Recently I was asked to suggest a book that Marjery Keith's Ohio family could donate to our library in her memory.  Some of us put our heads together and agreed on a Marj Carpenter book of mission stories, which is now on the shelf. 

Having already read one book of her mission stories which we already have in our library, To the Ends of the Earth; Mission Stories from Around the World, I was glad to learn that she had written a second one, a continuation of the first, And a Little Bit Farther; More Stories of Mission.  This one has 37 really short chapters, each dealing with some Presbyterian-connected global mission project that the writer is excited about.  Marj Carpenter has had a long career in the Presbyterian Church, including the news and mission interpretation branches. She was also General Assembly Moderator in 1995.  She has traveled to every corner of the globe, it seems, and has an endless list of stories to share.  

The stories actually are mostly about her enthusiasm for our church’s being in all these places, often for a long time, and making a significant difference. While Moderator in 1995, she visited the Presbyterian church in Pyongyang and was allowed to spend time with the parishioners, informing them of church news from South Korea and elsewhere.  They were ecstatic, she reports, because they are so insulated from outside news.  I think this book about mission stories is a very appropriate way to remember Marjery Keith.  She, too, was enthusiastic about the work of the Presbyterian Church in the world.

Two other new additions this month are a pair of small, pithy books from Walt Carroll, collections of quotations interspersed with cartoons.  The titles say it all, I discovered as I skipped around in them: (1) "God Danced the Day You Were Born; Humor and Wisdom for Celebrating Life" and (2) "Relax, God is in Charge; Humor and Wisdom for Living and Loving Life."

Regarding housekeeping, the library now has given the iChurch a second shelf, expanded the children’s and youth section by one additional shelf, and recently received from Howard Hushbeck a third large box of Covenant worship-hour recordings for keeping in the library and for us to use when the occasion arises.

Drop by the library and check out our collection!

Rudy Dyck, Librarian