There are some books which are better left unread; and there are others which leave you better for the reading of them.   I can recommend heartily the two books whose covers are pictured above.   Let me give you some clues about why I come that that conclusion.

The first has a title which I immediately associated with that well-known English mystic and anchoress of Norwich, Julian.   She wrote meditations in the 14th century - a time which had its social turbulence and disasters, it bubonic plagues and English independence wars against France.   In her lonely cell, she knew herself to be in and with God and trusted indefatigably in God's love in and for all - people and Creation.  Her signature witness resounds today:  "All shall be well and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well."

"It's All Gonna Be Okay" (- from mad and sad to calm and confident) is Kim Sunderland's witness and a prescription for weathering the storms and doldrums of living.   It is not a theological work, but a very personal and practical account of self-awareness and learning to trust and build on the gifts with which we are born, plus professional development as a mental health educator and peer support workshop facilitator.

The book has five sections, but more importantly, has 62 bathroom-time vignettes focused on an idea, a learning, an insight, reflection, confessions, experiences on the way toward wholeness.   Every segment reveals a nugget of truth and wisdom to gift the reader on the way.

I said it wasn't a "theological" book.  But I am conscious that it dovetails nicely with my understanding that as we start breathing, the divine Spirit sows within us seeds that can grow into the character, qualities, values, and  traits that open the way toward "all things  being well."   I am grateful to Kim for this non-theological, but spiritually rich gift and feel blessed to have been a minister who worshiped with her and her family at Erin Mills United Church in Mississauga during the challenges and joys of the nineties.

Kim had a book signing session in the Erin Mills Town Centre on Saturday, May 2nd.   I hope lots of people got a copy of this gracious, thoughtful, witness sharing.

[It's All Gonna Be Okay - from Mad & Sad to Calm & Confident, Altona MB, Friesen Press, 2024.  229 pp. ISBN 9781039190405.  Find Kim on Facebook.]

The second is a wholly different genre of  book, but with a similar desire to expose disinformation, lies, and harmful propaganda by promoting truthful facts, evidence, and courage that contribute toward the arc of justice.  "Ten Myths About Israel" is another trove of information from the fertile mind and the diligent research of Ilan Pappe, an Israeli historian currently teaching at the UK's Exeter University and witnessing persistently to dispel the false narratives peddled by the Israeli government and its lobbyists.

The western world - governments, churches, and many educational institutions - have imbibed deeply in the Zionist doctrines and misinformation too often swallowed by western authorities because of their guilt related to historic antisemitism and its evil climax - the Holocaust.   As well, after World War II many western nations, including Canada, the UK, and USA, welcomed a way to impede general Jewish immigration to their countries.  (Remember "one Jew is too many"?! )

These nations affirmed the Zionist hope of creating "a Jewish homeland" but were unable to find the means of resisting the twin Zionist goal of ethnic cleansing to create a racist exclusive Israeli state, and to steal the Palestinian lands by displacing, terrorizing, or annihilating the diverse indigenous peoples.  Often in Jewish-Christian dialogues, Israeli narratives were defended and the Palestinian peoples paid the price of the colonizing policy protected by western nations.

Needless to say the narratives were "myths" or lies, and Pappe, "Israel's bravest, most principled, most incisive historian" [according to fearless Australian investigatorJohn Pilger)  deals in ten chapters over 160 pages with key "myths".    Such falsehoods include:   Palestine was an empty land; Zionism is Judaism; Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East; the two state solution is the only way forward, etc.

Once you've read this book, you won't be able to wait to read Pappe's other great works:  The Ethic Cleansing of Palestine; or Lobbying for Zionism - on Both Sides of the Atlantic; and more....

Thank God that it isn't just theologians who write books.   About the Israeli colonizing assault on Gaza and Palestine the western theological schools have not done enough theological reflection in light of the heart of the faith. 

We can hope that the resolution of the 2025 General Council of the United Church of Canada calling for a renewal of theology, in light of the Gaza/Palestine genocide, will bear real fruit.  Our sometime theology made it possible for Christians to think it was okay to just stand mute in the face of the settler colonizing catastrophe (Nakba) we've been watching for almost 100 years.   

Read Pappe and together we might journey together to create a new more faithful  theology and witness to Jesus' Way.             (Ten Myths about Israel, London, Verso Books, 2024.   ISBN - 13: 978  1 80429 704 9.]