Book Club

September 28 - November 2 (Mondays, 7 - 8:30 PM)
Led by Dr. Eric Balmer

Flannery O'Connor's stories are at once unsettling, humorous, and profoundly theological. Through memorable characters and startling moments of grace, she exposes human pride, self-deception, and the surprising ways God works in broken lives. O'Connor helps readers see that Christian faith is not merely a set of ideas but a reality that confronts us in the midst of ordinary life. Her stories cultivate moral imagination and challenge us to discern grace where we least expect it.

January 4 - February 9 (Mondays, 7 - 8:30 PM)
Led by Rev. Chris Stratton

Camus's short but powerful Nobel-prize winning novel is a wild and inventive existentialist masterpiece that Pacifica seniors read in their capstone Humanities seminar –  Faith and Culture. Through a probing examination of the experience of guilt, judgment, and self-justification, the book raises questions that every human being must eventually face and for which they must give an account. While Camus writes apart from Christian faith, his work provides a compelling conversation partner for understanding the human condition and our need for redemption. Reading The Fall sharpens our ability to recognize both the limits of secular answers and the enduring significance of the Christian account of the human person.

April 5 - May 10 (Mondays, 7 - 8:30 PM)
Led by Dr. David Woods

Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther is one of the most influential novels in Western literature, capturing with extraordinary power the intensity of youthful longing, love, and self-discovery. Through Werther's passionate inner life, readers encounter both the beauty and danger of emotions detached from wisdom, community, and moral restraint. The novel raises enduring questions about identity, freedom, suffering, and the search for meaning in a world shaped by powerful desires. Parents will find a rich opportunity to discuss the formation of the heart, the limits of self-expression, and the importance of ordering one's affections toward what is true and good.