January 11th, 2021CommonWord, Herald Press and MC USA partner for Common Read winter title
I am Not Your Enemy by Michael T. McRay
CommonWord (a program of Mennonite Church Canada), MC USA and Herald Press are partnering in another Common Read initiative beginning this month.
Common Read encourages Mennonites to engage in a "common read," every few months, promoting specific books written to nurture Christian faith in our current cultural moment.
“Congregations are often looking for recommended titles for small group study,” says Arlyn Friesen Epp, director of CommonWord. “A Common Read book gives our nationwide church an opportunity to engage a topic collectively.”
The book chosen for Common Read's winter title is I Am Not Your Enemy: Stories to Transform a Divided World by Michael T. McRay.
McRay has a master’s degree in conflict resolution from Trinity College’s Belfast campus and works with the global story nonprofit Narrative 4. He traveled to Israel and Palestine, Northern Ireland, and South Africa to interview activists, peacebuilders and former combatants, including grieving parents who comfort each other across enemy lines, a woman who meets her father’s killer and a young man who uses theatre to counter the oppression of his people.
“No matter how much some of us might wish it, the people who don’t vote like us or think like us aren’t going anywhere,” McRay says. “We’ll always live together, so we must learn to live together well with those we find difficult. More often than not it’s how we deal with difference that determines our potential to be peaceable.”
Common Read participants can join the author on a live Zoom event on Thursday, Jan. 14, at noon EDT. Registration for the event is available here.
Common Read continues in April with Raising Disciples: How to Make Faith Matter for Our Kids by Natalie Frisk.
Free downloadable study guides are available from CommonWord.
Media contacts:
Arlyn Friesen Epp
afriesenepp@commonword.ca
204-594-0527 ext. 333
LeAnn Hamby
(540) 908-3941