Now that Desert Palm United Church of Christ, Tempe, AZ is nearly done reading Bishop Mariann Budde's Learning to Be Brave, they're inviting the Southwest Conference to jump with them into their next book: Blessed Minds: Breaking The Silence About Neurodiversity by Sarah Griffith Lund.
Rev. Lund is one of the national leaders of the WISE movement, which seeks to broaden the UCC's welcome by reducing the stigma around mental illness, brain disorders and those experience neurodiversity. Rev. Lund has agreed to Zoom with us for a Q&A after we've read and discussed the book among ourselves, so watch for an announcement this summer about that!
And if you're wondering what this is all about and why it's important.... Rev. Lund defines neurodivergence as "having a brain that functions differently from the majority of people." Neurodiversity pertains to "the range of differences in brain function and behavior among all humans." She writes in chapter one, "Over the past decade as my life has evolved, so have the conversations about how we understand ourselves in relation to our brain chemistry and structure and the ways they affect our health, abilities, and relationships. As we continue to make new discoveries about the brain, we are continually adjusting the ways we think, understand and talk about neurological functioning. Conversations are evolving about how we understand the interplay between our brains and spirituality..." (p. 12).
Desert Palm member Ray Littleford (a licensed clinical psychologist active with our WISE ministry) is going to co-facilitate.
So, consider adding this beautiful little book to your summer reading list, whether you are going to be able to participate in the book group or not. For those who would like to read it as a group, we'll be meeting on Monday evenings at 7 (either in person at the church or via Zoom) on the following Mondays:
Meeting dates: June 2 (general introduction, drawing on the introduction); June 9th (chapters 1 and 2); June 16th (chs. 3 & 4); June 23rd (chs. 5 & 6); June 30th (chs. 7 & 8); July 7th (chs. 9 & 10).
For those joining by zoom, here's the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89069430458?pwd=ZnHCecZAdxGp86bCgNVwhdEKqynPsk.1