An Invitation to the Allan Hall Library

Whenever I wanted my children to clean their messy bedrooms, I'd tell them, "Every time you clean your room, you’ll find a treasure." As Natasha Wen and I sorted and categorized the books in Allan Hall this past fall, we found plenty of treasures. Did you know that our very own humble library keeps Bibles in Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, Mandarin, and Portuguese? It also holds Bible commentaries and books by authors such as Marcus Borg, Cynthia Borgeault, C. S. Lewis, Henri Nouwen, Brian McClaren, and Richard Rohr, to name a few. 

The library has been categorized by topic and color into eleven sections. These topics include theology; the Bible; religion/church; spiritual formation and disciplines; prayer & devotional life; Christian living; spiritual classics & saints; mission, justice & reconciliation; healing, grief & pastoral care; Christian education & leadership; and faith, art & creativity. Rather than purchase a book, I encourage you to borrow one from the Allan Hall library. Treasures are there!

If you seek an Advent practice to help you balance the demands of the outside world with the Advent call to stillness and self-reflection, the Allan Hall library may have just the book. Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas by Plough Publishing can be found in the “Devotions and Prayers” section with the light gray stickers. This collection of daily readings, essays by Bonhoeffer, Lewis, Merton, Nouwen, and others, addresses topics such as waiting, yielding, penitence, and light. It truly enriched my Advent season last year and I hope it will enrich yours.

---

Special thanks to COS members Natasha Wen and Nancy Smith who dedicated many hours of time and energy to catalogue and organize the Allan Hall library over the last few months. We are better because you choose to spend your time among us!