Presbyterian Outlook's Page Turners - Breaking free from grind culture

Reading for a prescribed or chosen rest Dear Outlook Readers,   I’m usually in constant motion. This week requires a different rhythm — ice and elevate. Pause. Repeat. Yes, I am nursing a broken ankle, and while icing and elevating is key to the first few days, the real treatment is rest and time.   My theology does not endorse the belief that God makes bad things happen to test or teach us, but I do believe that God is present and active amidst the tough stuff, from mundane injuries like my broken ankle to the epic challenges in our country and world. This forced rhythm has much to teach me. I wonder what lessons I will take from this time into the year ahead.   For help, I turn to The Serviceberry and We Will Rest! With gorgeous illustrations and bold covers, these appear to be slim gift books at first. They are great gifts, and they are so much more. Their authors challenge the status quo, inviting us to understand and work toward regenerative systems – economies and relationships – that allow individuals and communities to thrive. These thought-provoking works simultaneously challenge us while offering a word of hope to carry ahead into the new year.   Merry Christmas, and Happy Reading,   Amy Pagliarella Book Review Editor   P.S.: If you prefer reading fiction for Christmas, check out this month’s quoted book, Dust to Dust. It concludes the trilogy written by M.M. Lindvall (a retired Presbyterian minister and his daughter, a TV true crime writer) and is just good fun. Amateur sleuths Rev. Seth Ludington and his volunteer secretary Harriet van der Berg solve mysteries in between session meetings and pastoral calls; the latest volume tackles timely issues of anti-Semitism and inter-faith relationships. BOOKS OF THE MONTH The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World Robin Wall Kimmerer Scribner, 128 pages Published November 19, 2024   “What if scarcity is a social construct?” Indigenous botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer asks. Kimmerer, author of the bestseller Braiding Sweetgrass, looks to seasonal berries to describe what we can learn from the natural world. Berries are abundant and free — if we’re lucky enough to live near farmland or areas of wild growth, we can pick enough to gorge ourselves and leave plenty for others to enjoy.   In The Serviceberry, Kimmerer wonders how this “model of Serviceberries and ancient gift economies could help us imagine our way out of the mutually assured destruction of cutthroat capitalism.” In a “serviceberry economy” we eat what’s in season, share what’s readily available, and measure the value of common spaces and birdsong alongside our GDPs.   We follow the example of Kimmerer’s neighbors, Paulie and Ed, small farmers who gift berries to friends and neighbors. Rather than maximize their profit, they invite others to share in their abundance. As folks taste new berries and feel a connection to a family farm, they come back later to buy a pumpkin. It’s a community of reciprocity and “goodwill, so-called social capital” that realizes profitability and generosity can co-exist.   It is these stories that make The Serviceberry applicable and uplifting. Most of us work within the American system of capitalism, and, like Paulie and Ed, we need to earn a living. Yet we can participate in a neighborhood “free box,” join a “buy nothing” group on social media, purchase Christmas gifts at a local “makers’ market” or seek out produce at the Farmer’s Market. Kimmerer’s inclusive approach invites us to imagine a new way of being that allows us to flourish and creates a sustainable future. We Will Rest! The Art of Escape Tricia Hersey Little, Brown Spark, 160 pages Published November 12, 2024   At a recent retreat, a colleague confessed that he just took weekdays off after knee surgery, continuing to prepare and preach each Sunday service. He thought he was doing the “responsible” thing, but working Sundays made him ineligible for short-term disability benefits. He was entitled to the time off, his congregation had paid into the system, and it would have served him well: so why didn’t he take the time off? He couldn’t explain.   Tricia Hersey gets it. In a system that rewards the constant need to produce, in which we wear “busyness as a badge of honor” she insists that We Will Rest! “If you are waiting for permission, listen closely” she whispers. “You are enough right now, and you must rest not to gain more power or to produce more but because it is your divine right to rest.”   Hersey’s 2022 manifesto Rest is Resistance! introduced us to her liberatory work as “the nap bishop.” This follow-up book includes poems, simple practices, snippets of essays and original artwork that celebrate rest’s power to liberate us from “grind culture.” She takes a lighthearted approach, branding herself an “escape artist,” sharing “trickster” strategies, and even drawing a “flip book” of a Black woman at rest. She is, however, deeply serious that rest is an act of radical resistance, a gift of the Divine and a way to honor her enslaved ancestors who could not rest. We Will Rest! bears witness to the transformative power of rest — and our weary world rejoices. QUOTE OF THE MONTH “The rabbi’s eye scanned the neo-Gothic worship space … (Rabbi) Gellman slowly read aloud the words underneath the image (of Moses), “Nec Tamen Consumebatur.”… “Yet it was not consumed,” Ludington translated. “The burning bush, that is.” “This tale we share. Exodus Chapter Three.” Then (the rabbi’s) eye travelled to the next three windows — the first a depiction of the Nativity, the second of Jesus welcoming the little children, the last, nearest the front of the church, of the Risen Christ, white-robed, his face kindly but solemn, index and middle fingers raised in benediction.” Gelman said, “A good Jew he was.” Ludington smiled and said, “Born a Jew, lived a Jew, died a Jew.” Dust to Dust: A Ludington – van der Berg Novel M.M. Lindvall Level Best Books, 310 pages Published December 17, 2024 Book Giveaway!  Congratulations to last month’s winner Rachel Sutphin. Thanks to our partners at Church Publishing, they received a copy of Wilda Gafney’s A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church, Year C.   This month, one fortunate reader will receive a copy of M.M. Lindvall Dust to Dust, generously donated by the authors. If you're reading this note, then you're all set! Know someone else who should be reading Page Turners? Send them this link and they'll get entered for a chance to win, too. The contest closes on January 29. OTHER READS The top Outlook book recommendations of 2024 According to our readers, these were the best books of 2024 to purchase. Holiday reading Whether you’re looking for something to read aloud to a child or want to spend the holidays catching up on some of the year’s best, you’ll want to check out these great books. — Amy Pagliarella Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto The “nap bishop,” as Hersey is known, insists that economic systems trick us into believing we are only worth as much as we produce, and the church is not exempt.— Amy Pagliarella Resources for grief and loss Amy Pagliarella suggests the resources for grief pastors, caregivers, and loved ones will want on hand, to reference or offer to others in need.

Did you know loneliness is America’s most significant health problem, according to Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy in 2022? Explore biblical wisdom and practical steps to cultivate meaningful friendships with this “Friendship” Bible study by Katy Shevel.