Sword Saints

God's Politics VIII

And so it ends. Yesterday we had our final meeting of the God's Politics book club. We stuck with the same locale as last time, figuring that it didn't make a whole lot of sense to move for a single meeting. The fine folks at Mellow Mushroom had blocked off the room for us this time, so it wasn't nearly as loud as during our last visit. It was, however, still quite warm. The sweltering heat of the day coupled with high humidity meant that all the condensation on the outside of the beer glass landed right on my pants -- and stayed there for the entire evening.

God's Politics VII

Our penultimate meeting for the book club moved us two-thirds of the way through the scheduled reading for the week. And, surprise of surprises, we didn't even spend any time on abortion. We'll pick up the chapter on family values next Monday when we finish off the book. Alas, there was little quiet to be found in our locale, so we ended up with multiple conversations even at our small table of six. And to top it off, it was hot and humid in the room. Yes, that's right, a cacophonous sauna, the perfect place for a book discussion.

God's Politics VI

Nuts. I wonder if I can attribute the sparse showing this evening to poor communication of the venue change on my part (my apologies if so), or to the aftereffects of the hurricane? Whatever the reason, there were three of us at the local Mellow Mushroom for dinner and discussion. Which is good, really, because the room that was promised to me this afternoon for our use was already occupied by a birthday party. And it meant that we'd be much more likely to finish up on time.

God's Politics V

OK, that's it. That's the last time we're meeting at a sports bar for the book club. I should have learned from the first live music experience, but no. Add some kind of little league banquet to the mix and you're left with a full parking lot and a general cacophony. We were deciding where to go when some of the parents from the banquet came close to starting a riot because the music was so loud, at which point the management asked the band to leave. So we stayed, only to have the band come on again an hour later when the banquet had ended. It was a short set, though, and it gave us some entertainment while we waited for the bill. But we're still going elsewhere next week.

God's Politics IV

I figured I might as well add a new category for the book club, especially since I pointed the group here to continue the conversation outside of our once-weekly meeting. Might as well make it easy for everyone, right (including those playing at home)?

As I think about the evening, the Flock of Seagulls song I Ran seemed to be a harbinger of how things would progress. (That's the other danger of holding a book club at a sports bar -- annoying songs that get stuck in your head. Right round, like a record, baby.) The topic: a continuation of the foreign policy examination of the last meeting. But Kansas came on the speakers a little later, telling me, "Carry on, my wayward son. There'll be peace when you are done."

God's Politics III

Well, now it's officially official: I'm the designated facilitator for our God's Politics book club. It wasn't the plan, but it's how it worked out. Works for me. It's a good group of folks I never would have met otherwise. And it gives me an excuse to really dig into the book and give it some real thought (instead of just taking it straight to the used book store for some decent trade credit).

God's Politics II

Perhaps a sports bar with live music isn't the best place to hold a book club. But they didn't have live music last time, and they were very accommodating with getting us a room where we only had to raise our voices a little bit as opposed to shouting. And since God graciously and miraculously provided a house out in Berkeley for the Garretts, and the closing was today, it fell to me to moderate again. I might as well just take ownership of it now, since I've steered two-thirds of the meeting. But perhaps that was Bart's plan all along....

God's Politics I

A week ago we had our first meeting for the God's Politics book club. It was one of those ice-breaker get-to-know-you type evenings that makes an introvert's skin crawl. OK, so it wasn't that bad, but at least I was only a participant. Yesterday evening was the official start of our conversation on the book. But Bart was out in California (did I mention that he's planting a church in Berkeley?), so that left the facilitating master of ceremonies duties to his trusted lieutenant: me. Yikes.