The Good Book Club is back!
The Good Book Club returns for a third year with the Gospel of John and I invite you to to join us reading the fourth gospel from start to finish during the season of Epiphany.
If you haven’t participated in the Good Book Club in previous years, here’s how it works. Episcopalians from every diocese around the Church will read a short section of John’s gospel each day (except Sundays) of Epiphany season. While you’ll do the reading on your own, this is far from a solo-endeavor. Grow Christians is one of many partners from across the Episcopal Church working with Forward Movement providing resources to support you and your family through this journey. Beginning in early January, members of our Grow Christians community will share how they are preparing their households to participate in the Good Book Club. We’ll check in with them a few weeks later and then again once Epiphany ends. These Good Book Club posts will be like all Grow Christians’ posts: filled with real life celebrations and setbacks, as well as practical tips and resources for you to use at home.
For me, this week is the best time to ready myself for an Epiphany Good Book Club. Our kids are out school for the entire Christmas season this year, so I know I’ll have neither the time nor the mental energy to think about what resources we’ll use the night before Epiphany. If you don’t own a Bible that’s both kid appropriate and contains the entirety of the biblical text, check out Melody Wilson Shobe’s post from two years ago on choosing the best Bible for your family. You can order the Bible now, then print out this schedule of readings to tuck inside your Bible once it’s in hand, then you’ll be all set to go when the Feast of the Epiphany rolls around on January 6th!
Sundays leading up to Christmas Eve are typically better attended than in other times of the year, which means they are wonderful opportunities to stir up excitement for the Good Book Club. If you haven’t heard your church mention the Good Book Club yet, ask your clergy, youth or family ministers if they’d like to participate as a congregation. Building Faith offers multiple ways for churches to get involved, which should remove all the stress from planning a new endeavor.
I hope you’ll join our Grow Christians community in reading the Gospel of John during Epiphany. It’s my expectation that through this intergenerational reading of scripture, we’ll strengthen our faith by encountering these ancient stories in new, contemporary ways. If you have any questions about the Good Book Club, just comment below and I’ll try my best to answer them. I’m looking forward to journeying through John with you.
Discover more from Grow Christians
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.