“…the books that would be written.”
Have you picked up a copy of Plymouth’s Book Bingo challenge? Not many of you have but we all need a nudge sometimes. Especially to do those things that will do us the most good. Let me give you a gentle nudge with a peek at my journey so far.
I start my search within the Plymouth Church Library collection. I just walk slowly that wonderful curving wall of books and titles jump out at me. Sometimes I will focus my search with the online catalog at https://opac.libraryworld.com which you can then make a favorite on your browser. The library name is Plymouth Church. No password is required.
For the Book Bingo challenge, I started with the square, “Children’s picture book.” The church has over 500 children’s books, even after several cullings. Rev. Kelle reminded us in her sermon last Sunday to be faithful to the present gifts of Plymouth and not to define our worthiness by the number of children. And so why do we still have so many children’s books when we have so few children? Could it be because of the truth Jesus spoke that to receive the kingdom of God, his followers must do so as a little child? Children remind us of simple truths. And so do the books that are written for them. So the library collects and treasures these beautiful books.
The book that found me was The Flood Tales by Richard Monte. This is not your typical children’s book on Noah and his ark. Noah had questions and so did I by the last page. Was he called by God or was he following his own folly? Was the flood caused by global warming, as suggested by his son, Ham, or God’s wrath? The book gives no answers to these questions but encourages one to ponder and respect the mystery even while following with passion into action. I highly recommend for its realistic visual imaginings of “ark living” and narrative of a family changed by their calling to act.
I will share one more discovery. This came from the square, “Written by or about activists or revolutionaries.” I wanted to think outside the box on this one, being as it was about those who do. And this book, Revolution: the year I fell in love and went to join the Sandinistas by Deb Olin Unferth so captured my imagination. With a title like that, how could I not grab from the shelf, take home, and quickly devour like a yummy chocolate! It did not disappoint. Although the journey includes a quest for love, there is nothing romantic about her adventure. But everything real, about love and revolutions. And, of course, like many good books, it led me to other books. In this case, Unferth’s latest novel called Barn 8 about two women who decide to liberate all the chickens in a high production farm. Unferth’s gift is entertaining her reader at the same time she asks them to look squarely at the troubles of the world.
So, please join me in your own individual journey. The Gospel of John ends with this humble truth. “This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:24-25)
Plymouth Church Library does not strive to have every book. Nor should it. As the writer of John says, the whole world could not contain complete written accounts of even those things that Jesus did. And continues to do through us. But it is a collection of books singled out and cherished and wanting to be shared by the people who have come through the doors of Plymouth Church and continue to come through its doors. Doors that are open to all. It is a unique collection of thoughts that is not held anywhere else. The collection speaks to the trials, and questions, triumphs and journeys of faith of Plymouth Church’s people. I invite you to consider spending time with them.
-Melony Joyce, Plymouth Church Library Committee