Penguin edition, translated by Spearing and Spearing. You can get it on Amazon through this affiliate link. (This is to the US store. You may need to switch stores, or hunt it up on the site of your choice if you are outside the USA.)
It’s really fun. We’ve come to really care for and support each other. We would love to have you in the group.
Just click on over to Patreon to sign up if you are interested.
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This post contains affiliate links.
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