Book Discussion Group

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." 

 - Luke 11:9 

The OLP Book Discussion Group endeavors to read books with a Catholic/Christian perspective that challenges, that engages, and that wear the love of Christ on our sleeves as we try to walk that fine line between being "in" the world rather than "of" it. 

We have read a variety of famous and not-so-famous authors offering diverse and sometimes contradictory approaches, from Jeff Cavins to Marcus Borg, from Mother Teresa to fiction author Robert Hugh Benson. 

We have also dabbled judiciously in topics of current concern (Sudan crisis, Rwanda genocide, the death penalty, science vs. religion, etc.) and have read biographies/autobiographies of people such as Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, Edith Stein, Dorothy Day, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. 

We meet once a month for respectful discussion October through May. Everyone is welcome to join us!

Contact Steve Osthus at osthu001@gmail.com for more information.

October's Book for Discussion

The OLP Book Discussion Group will open the current season this October with the second book by New York Times bestselling author Gregory Boyle. 

Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship follows on the heels of the bestselling Tattoos on the Heart  in conveying Father Boyle's continuing involvement with Homeboy Industries, the largest gang-intervention program in the country that he started in Los Angeles in 1988. 

The meeting to discuss the book is scheduled for Thursday, October 17, at 6:30 PM in Sts. Peter and Paul Room.

Tattoos on the Heart and the later  Barking to the Choir have had a marked impact on social service approaches around the country. 

Homeboy Industries, which began as a service to help with job search and training, has since expanded to encompass a variety of food- and service-oriented initiatives. 

For a sense of the impact, Homeboy has, check their FAQ web site at  https://homeboyindustries.org/learn-more/faq/ 

Barking to the Choir is available at online booksellers and in a number of libraries in the Hennepin County Library system.