Herald Press, MC USA, and MC Canada begin second year of Common Read

August 31, 2021                                                                                    

New books chosen for Mennonites to read together

HARRISONBURG, Va. — Mennonite Church USA (MC USA), Mennonite Church Canada, and Herald Press began partnering in September 2020 to encourage Mennonites to engage in a “common read,” a shared reading experience focused on specific books written to nurture Christian faith in this cultural moment.

The Common Read continues September 2021 through November 2021 with Tongue-Tied: Learning the Lost Art of Talking about Faith by Sara Wenger Shenk. Common Read participants can join the author on a live Zoom event on Tuesday, October 19, at 7 pm ET. Books are available from MennoMedia, CommonWord and other retailers.

Many Christians easily talk about movies, sports, politics, jobs, and emotions, but struggle when it comes to talking about faith. In Tongue-Tied, Shenk investigates the reasons that people who claim the name of Christ are so reluctant to talk about him.

“One of our greatest gifts to the next generations, including our children and grandchildren, will be learning to talk more freely about what we’ve discovered of God’s ways in the world, how we’ve found ways to follow Jesus in daily life, and how we anchor our lives in the love of God amid all manner of disappointments, tragedies, and hard times,” Wenger Shenk says.

Sara Wenger Shenk served as president of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) for almost ten years, where her blog, Practicing Reconciliation, was lauded as a steady and deeply theological resource in anxious and polarized times. For nine years, she and her husband, Gerald Shenk, served as students and teachers in the former Yugoslavia, and she has served on the faculty and administration of Eastern Mennonite Seminary 

After reading Tongue-Tied this fall, the Common Read continues in January 2022 with Been in the Struggle: Pursuing an Antiracist Spirituality by Regina Shands Stoltzfus and Tobin Miller Shearer and April 2022 with Not Quite Fine: Mental Health, Faith, and Showing Up for One Another by Carlene Hill Byron and will include Zoom events with the authors.

Free downloadable study guides are available for Tongue-Tied on the MennoMedia and Herald Press websites.