UUA announces 2016-2017 ‘Common Read’

My earliest opportunity in library collection development was as volunteer administrator of a small lending library for a Unitarian Universalist (UU) church.

An important addition to the library’s collection was the Unitarian Universalist Association’s annual Common Read.

I have long appreciated the shared experience of reading a book in common and, since the program’s inception, I’ve closely followed — and publicized — each year’s announcement of the latest Common Read.

The program continues to resonate with me in my professional capacity as Religious Explorations administrative coordinator for a local UU church.

Via congregation blog, post to social media and MailChimp email campaign, I had occasion this week to publicize the 2016-2017 Common Read: The Third Reconstruction: Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics, and the Rise of a New Justice Movement, by The Rev. Dr. William Barber II and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove.

The Common Read selection committee believes this is a moment for UUs to answer a call by Rev. Barber, to build and sustain a movement for justice for all people. A discussion guide for the book will be available by Oct. 1.

Mass killing of disabled people : No response from UUA

On July 28, 2016, I posted a link to an article on the Facebook page of the Unitarian Universalist Association. The article concerned the killing of 19 people and injuring of 25 more in a facility for people with disabilities in Sagamihara, Japan.

Body Support Systems: Debut blog post

My debut blog post for Body Support Systems, Inc. went live on its website today. The post highlights an appearance by owner/founder Tom Owens at the World Massage Festival this coming week.

Body Support Systems produces the bodyCushion™, an orthopedic positioning system that therapeutic practitioners, including massage therapists, use when treating their clients. I have worked part-time with the company for a little more than one year.

Editing and blogging are activities I enjoy, so I appreciate having this outlet as part of my professional responsibilities. I have a few more posts incubating and look forward to posting them soon.

‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’: Recommendations for reading play

The Barnes & Noble blog cites sales figures to project “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” may “be among the most widely read plays of all time.”

But because reading a play is “a little different from reading a novel,” B&N has compiled tips for getting the most out of reading “Cursed Child.”

I love the idea of people assigning parts and reading aloud together; my family and I have read aloud to each other for years.

With a professional repertory theater company only two miles from our home, it’s especially easy to “Add to the experience” by going to see a play. “An evening at the theater will familiarize you with the tropes and rhythms of plays, which will help inform the experience the next time you read a play.”

‘Intrusive’ vs. ‘inbound’ contact

Via my social newsfeed this morning, a declaration by Andy Mort that telephone calls are, quite possibly, the most intrusive form of contact.