A Catholic Book Club

By Barbara Grunewald
Diocesan Pastoral Council


Sometimes very successful projects can flow out of a very simple beginning particularly when the ground is fertile and the rest of the environment is right. That certainly has been the case with the success of the Catholic Book Club at St. John the Evangelist, Fenton.

After mass one morning, a small group of parishioners were talking with the associate pastor. The conversation turned to getting his views on several books some of them were reading. Noting their interest, he subsequently suggested several others they might consider reading. What made that conversation noteworthy was that it was the launching pad for the parish book club. Now, three years later, the club is thriving with attendance ranging, at times, to a high of as many as 40 participants at the regular monthly meetings.

Following that initial conversation, the group decided that theirs should be a Catholic book club and meet monthly after morning mass. At the outset, father led the discussions and proposed a list of Catholic books that featured a wide variety including works of fiction, non-fiction, biography and autobiography. Everything in Catholic literature was to become grist for this reading mill!

Interest in the club grew and the momentum was maintained even when the discussion leader left St. John the Evangelist to become pastor in his own parish. Prior to his departure, he trained several participants in discussion leadership. Armed with this and a good list of books to draw from, the club’s continuity was assured.

The club usually meets monthly for an hour or two after morning mass except for a hiatus during summertime. The structure is very casual with attendance open to everyone. No one takes attendance… the participants come when they can. Therein lays one of the big advantages of this kind of project: it really doesn’t require a large number of participants to be successful. It will work in a small parish just as easily as in a big one.

Typically, the leader will kick off the meeting with some thought provokers about that month’s selection. That’s usually enough to get the discussions going and the group’s dynamics and the book’s subject matter take over from there.

When the discussions are over, it’s time for the group to pick the next selection. The recommendations can come from anyone. Usually, there are three or four “candidates” for reading and pretty quickly a consensus comes on the one that will be the focus for the next meeting. It probably doesn’t hurt that one of the parishioners owns a bookstore and routinely she encounters a number of Catholic books for consideration. Sometimes, the selection process will end up with a book that’s humorous. The reading doesn’t have to be “heavy lifting,” it just needs to have a religious life application.

The discussions are always informative, usually lively and, according to one participant, sometimes somewhat energized. As might be expected from time to time, participants might have different ideas about a book but it never seems to fail that there’s agreement in the end on the material the book has presented.

On the most valuable benefits to come from the Catholic Book Club’s formation, there is complete agreement among the participants: the monthly readings and the resulting discussions are a great way to learn more about our Catholic faith, its doctrines, its traditions and its history. As if those weren’t enough, club members also find that the monthly sessions are an easy way to make new friends and to become more deeply involved in parish life.

The resources required to get this program off the ground are minimal. There are abundant sources that will lead to a good supply of candidates for reading. The folks at St. John the Evangelist will be happy to share their reading list with those interested in getting started. A comfortable meeting space and some light refreshments will probably round out the list of ingredients needed in this recipe for success. The participants can take it from there.

Person to Contact:
Barbara Grunewald
St. John the Evangelist Parish,
600 North Adelaide Street
Fenton, MI 48430
Phone: 810-629-2251
Fax: 810-629-2302